Post by: Yastreb on March 10, 2022, 06:13:59 AM
Here are three I thought of...
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen... and then the murders began.
1984
On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge... and then the murders began.
Crime and Punishment
There was a large audience assembled on the 14th of January, 1862, at the session of the Royal Geographical Society, No. 3 Waterloo Place, London... and then the murders began.
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Feel free to expand the collection, folks.
Post by: Jitter on March 10, 2022, 12:01:49 PM
Post by: RanVor on March 10, 2022, 01:12:39 PM
On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge... and then the murders began.A fitting summary of the book, I'd say. ;)
Crime and Punishment
He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty four days now without taking a fish, and then the murders began.
The Old Man and the Sea
Post by: Kiran on March 11, 2022, 09:32:23 AM
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Post by: midwestmutt on March 11, 2022, 11:16:41 AM
Post by: Yastreb on March 11, 2022, 03:18:39 PM
Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent
In the month of July of the year 1348, between the feasts of St. Benedict and of St. Swithin, a strange thing came upon England, for out of the east there drifted a monstrous cloud, purple and piled, heavy with evil, climbing slowly up the hushed heaven. And then the murders began.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Nigel
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And then the murders began.
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Post by: thegreyarea on March 12, 2022, 06:34:03 AM
Where the black planets roll without aim-
Where they roll in their horror unheeded,
Whithout knowledge or luster or name
...and then the murders began.
H.P.Lovecraft, The Haunter of The Dark
Post by: thegreyarea on March 12, 2022, 06:36:16 AM
... and then the murders began.
Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book.
Post by: thegreyarea on March 12, 2022, 06:44:31 AM
The Bible, Genesis, Chapter 1
(This one seems terribly appropriate...)
Post by: JoB on March 12, 2022, 01:00:56 PM
... anyone recognize this one?
"Sooo ... apparently the road is going to stay closed for a while" ... and then the murders began.
Post by: Jitter on March 12, 2022, 01:15:03 PM
Actually the murders had started earlier, as this is The Handmaid’s Tale.
Grey, I think all of yours are very correct.
JoB, I believe this is a work very well known by all of us, right?
Post by: Vulpes on March 12, 2022, 02:45:58 PM
Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burden'd air;
Hungry clouds swag on the deep.
And then the murders began.
William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 12, 2022, 04:46:53 PM
Whose peasants, fishermen, housewives and princes
Not to mention her chefs
Through generations of inventive and loving concentration, have created one of the world's great arts
Then the murders began
(Mastering the Art of French Cooking---Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck)
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 12, 2022, 04:50:46 PM
Then the murders began
(American gods --Neil Gaiman)
(There is a sensor that replaces the 'F' with a 'D' as an FYI)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 12, 2022, 05:01:31 PM
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
(Another one that's quite accurate...
BTW this thread is amazing! ... You're all amazing! I'm so glad to be back!)
Post by: JoB on March 12, 2022, 05:03:39 PM
-- Birgit Brandau, Troia [sic!], Gustav Lübbe Verlag 1997.
JoB, I believe this is a work very well known by all of us, right?Hey, I can't make all 'em riddles near impossible to solve, can I. 8)
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 12, 2022, 05:10:04 PM
It was a dark and stormy night...and then the murders began.--Paul Clifford by Edward Bulwar-Lytton
I never realized it was a real quote. I always though of it in peanuts.
Then the murders began
Post by: thegreyarea on March 12, 2022, 06:31:34 PM
because of the long cloak and careen staff but mainly because the raindrops were stopping
several feet from his head, and steaming... and then the murders began.
Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites (book 3 of the Discworld series)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 12, 2022, 06:36:37 PM
Max Brooks, World War Z
Post by: thegreyarea on March 12, 2022, 06:52:27 PM
Jim Gaffigan, Dad Is Fat
(I haven't read that one... yet, even if it looks funny. Anyway I bet that adding murders would make it even more interesting!)
Post by: tehta on March 12, 2022, 10:30:25 PM
Sounds vexing indeed, doesn't it?
Post by: Yastreb on March 13, 2022, 08:50:30 AM
Alistair MacLean, The Guns of Navarone.
Post by: thegreyarea on March 13, 2022, 08:57:08 AM
Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book
Sounds vexing indeed, doesn't it?
Quite vexing ;D
Post by: Yastreb on March 13, 2022, 09:08:08 AM
Alan Garner, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Post by: RanVor on March 13, 2022, 09:21:48 AM
Skulduggery Pleasant a.k.a. Scepter of the Ancients
Although technically, the murders began earlier.
Post by: thegreyarea on March 13, 2022, 09:32:56 AM
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Post by: midwestmutt on March 13, 2022, 11:01:02 AM
I never realized it was a real quote. I always though of it in peanuts.The complete 1st line is quite long in that 19th century style of writing.
Then the murders began
Post by: thegreyarea on March 13, 2022, 04:32:39 PM
Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book One)
(haven't read that one too...)
