#OpeningSentence

You are alone when you die.

— Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon

The largest private collection of rare artifacts from other worlds could be found in central New Jersey at Princeton University, and if anyone knew Maya Hoshimoto was a thief, they wouldn’t have let her anywhere near there.

— Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

They say never start a story with a waking, but when you’ve been hard asleep for thirty years it’s difficult to know where else to begin.

— Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky

‘Humans are a necessary annoyance,’ my mother had said to me.

— Space Dragons: Luxorian's Crew by Veo Corva

We were waiting for things to converge.

— Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor

My father kept a dragon eye upon his desk.

— Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi

"The king wishes to be cooked alive," the royal secretary said, accepting the proffered saucer and cup and immediately setting both aside.

— Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

“Your mother is going to be a star,” said the man in the gray uniform.

— Counterweight by Anton Hur, Djuna

Captain Darian Frey was accustomed to long odds; his whole life, he’d been an outside chance. Lacking the ability to win in a fair fight, he survived instead by guile and the illogical optimism favoured by gamblers and drunks, which made the riskiest of plans seem like a good idea at the time.

— The Ace of Skulls by Chris Wooding (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #4)

‘On reflection,’ Crake said to Frey, as they huddled behind an upturned table, ‘this wasn’t one of your better plans.’

— The Iron Jackal by Chris Wooding (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #3)

Darian Frey was a man who understood the value of a tactical retreat.

— The Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #2)

The smuggler held the bullet between thumb and forefinger, studying it in the weak light of the store room.

— Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

Somewhere in Jal’s file was a note from an old crewmate that read, Jalsen Red will either be the reason you die, or the reason you live. Good fucking luck.

— Cascade Failure by L. M. Sagas

Standing next to his step box, Baxter hovers: immobile and elastic, ready to spring forward to lift a suitcase, dissect a timetable, point to the conductor, nod, lift more suitcases, now hat boxes, answer more questions, and nod, nod, nod.

— The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

On activation each morning Charles’ first duty was to check his master’s travel arrangements for the day.

— Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky