#OpeningSentence

Let’s go to the baths today, Miss Ikuko said, so we all got ready.

— Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

The axe cleaved the log in two.

— Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler

Each year when Shesheshen hibernated, she dreamed of her childhood nest.

— Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

I met the khanym when I tried to kill her.

— North Continent Ribbon by Ursula Whitcher

They asked me, “When was the last time you saw Doctor Fell?” and the memory hole I tripped into was ridiculous.

— Saturation Point by Adrian Tchaikovsky

There was a fly walking on Cordelia’s hand and she was not allowed to flick it away.

— A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

So. I’m not in an ideal situation right now.

— Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis

The sea breezes keened of death in Lunurin’s ears, a cacophony of voices urging her to act.

— Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba (Stormbringer Saga, #1)

The world roared.

— Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Perhaps he’ll die this time.

— The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

I want to feel everything, the light, the noise, the dark, even the cold and fear.

— Dual Memory by Sue Burke

We call them Bunnies because that is what they call each other.

— Bunny: A Novel by Mona Awad

The other day, we’re standing in the repository; it’s evening already, nothing left to do but dump the lab suits, then I can head down to the Borscht for my daily dose of booze.

— Roadside Picnic by Борис Стругацкий, Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky

The trick is remembering that it’s all a game.

— Atlas Alone by Emma Newman

By all accounts, I should be scared.

— The Dragonfly Gambit by A. D. Sui