Post by: Yastreb on March 13, 2022, 04:39:57 PM
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford
That's the full famous sentence.
Post by: thegreyarea on March 13, 2022, 04:47:15 PM
Iain M. Banks, Consider Phlebas (Book I of The Culture series)
(another one that's quite accurate)
That's the full famous sentence.
Thanks Yastreb!
Post by: RanVor on March 13, 2022, 04:59:24 PM
Thursday, October 31st. The city streets are crowded for the holiday. Even with the rain. And then the murders began.
The Batman
Sorry, I just saw the movie yesterday and I'm still thinking about it. It's really good. This is a 100% accurate description of the plot, btw.
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 13, 2022, 05:02:14 PM
Then the murders began
(Pawn of Prophecy - The Belgariad #1 David Eddings)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 13, 2022, 06:48:50 PM
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion
(dmeck, I believe that considering human history any creational description/myth will, sadly, fit quite well with "...and then the murders began")
(Ran, thanks for the suggestion. I'll try to see it. But I have a text to read before... ;) )
Post by: wavewright62 on March 13, 2022, 07:52:49 PM
--Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy, and then the murders began.
--Stephen J. Hawking, A Brief History of Time
I am Sam, Sam I am, and then the murders began.
--Dr Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 13, 2022, 09:51:31 PM
And then the murders happened
(Our Town - Thornton Wilder)
Post by: Yastreb on March 13, 2022, 11:44:14 PM
Terry Goodkind, Stone of Tears
It was the wolfish snarl on Hawkston's thin lips, the red glare in his eyes, which first roused terrified suspicion in the Arab's mind, there in the deserted hut on the outskirts of the little town of Azem. And then the murders began.
Robert E. Howard, Blood of the Gods
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 06:18:33 AM
Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind
(actually this is from the book's back cover. If we used the first sentence from the first chapter it would be:
About 13.5 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang. And then the murders began.
Which would also be true...)
Post by: Yastreb on March 14, 2022, 06:55:57 AM
Edgar Allen Poe, The Gold Bug
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 10:04:43 AM
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 10:09:12 AM
Walter M. Miller, Jr., A Canticle For Leibowitz
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 10:13:54 AM
Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle
(another quite accurate one)
(What? Loving this thread? Me? Nonsense! ;) )
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 10:17:20 AM
Isaac Asimov, Foundation (book 1 of the Foundation Trilogy)
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 14, 2022, 10:18:03 AM
and then the murders began
(Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 10:25:29 AM
Ursula K.Leguin, The Left Hand of Darkness
(I'm sure that if there was a prize for best title, this one would at least be in the top ten)
(dmeck, it's funny that I knew what was the book just by reading the sentence (before the murders began :) ) because I was going to add it to this thread. BTW I read that one, and enjoyed it!)
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 14, 2022, 11:34:07 AM
I liked the series also.
(dmeck, it's funny that I knew what was the book just by reading the sentence (before the murders began :) ) because I was going to add it to this thread. BTW I read that one, and enjoyed it!)
The left hand of darkness is another great book
Post by: Róisín on March 14, 2022, 12:38:35 PM
Post by: Jitter on March 14, 2022, 02:48:23 PM
Oh boy, they sure did! (A Game of Thrones by GRR Martin)
Left hand of darkness is absolutely brilliant K it’s been far too long since I read it, though.
Post by: Yastreb on March 14, 2022, 07:24:12 PM
Peter Wright: Spycatcher, the Candid Biography of a Secret Intelligence Officer
(It works with non-fiction too!)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 08:07:19 PM
Dan Simmons, Hyperion
(what a great first sentence for an equally great book!)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 14, 2022, 08:13:49 PM
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
(to be precise the murders had already began many years before that...)
Post by: Yastreb on March 14, 2022, 09:02:28 PM
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Post by: Yastreb on March 15, 2022, 07:31:22 AM
Geoffrey Jenkins, Hunter Killer
The morning was white: cloudy without being dark, but bright without being warm. And then the murders began.
Dan Crawford, Rouse A Sleeping Cat
Post by: thegreyarea on March 15, 2022, 11:04:49 AM
David Brin, Startide Rising
(a whole lot of murders in this one...)
(nice choices, Yastreb)
Post by: wavewright62 on March 15, 2022, 04:44:31 PM
Do you want to keep your assets? And then the murders began.
--Ross Holmes, Successful Trust Management
Middle-class England in the 1870s was probably the most inhibiting and philistine environment a great artist could be born into, and then the murders began.
--Brigid Brophy, Beardsley and His World
The tiny wheat kernel, no more than a quarter of an inch long, is one of the most important seeds on earth. And then the murders began.
--Bernard Clayton Jr, The Complete Book of Breads (from the wheat's POV, oh heck yeah, a cookbook is a horror story)
Greek and Roman mythology is quite generally supposed to show us the way the human race thought and felt untold ages ago, and then the murders began.
