Fifth Season First

Here's the sentence that starts the first trilogy ever to win the Hugo for all three books. N. K. Jemisin had several series completed before she began this one. That's good news – more books to read if you are newly discovering her.

What does a first sentence need to do? Set the scene, make a promise, open a door into a story, entice the reader to continue. This sentence rocks it. "End of the world" raises the stakes to the top of the scale. We know this is an apocalyptic situation – this story will take place at the end and with enough scope to cover the entire world – a strong setting, a strong promise, and a strong draw to see what happens next.

But the end of the world on its own could seem overdone. Look at how the narrator undercuts that. "Let's start" – what could be after the end of the world? That creates more curiosity and drive to continue. Then "why don't we?" – a phrase that shows a certain attitude from the narrator to the audience, a little archness or playfulness, an assumption of familiarity.

Yes, I definitely want to read on after this sentence. The combination of high stakes and defined voice, in just a few words, shows writing craft at a very high level.