I decided to do this roundup of fantasy novel opening examples

Some of my all-time favorite fantasy novels aren’t included here! Even though I loved the stories, I didn’t think their beginnings were especially strong. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

I hope these fantasy novel openings will inspire you—whether you write fantasy or not! 

1. The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien

I’m not just including this one because it’s the most famous fantasy trilogy of all time. This really is one of my favorite fantasy novel opening examples. The sweeping Lord of the Rings trilogy begins in quiet Hobbiton, but introduces the power of the ring…as well as a brilliant hint of foreshadowing.

When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.

Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return. The riches he had brought back from his travels had now become a local legend, and it was popularly believed, whatever the old folk might say, that the Hill at Bag End was full of tunnels stuffed with treasure. And if that was not enough for fame, there was also his prolonged vigour to marvel at. Time wore on, but it seemed to have little effect on Mr. Baggins. At ninety he was much the same as at fifty. At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved; but unchanged would have been nearer the mark. There were some that shook their heads and thought this was too much of a good thing; it seemed unfair that anyone should possess (apparently) perpetual youth as well as (reputedly) inexhaustible wealth.

‘It will have to be paid for,’ they said. ‘It isn’t natural, and trouble will come of it!’

2. Legends & Lattes, Travis Balder

This book about an orc who gives up adventuring to start a coffee shop was a breakout hit, described as “cozy fantasy.” The prologue begins on a more gory than cozy note, but our heroine’s back trouble sets it apart from other fantasy novel opening examples. It’s the first hint that she’s not going to be in the monster-killing game much longer.

Viv buried her greatsword in the scalvert’s skull with a meaty crunch. Blackblood thrummed in her hands, and her muscular arms strained as she tore it back and out in a spray of gore. The Scalvert Queen gave a long, vibrating moan…and then thundered to the stone in a heap.

With a sigh, Viv slumped to her knees. The persistent twinge in her lower back flared up, and she dug in the knuckles of one huge hand to chase it away. Wiping sweat and blood from her face, she stared down at the dead queen. Cheers and shouts echoes from behind her.

4. The Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin

This fantasy classic begins with the voice of a storyteller, establishing the main character as a renowned hero. I can almost imagine this story being told around a fire in a great hall.

The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-racked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards. From the towns in its high valleys and the ports on its dark narrow bays many a Gontishman has gone forth to serve the Lords of the Archipelago in their cities as wizard or mage, or, looking for adventure, to wander working magic from isle to isle of all Earthsea. Of these some say the greatest, and surely the greatest voyager, was a man called Sparrowhawk, who in his day became both dragonlord and Archmage. His life is told of in the Deed of Ged and in many songs, but this is a tale of the time before his fame, before the songs were made.

5. The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Siri

When I picked up this book at the library, the first line grabbed me right away, and I like the contrast between death and beauty. I thought of it immediately when I decided to share fantasy novel opening examples.

In the court of the imperial mahal, the pyre was being built.

The fragrance of the gardens drifted in through the high windows—sweet roses, and even sweeter imperial needle-flower, pale and fragile, growing in such thick profusion that it poured in through the lattice, its white petals unfurled against the sandstone walls. The priests flung petals on the pyre, murmuring prayers as the servants carried in wood and arranged it carefully, applying camphor and ghee, scattering drops of perfumed oil. 

6. The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn trilogy)

This one is a little odd because it’s sort of a prologue to the prologue. I think opening with just a little bit of a character’s internal monologue like this, introducing the big themes, is an interesting option.

Sometimes, I worry that I’m not the hero everyone thinks I am.

The philosophers assure me that this is the time, that the signs have been met. But I still wonder if they have the wrong man. So many people depend on me. They say I will hold the future of the entire world on my arms.

What would they think if they knew that their champion—the Hero of Ages, their savior—doubted himself? Perhaps they wouldn’t be shocked at all. In a way, this is what worries me most.

Maybe in their hearts, they wonder—just as I do.

When they see me, do they see a liar?

7. Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

This young adult fantasy novel centers on six young people coming together to pull off a heist. I think the first line here is great, and the sense of humor draws the reader in.

He was supposed to be making the rounds at the Hoede house, but for the last fifteen minutes, he’d been hovering around the southeast wall of the gardens, trying to think of something clever and romantic to say to Anya.

If only Anya’s eyes were blue like the sea or green like an emerald. Instead, her eyes were brown—lovely, dreamy…melted chocolate brown? Rabbit fur brown?

“Just tell her she’s got skin like moonlight,” his friend Pieter had said. “Girls love that.”

A perfect solution, but the Ketterdam weather was not cooperating.

8. From Blood and Ash, Jennifer L. Armentrout

I always think opening a book with a line of dialogue works as long as the line is either funny or dramatic. In this example, it’s the latter.

“They found Finley this eve, just outside the Blood Forest, dead.”

I looked up from my cards and across the crimson-painted surface to the three men sitting at the table. I’d chosen this spot for a reason. I’d…felt nothing from them as a drifted between the crowded tables earlier. 

No pain, physical or emotional.

Normally, I didn’t prod to see if someone was in pain. Doing so without reason felt incredibly invasive, but in crowds, it was difficult to control just how much I allowed myself to feel. 

9. Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin

This giant of the fantasy novel genre opens with the themes of family and power, and it lets you know right away that you’re entering a complex and violent world.

The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and Bran rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran’s life.

The man had ben taken outside a small holdfast in the hills. Robb thought he was a wilding, his sword sworn to Mance Raider, the King-beyond-the-Wall. It made Bran’s skin prickle to think of it. He remembered the hearth tales Old Nan told them. The wildings were cruel men, she said, slavers and slayers and thieves. They consorted with giants and ghouls, stole girl children in the dead of night, and drank blood from polished horns. And their women lay with the Others in the Long Night to sire terrible half-human children.

Do you want to recommend any other beginnings to novels?

Did you particularly like—or dislike—any of the fantasy novel opening examples on this list? And if you’re a writer, would you like to share an opening to one of your own novels? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks so much for reading, and have a great week!