--Edith Hamilton, Mythology (She's not wrong)
Post by: Yastreb on March 15, 2022, 06:35:31 PM
In February 1936 there was a general election in Spain. And then the murders began.
Jason Gurney, Crusade in Spain
The General Secretary of the Party set a task; there must be a sharp rise in agricultural output. And then the murders began.
Victor Suvorov, The Liberators
Post by: thegreyarea on March 16, 2022, 07:19:20 AM
Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese?
(getting on the non-fiction wagon! :D )
Post by: Yastreb on March 16, 2022, 07:34:03 AM
Out of the winter bleakness of a Prussian night, a diesel locomotive loomed large in the camcorder lens. And then the murders began.
Tony Geraghty, Brixmis
The African moon was setting behind my left shoulder as I throttled the Cessna back and we sank slowly, and I hoped quietly, towards the ground. And then the murders began.
Adam Diment, The Dolly Dolly Spy
Post by: thegreyarea on March 16, 2022, 07:50:03 AM
IMF, World Economic Outlook 2022
(sadly true, this one)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 16, 2022, 08:02:59 AM
Postman Pat
Postman Pat and his black and white cat
Early in the morning
Just as day is dawning
He picks up all the postbags in his van
And then the murders began!
Spoiler: show
Ken Barrie, Postman Pat Theme
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postman_Pat)
source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/postmanpatlyrics.html
(This one is meant to lighten the mood after that depressing IMF report :) )
Post by: Yastreb on March 16, 2022, 09:02:46 AM
Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery
A crisp, early autumn mist slowly melted towards the stillness of a mild Chilean day. And then the murders began.
Wensley Clarkson, The Valkyrie Operation
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 16, 2022, 09:51:47 AM
(Old Possum's book of Practical Cats. -- TS Elliot)
----
A man with binocluors. That is how it began: with a man standing by the side of the road, on a crest overlooking a small Arizona town. on a winter night.
(The Andromeda Strain -- Michael Crichton)
Post by: midwestmutt on March 16, 2022, 10:32:16 AM
Post by: Yastreb on March 17, 2022, 01:18:37 AM
History of England and Ireland: the Definitive Visual Guide
Too angry to wait for the creaky elevator, I went clattering down the dusty stairs, so fast that I outpaced Dave. And then the murders began.
Michael Scott Rohan, The Gates of Noon
Post by: Róisín on March 17, 2022, 02:43:46 AM
Post by: LooNEY_DAC on March 17, 2022, 02:57:16 AM
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
...Well, SOMEBODY had to do it.
Post by: Yastreb on March 17, 2022, 06:13:57 AM
H. G. Wells, The Invisible Man
No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. And then the murders began.
H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds
Post by: thegreyarea on March 17, 2022, 12:25:43 PM
Larry Niven, Ringworld
Post by: thegreyarea on March 17, 2022, 12:30:52 PM
past. And then the murders began.
Terry Pratchett, Mort
(It could be argued if Death work counts as murders...)
Post by: Yastreb on March 17, 2022, 07:16:29 PM
Robert Harris, Selling Hitler
It was a warm spring night when a fist knocked at the door so hard that the hinges bent. And then the murders began.
Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay
Post by: midwestmutt on March 18, 2022, 02:11:31 AM
Post by: thegreyarea on March 18, 2022, 06:08:02 AM
John Scalzi, Redshirts
(haven't read that one yet, but considering the well known fate of those that have the dubious luck of wearing a red starfleet uniform...)
Post by: Yastreb on March 18, 2022, 06:11:15 AM
Lois McMaster Bujold, Borders of Infinity
The moon was full; everywhere its pleasant, watery haze spread over the peaceful English countryside, rendering it colourless. And then the murders began.
Guy Gibson, Enemy Coast Ahead
Post by: thegreyarea on March 18, 2022, 06:50:32 AM
Volker Poelzl, CultureShock! Portugal - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette
(what an exciting voyage that must have been! :) )
(but the fact that he wrote the book after that would make me think the "Survival Guide" part is legit ;) )
Post by: Yastreb on March 18, 2022, 07:37:32 AM
Bob Woodward, State of Denial
It was the Joy of the Sunset that brought us to speech. And then the murders began.
William Hope Hodgson, The Night Land
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 18, 2022, 08:13:01 AM
(The Shadow of the Torturer--Gene Wolfe)
Post by: Yastreb on March 18, 2022, 08:25:55 AM
David Weber, The Shadow of Saganami
Shambling along in the first sharp sunshine of a June morning, we had just cleared the minefield west of Bar Harmat. And then the murders began.
