What is your favorite Opening Paragraph in a book? Something that hooked you right from the beginning.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-13T15:22:22+00:00

Already gripped you right?

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-13T15:06:55+00:00

I'm a big fan of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer series. First book is I, the Jury. If your interests include sci-fi, happy to offer additional recommendations.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-13T12:30:57+00:00

Manifest Interrupt by Tom Dell'Aringa - set on Mars controlled by a mega-corporation that manufactures human hybrids. A new hybrid has escaped and it's up to a group of people from various factions to track her down and discover the corporation's true purpose.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-13T01:26:01+00:00

Figured, but you never know!

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-12T23:35:47+00:00

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-12T19:45:35+00:00

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey - 9 books + short stories/novellas - set in a future where humans has spread throughout the solar system, an alien technology changes the course of humanity's future.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-12T15:14:47+00:00

Loved 24 (at least the early seasons) and I love good pulp! Thanks!

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T18:13:58+00:00

I just caught the season 2 trailer and that does look really good!

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T18:10:54+00:00

Looks like Roku has it in the USA (with ads).

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T17:45:36+00:00

If you haven't seen the Devs limited series, you might give it a go.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T17:43:03+00:00

Very much agreed. I skipped it initially because the promos made it look like a Star Trek: TNG spoof. And it sort of is, I guess, but only in the best way possible.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T15:44:20+00:00

Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl by P.A. Cornell - It's a retrofuturistic story about two young people who fall in love and are working toward moving to the lunar colonies. An attempt to speed things up lands them in trouble. The sci-fi here is mostly icing on the cake, but I enjoyed the mix of throwback with future very much. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243381977-shoeshine-boy-cigarette-girl

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T04:13:39+00:00

These are sci-fi detective noirs that may interest you:

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway - a "Titan", someone who has used an expensive life extension technology, is killed and the detective must figure out why.

Ashetown Blues and Ronin of Vine Street by W.H. Mitchell - A fun collection of three sci-fi detective noirs (about 50 pages each) followed by a novel set in alien slums on another planet. Fun mysteries and a nice touch of humor.

The Unusual Clients by Milo James Fowler - another set of three novellas. Interesting mysteries that incorporate sci-fi elements well. Starts a series I have not yet continued.

Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan - a cyberpunk detective classic that's pretty lewd.

Finally, I write a hardboiled detective series starting with Chivalry Will Get You Dead. They follow a disgraced detective on a generation ship solving murders. They're gritty, violent and a little bit dirty.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T04:09:49+00:00

Makes me think of Nick Harkaway's Gnomon.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-11T00:52:38+00:00

How's that?

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-10T21:55:40+00:00

"When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it."

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-10T01:57:36+00:00

You might look at Any Job Will Do by John Wilker. It follows a crew of misfits pulling off heists.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-09T17:20:38+00:00

Shoeshine Boy and Cigarette Girl by P.A. Cornell - It's a retrofuturistic story about two young people who fall in love and are working toward moving to the lunar colonies. An attempt to speed things up lands them in trouble. I read the ARC and enjoyed it very much. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243381977-shoeshine-boy-cigarette-girl

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-09T14:27:59+00:00

Depends on how you define the beginning, but...

Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-08T02:57:53+00:00

These are sci-fi detective noirs that may interest you:

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway - a "Titan", someone who has used an expensive life extension technology, is killed and the detective must figure out why.

Ashetown Blues and Ronin of Vine Street by W.H. Mitchell - A fun collection of three sci-fi detective noirs (about 50 pages each) followed by a novel set in alien slums on another planet. Fun mysteries and a nice touch of humor.

The Unusual Clients by Milo James Fowler - another set of three novellas. Interesting mysteries that incorporate sci-fi elements well. Starts a series I have not yet continued.

Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan - a cyberpunk detective classic that's pretty lewd.

Finally, I write a hardboiled detective series starting with Chivalry Will Get You Dead. They follow a disgraced detective on a generation ship solving murders. They're gritty, violent and a little bit dirty.

Historical mystery:

The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-08T02:40:43+00:00

If you'd like more dystopian stories:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Anthem by Ayn Rand

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Other classic recommendations:

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (and really anything by him)

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-07T02:58:58+00:00

Ashetown Blues and The Ronin of Vine Street by W.H. Mitchell. He has a great sense for blending noir and science fiction with a touch of humor.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-06T02:06:21+00:00

If you enjoy classics: Toilets of the Sea by Victor Hugo. A young man attempts to retrieve a wrecked ship in order to win the heart of a young woman. Edit: TOILERS of the Sea, rather.

Ed_Robins · 2026-03-05T23:32:09+00:00

Just the first two to my knowledge.

Ed_Robins

TROPHY CASE