Not a great first line or passage if you ask me. Actually, having read the other two books, and written about their first lines, I don't think that Stieg Larsson puts much credence in having stunning first lines.
Dr. Jonasson was woken by a nurse five minutes before the helicopter was expected to land. It was just before 1: 30 in the morning.
“What?” he said, confused.
“Rescue Service helicopter coming in. Two patients. An injured man and a younger woman. The woman has gunshot wounds.”
“All right,” Jonasson said wearily.
Although he had slept for only half an hour, he felt groggy. He was on the night shift in the ER at Sahlgrenska hospital in Göteborg. It had been a strenuous evening.
Larsson, Stieg - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
However, my knowledge of the first two books can also lead me to believe that this is less a first line of a new book as just an arbitrary break in the action between book two and three. It's as if he wrote this and The Girl Who Played with Fire at the same time and was asked by his agent to split it into two.
3 comments:
For me, getting the first line just right is almost the hardest part of the book. If I don't, then any further writing is futile as nobody will want to read it.
I wrote a book about some teenagers saving the world.It's a limited niche and so took me days to come up with:
Interstellar war was not at the top of David’s schedule as he jumped excitedly out of bed.
I hope that's enough for to mess up the first line means you may as well turn off the computer.
What great insight Roger. I appreciate the comment. I wouldn't have agreed with you a few years back, but then I started to realize that although it is not the keystone to a great book, it is the cornerstone. This is the very reason I started this list in my blog.
I hope you don't mind if I use your first line in one of my upcoming posts. If you have a link to a website or to the book, send it along.
Again, thanks for the comment. I look forward to more.
No problem.
It's the first of four novels and more info is here: www.threehoodies.com
I had just as much of a problem with the opening line to the second book.
And the third
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