Desmond Young, Rommel
Post by: thegreyarea on March 18, 2022, 10:24:46 AM
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None
(I read this one a long long time ago, so I don't recall much. However from what I recall adding a bunch of murders might make it much more interesting. And then maybe I was just to young to understand it... Ok, I just reread the two initial pages and definitively think the murders are a good idea! :) )
Post by: Yastreb on March 18, 2022, 05:38:41 PM
A stately pleasure dome decree
And then the murders began
Samuel Coleridge, Kubla Khan
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
And then the murders began.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade
Post by: Jitter on March 18, 2022, 05:50:31 PM
Marie Kondo: The life-changing magic of tidying up
I wonder if she means that emptying your house will create lots of room to hide the bodies, or simply just that the constant tidying will drive anyone to a murderous rage.
Many of these are hilarious!
Post by: thegreyarea on March 18, 2022, 09:13:24 PM
Alastair Reynolds, Beyond the Aquila Rift.
(this one is sooo gooood!)
---
Even before the boat came through the reef, Mirissa could tell that Brant was angry. And then the murders began.
Arthur C. Clarke, The Songs of Distant Earth
(This one is sooo gooood!)
(what? I'm repeating myself? Let's try something different)
---
Prosperity is about things going well for us: in accordance with our hopes and expectations. ‘How’s life?’ we ask each other. ‘How are things?’ Everyday exchanges convey more than casual greeting. They reveal a mutual fascination for each other’s well-being. Wanting things to go well is a common human concern. And then the murders begin.
Tim Jackson, Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet
(this one is... I don't know. It's been sitting on my hard drive for some time, waiting for the right mood. I'll tell you one of these days)
Post by: Yastreb on March 18, 2022, 09:35:19 PM
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The White Company
Bill and I had just finished covering the Presidential conventions. And then the murders began.
Salem Kirban, 666
Post by: LooNEY_DAC on March 19, 2022, 01:53:15 AM
Phoebe Atwood Taylor, The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern (An Asey Mayo Mystery)
(Though I must admit that I prefer her Leonidas Witherall mysteries.)
Post by: Yastreb on March 19, 2022, 07:41:40 AM
Arthur Miller, Focus
The errand was out of his way and he was afraid he was running terribly late, but he had the airport taxi take him to Asprey's to be able to bring along a small surprise for Bitsy. And then the murders began.
Richard Condon, Arigato
Post by: midwestmutt on March 19, 2022, 10:42:08 AM
Post by: thegreyarea on March 19, 2022, 07:43:01 PM
Jim Davis, Garfield (first comic strip, on June 19, 1978)
(The repeated murder of lasagna, of course :D )
https://garfield.fandom.com/wiki/Garfield,_June_1978_comic_strips (https://garfield.fandom.com/wiki/Garfield,_June_1978_comic_strips)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 19, 2022, 07:50:32 PM
Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes (first comic strip, on November 18, 1985)
(the repeated "murder" of many hours of my time, of course :D )
https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/a4dxly/very_first_calvin_and_hobbes_comic_strip/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/a4dxly/very_first_calvin_and_hobbes_comic_strip/)
Post by: Yastreb on March 20, 2022, 01:45:48 AM
J. E. Hood, Guardians of the Forest
The military attache's voice, harsh and unfriendly, cut across the great thatched and timbered hall. "By Jupiter and his seven-headed dog, but I can show you a sort of magic to beat that!" And then the murders began.
Henry Treece, The Dark Island
Post by: JoB on March 20, 2022, 05:50:20 AM
After a fight in the enclosure, cow elephant Maejaruad had to be put to sleep due to her severe injuries. And then the murders began.
(Local newspaper. The fight was with an older, "very calm" bull, Bindu ... who did kill a 22yo waiter in 1984 in Port Lympne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Lympne_Wild_Animal_Park), though ...)
Post by: LooNEY_DAC on March 20, 2022, 07:24:17 AM
Edward E. "Doc" Smith, Ph.D., Triplanetary
Post by: Yastreb on March 20, 2022, 07:28:05 AM
Stephen Hunter, Point of Impact
Eckstern produced the package with an exaggerated flourish and lifted the lid of the box to pluck out shredded packing with as much care as if he was about to display the crown jewels of some long-forgotten kingdom. And then the murders began.
Andre Norton, Quag Keep
Post by: thegreyarea on March 21, 2022, 06:44:38 AM
Isaac Asimov, Nightfall
(brilliant short story!)
Where’s the !#%@&? printer?! And then the murders began.
Microsoft, Windows 10 Quick Guide: Connect a network printer.
(sooooo true! ;D )
Post by: Yastreb on March 21, 2022, 07:15:21 AM
Fitzroy Maclean, Eastern Approaches
Duane Boggs, waking early on what he hoped would be the last day of his life, looked out of the window and saw no light in the sky. And then the murders began.
Philip Caputo, Equation For Evil
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 21, 2022, 07:51:16 AM
Aton 77, director of Saro University, thrust out a belligerent lower lip and glared at the young newspaperman in a hot fury. And then the murders began.Agreed!
Isaac Asimov, Nightfall
(brilliant short story!)
Where’s the !#%@&? printer?! And then the murders began.
Microsoft, Windows 10 Quick Guide: Connect a network printer.
(sooooo true! ;D )
Magentaaaa!! And then the murders began
(Not a book, but an ad for printer ink in the US. It just seemed fitting.)
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 22, 2022, 03:27:12 PM
(Extreme Medical Services: Paramedics for Supernatural Creatures --Jamie Davis)
Post by: wavewright62 on March 22, 2022, 03:42:13 PM
--J.B. Arban, Arban's Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet
Spoiler: show
Okay, grey, I laughed - sooo true.
Post by: Yastreb on March 22, 2022, 05:38:16 PM
Ben Okri, Incidents At The Shrine
The plane, a shabby old Dakota, bumped twice in the noonday heat, then settled on a steady course. And then the murders began.
Nicholas Monsarrat, The Tribe That Lost Its Head
Post by: thegreyarea on March 25, 2022, 04:26:24 PM
Juan Rodriguez and Carlos Seoane, Siza by Siza
(FYI Alvaro Siza is
(Says a guy that has four... no, five (!) books about Siza's work...)
Post by: Yastreb on March 25, 2022, 09:56:12 PM
R. M. Wingfield, The Only Way Out
In the April of 1893 I was staying in the course of my business at the Devonshire Arms in Skipton, Yorkshire. And then the murders began.
Christopher Priest, The Space Machine
Post by: thegreyarea on March 26, 2022, 12:10:52 PM
Before you
my home was in the wind and surf,
the birds and rain,
voices of the northern lights.
And then the murders began.
Nightwish, Music
my home was in the wind and surf,
the birds and rain,
voices of the northern lights.
And then the murders began.
Nightwish, Music
(great song, great album, great band!)
Post by: Jitter on March 26, 2022, 12:24:42 PM
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
And then the murders beigin
(Every Breat You Take - The Police. I’ve always found the song very threatening)
Nightwish is playing in Joensuu this summer at Ilosaarirock!
Post by: thegreyarea on March 26, 2022, 06:58:50 PM
There's a moon over bourbon street tonight
I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight
I've no choice but to follow that call
The bright lights the people and the moon and all
I pray everyday to be strong
For I know what I do must be wrong
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over bourbon street
And then the murders began
Sting, Moon Over Bourbon Street
I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight
I've no choice but to follow that call
The bright lights the people and the moon and all
I pray everyday to be strong
For I know what I do must be wrong
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over bourbon street
And then the murders began
Sting, Moon Over Bourbon Street
(another slightly threatening song... by the same guy!)
(Oh, how much I'd love to be there and listen to them live in Joensuu! A wish to fullfil on another chance)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 26, 2022, 07:16:26 PM
Nobody can pronounce it right.
Are you writing this down? Every word? Good. Where shall I start—mm?
Very well, then. The beginning. Write this down, Whateley.
I was spawned uncounted aeons ago, in the dark mists of Khhaa’yngnaiih (no, of course I don’t know how to spell it. Write it as it sounds), of nameless nightmare parents, under a gibbous moon. And then the murders began.
Neil Gaiman, I, Cthulhu, or, What’s A Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing In A Sunken City Like This (Latitude 47° 9′ S, Longitude 126° 43′ W)?
(and here's a link to read the story for free! (https://www.tor.com/2021/12/24/i-cthulhu-or-whats-a-tentacle-faced-thing-like-me-doing-in-a-sunken-city-like-this-latitude-47-9′-s-longitude-126-43′-w/))
Post by: thegreyarea on March 26, 2022, 07:25:24 PM
an unfamiliar conapt building. And then the murders began.
Philip K. Dick, The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch
(back to the classics!)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 26, 2022, 07:33:50 PM
Ken Liu, The Paper Menagerie
He drank his way across the narrow sea. And then the murders began.
George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons
(No lack of murders on this one :) )
Post by: Yastreb on March 27, 2022, 07:07:17 AM
Sean Kelly, The Game; A Portrait Of Scott Morrison
The bedroom murmured to itself gently. It was almost below the limits of hearing; an irregular little sound, yet quite unmistakable, and quite deadly. And then the murders began.
Isaac Asimov, The Stars Like Dust
Post by: Lee M on March 27, 2022, 11:10:42 PM
Samuel R. Delany, Nova
It was seven o’clock of a very warm evening in the Seeonee hills when Father Wolf woke up from his day’s rest, scratched himself, yawned, and spread out his paws one after the other to get rid of the sleepy feeling in their tips. And then the murders began.
Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book
(I see somebody already beat me to it with this one. Oh, well.)
The Report Begins: One afternoon early in a certain January, the weather showed a lack of character. There was no frost or wind; the trees in the garden did not stir. There was no rain, although anybody accustomed to predicting rain might have forecast it with a fair expectation of being right before nightfall. Cloud lay thickly over the sky. The face of the sun was not visible. Consequently, shadows had no form. And then the murders began.
Brian Aldiss, Report on Probability A
The particular ill-will between the men of the Household of Hobar and the Sixlimbed Folk was said to date from the time of the Hennan Hobar who was the senior of the cadet line which inherited - for lack of male heir in the elder branch - all the fat lands of the household, well-girthed in appleyards. And then the murders began.
Avram Davidson, The Island Under the Earth
Post by: thegreyarea on March 28, 2022, 03:59:28 AM
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Post by: Yastreb on March 28, 2022, 04:55:35 AM
John Lee, The Ninth Man
The train.
Its starting point was ten miles northeast of Denver, a base known as the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. From there it headed east. And then the murders began.
Gerald A Browne, Hazard
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 28, 2022, 08:27:58 AM
The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy--Douglas Adams)
Spoiler: show
The primroses were over , and then the murders began
(Watership Down --Richard Adams)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 28, 2022, 10:59:16 AM
Charlie Jane Anders, All The Birds In The Sky
(Despite this (good) book's seemingly harmless title (and very slow beginning), the murders part is quite true.)
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: show
Post by: midwestmutt on March 28, 2022, 11:50:02 AM
whore and rogue they call husband and wife:
All professions be-rogue one another:
The priest calls the lawyer a cheat, the lawyer be-knaves the divine:
And the statesman because he's so great, thinks his trade as honest as mine.
And then the murders began.
The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, written in 1728
Post by: Jitter on March 28, 2022, 02:16:07 PM
- H. G. Wells: The War of the Worlds
Grey, you called?
Post by: thegreyarea on March 28, 2022, 02:19:16 PM
I can't remember when it was good
Moments of happiness in bloom
Maybe I just misunderstood
And then the murders began
Muse, Falling Away With You
(from the (amazing) album Absolution)
Moments of happiness in bloom
Maybe I just misunderstood
And then the murders began
Muse, Falling Away With You
(from the (amazing) album Absolution)
Jitter: ;)
(also, very fitting choice with Wells!)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 28, 2022, 02:24:54 PM
Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
And then the murders began
Elvis Presley, Can't Help Falling In Love
(from the soundtrack of "Blue Hawaii")
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
And then the murders began
Elvis Presley, Can't Help Falling In Love
(from the soundtrack of "Blue Hawaii")
Post by: thegreyarea on March 28, 2022, 02:42:02 PM
The warden threw a party in the county jail
The prison band was there, and they began to wail
The band was jumpin', and the joint began to swing
You should've heard them knocked out jailbirds sing
And then the murders began
Elvis Presley, Jailhouse Rock (https://youtu.be/HZJTgYzf9FE)
The prison band was there, and they began to wail
The band was jumpin', and the joint began to swing
You should've heard them knocked out jailbirds sing
And then the murders began
Elvis Presley, Jailhouse Rock (https://youtu.be/HZJTgYzf9FE)
I have a feelling that the "murders" version would be quite believable...
Post by: dmeck7755 on March 28, 2022, 03:56:02 PM
Jitter: ;)
(also, very fitting choice with Wells!)
ULLA!! and then the murders happened
Spoiler: show
Post by: Jitter on March 28, 2022, 04:05:02 PM
Spoiler: War of the Worlds • show
Post by: thegreyarea on March 30, 2022, 06:27:20 AM
Felled, dazed, silent, he has fallen; knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. And then the murders began.
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Post by: thegreyarea on March 30, 2022, 06:32:51 AM
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...
And then the murders began
On such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of murders at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can die in here
Eagles, Hotel California
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...
And then the murders began
On such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of murders at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can die in here
Eagles, Hotel California
Post by: thegreyarea on March 30, 2022, 07:11:57 AM
Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
(another great book!)
(BTW I may have stretched the concept of this thread a bit too much with Hotel California... Sorry, but I couldn't resist :) )
Post by: Róisín on March 30, 2022, 10:09:53 PM
Post by: Yastreb on March 31, 2022, 01:20:53 AM
Andrew Gross, The Dark Tide
The elimination of Gussie Pingree's virginity took place on a horse blanket in the old harness room. And then the murders began.
Gordon Williams, Pomeroy
Post by: thegreyarea on March 31, 2022, 07:16:17 AM
The rain outside was cold in Hadrian's soul.
The boy lay dead
On the low couch, on whose denuded whole,
To Hadrian's eyes, whose sorrow was a dread,
The shadowy light of Death's eclipse was shed.
And then the murders began.
Fernando Pessoa*, Antinous
The boy lay dead
On the low couch, on whose denuded whole,
To Hadrian's eyes, whose sorrow was a dread,
The shadowy light of Death's eclipse was shed.
And then the murders began.
Fernando Pessoa*, Antinous
(*Pessoa is the most known Portuguese poet. He spent some years of his youth on South Africa, and this poem is originally written in English, which is just fine in this situation, because translating poetry is quite complicated.)
(And thanks, Róisín! Yes, it sings well! That's why I coudn't resist...)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 31, 2022, 10:45:21 AM
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
No escape from reality
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to
Me, to me
And the murders began
Mamaaa,
Just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger,
Now he's dead
...
Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
No escape from reality
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to
Me, to me
And the murders began
Mamaaa,
Just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger,
Now he's dead
...
Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
(this one is quite right ;) )
Post by: Jitter on March 31, 2022, 11:22:19 AM
(Eye of the World, Book one of Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, or, possibly, every book of the series)
Post by: thegreyarea on March 31, 2022, 12:14:14 PM
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
(No, we are not related ;) )
Post by: Yastreb on March 31, 2022, 11:45:47 PM
For what seemed like the hundredth time Steven Pope read over his findings, and set his teeth with a frustrated sigh. And then the murders began.
The Enemy
It had no name and no identity, but it had a purpose. And then the murders began.
Lifekiller
The roadhouse was nearly empty. And then the murders began.
The Value of Pie
Alik-Jay eased himself slowly into place and activated his field-glasses to spycam mode. And then the murders began.
White Death
Post by: thegreyarea on April 01, 2022, 12:22:20 PM
Sometimes I get the feelin'
I was back in the old days, long ago
When we were kids when we were young
Things seemed so perfect - you know
And then the murders began
Queen, These Are the Days of Our Lives
I was back in the old days, long ago
When we were kids when we were young
Things seemed so perfect - you know
And then the murders began
Queen, These Are the Days of Our Lives
(Yastreb, I must thank you for all these murders! This thread is so fun!)
Post by: Yastreb on April 01, 2022, 05:43:59 PM
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye,
So priketh hem Natúre in hir corages,
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
And then the murderes beginne
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales
Post by: thegreyarea on April 01, 2022, 06:28:45 PM
Spoiler: show
The Waterboys, The Whole of the Moon (
(I love this song! So much that I fell guilt for murdering it! :) And here's a link to the original) (https://genius.com/The-waterboys-the-whole-of-the-moon-lyrics)
Post by: thegreyarea on April 01, 2022, 06:53:12 PM
Birds and snakes, and aeroplanes
And then the murders began
R.E.M., It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I feel fine) (https://youtu.be/8OyBtMPqpNY)
Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And the murder began
Men at Work, Down Under (https://youtu.be/hfmxO-HQ5rU)
(BTW, Yastreb, that adaptation of the Canterbury Tales is great! )
Post by: thegreyarea on April 01, 2022, 07:00:57 PM
Spoiler: show
Metallica, Nothing Else Matters (https://youtu.be/bqJw34CIsx0)
(Another murdered song... I blame Yastreb :) )
Post by: Buteo on April 01, 2022, 09:08:47 PM
--Memoirs Of A Small-Town Surgeon, John Brooks Wheeler (1935)
Post by: Lee M on April 03, 2022, 12:31:45 AM
Dava Sobel, Longitude
PS I thoroughly recommend the miniseries based on this book.
Post by: Yastreb on April 03, 2022, 06:16:38 PM
John Baily, The Lost German Slave Girl
"We seal ourselves forthwith into this place of learning. Death is banished forever. I direct that the Tabernacle erase from us all memories of its construction, so that we may never destroy it if we ever crave for death. Here man and the sum of his knowledge will never die, but go forward to perfection."
And then the murders began.
John Boorman and Bill Stair, Zardoz
Post by: thegreyarea on April 05, 2022, 04:44:00 AM
Neil Gaiman, Coraline
Post by: Yastreb on April 05, 2022, 06:05:30 AM
Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
Peter Duck was sitting on a bollard on the north quay of Lowestoft Inner Harbour, smoking his pipe in the midday sunshine and looking down at a little green two-masted schooner that was tied up there while making ready for sea. And then the murders began.
Arthur Ransome, Peter Duck
Post by: Lee M on April 05, 2022, 11:01:02 PM
Post by: Yastreb on April 06, 2022, 02:20:50 AM
On a late winter evening in 1983, while driving through fog along the Maine coast, recollections of old campfires began to drift into the March mist, and I thought of the Abnaki Indians of the Algonquin tribe who dwelt near Bangor a thousand years ago. And then the murders began.
Norman Mailer, Harlot's Ghost
Eighteen years ago, on the night of her eighth birthday, in a seaside cottage on Key West, Chyna had squirmed under her bed to hide from Jim Woltz, her mother's friend. And then the murders began.
Dean Koontz, Intensity
From Phundahl at their western extremity, east to Toonol, the Great Toonolian Marshes stretch across the dying planet for eighteen hundred earth miles like some unclean, venomous, Gargantuan reptile - an oozy marshland through which wind narrow watercourses connecting occasional bodies of open water, little lakes, the largest of which covers but a few acres. And then the murders began.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Synthetic Men of Mars
"Pass the word for Captain Aubrey, pass the word for Captain Aubrey," cried a sequence of voices, at first dim and muffled far aft on the flagship's maindeck, then growing louder and more distinct as the call wafted up to the quarterdeck and so along the gangway to the forecastle, where Captain Aubrey stood by the starboard thirty-two-pounder carronade, contemplating the Emperor of Morocco's purple galley as it lay off Jumper's Bastion with the vast grey and tawny Rock of Gibraltar soaring behind it, while Mr. Blake, once a puny member of his midshipman's berth but now a tall, stout lieutenant almost as massive as his former captain, explained the new carriage he had invented, a carriage that should enable carronades to fire twice as fast, with no fear of oversetting, twice as far, and with perfect accuracy, thus virtually putting an end to war. And then the murders began.
Patrick O'Brien, Master and Commander
Post by: midwestmutt on April 06, 2022, 11:42:53 AM
Eric Maria Remarque, All Quiet On the Western Front
Post by: dmeck7755 on April 06, 2022, 01:08:32 PM
(Airframe - Michael Crichton)
Post by: thegreyarea on April 06, 2022, 06:29:03 PM
Anthony E. Pratt, Cluedo - Classic Detective Game (originally published by Waddingtons in Leeds, United Kingdom in 1949)
(* Mr. Boddy in North America, where the game goes by "Clue")
(Actually it's just one murder**, but repeated over and over again. Dr. Black must feel trapped in a groundhog day-style tale)
(unless players decide to "re-enact" the events after someone cheats... :) )
Post by: wavewright62 on April 08, 2022, 04:39:22 AM
--Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men
Post by: Yastreb on April 11, 2022, 06:52:34 AM
He awoke with his face in gently running water.
Something was tearing at his ear, lifting his face clear of the bitterly cold water, but the pain was lost in a red haze of agony that engulfed every part of him. He slowly rolled over onto his back, biting back the screams that the pain was demanding.
And then the murders began.
Earthfire
Barely had they crossed the Granitsa River into Caillor than Yastreb felt the subtle change in the magic around him, and as they moved slowly along the track deeper into the forest beyond the river, the more certain he became. Gevarna, Rashka, and Caillor; three realms, and each one had magic all its own.
And then the murders began.
Stormblade
Looking at the red sands of the Rift, Yastreb reflected on the lands he had passed through since he had left Gevarna.
The further I go, the less welcoming.
The Fearnight, the Stonelands, and now here...
And then the murders began.
Dragonfall
Post by: moredhel on April 11, 2022, 06:34:41 PM
Eric Carle the very hungry catterpillar (but with the second sentence it could be the alien films too)
Post by: thegreyarea on April 11, 2022, 06:47:00 PM
Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood's End.
(This book's recent adaptation for TV is proof, once again, that having a nice budget and a decent cast (Charles Dance is great at any role) is not enough to do justice to the source material)
Post by: thegreyarea on April 11, 2022, 07:13:38 PM
Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
(IMHO this is a masterpiece. Here's a review on The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/aug/30/books-to-give-you-hope-the-book-of-disquiet-by-fernando-pessoa), and since the book is already on Public Domain, it's possible to find it online for free without breaking any law. Here's one working link (https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-book-of-disquiet-e195181162.html) that didn't try to sell me anything :) )
Post by: dmeck7755 on April 12, 2022, 07:54:44 AM
And then the murders began.
(The Eldric Saga -Forward by Neil Gaiman)
It is the color of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair which flows below his shoulders in milk-white...And then the murders began.
(Michael Moorcock - Elric of Melniboné)
Post by: Yastreb on April 13, 2022, 05:41:26 AM
Emma Shortis, Our Exceptional Friend
Choking, dense, impenetrable, the black smoke lay pall-like over the dying city. And then the murders began.
Alistair Maclean, South By Java Head
Post by: thegreyarea on April 13, 2022, 06:47:22 AM
And then the murders began.
SSSS Forum, Forum Rules: General
(Of course a warning is just the first step, next comes the murders part! ;) )
Post by: Yastreb on April 15, 2022, 08:38:05 AM
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure Of Silver Blaze
There was a large audience assembled on the 14th of January, 1862, at the session of the Royal Geographical Society, No. 3 Waterloo Place, London. The president, Sir Francis M——, made an important communication to his colleagues, in an address that was frequently interrupted by applause. And then the murders began.
Jules Verne, Five Weeks In A Balloon
Post by: thegreyarea on April 20, 2022, 07:35:30 PM
Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
"Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist - I really believe he is Antichrist - I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend, no longer my 'faithful slave,' as you call yourself! But how do you do? I see I have frightened you - sit down and tell me all the news."
It was in July, 1805, and the speaker was the well-known Anna Pavlovna Scherer, maid of honor and favorite of the Empress Marya Fedorovna. With these words she greeted Prince Vasili Kuragin, a man of high rank and importance, who was the first to arrive at her reception. And then the murders began.
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
(I know, I know, this one is a bit longer than "the first sentence"...)
Post by: Yastreb on April 20, 2022, 10:25:03 PM
Charles Grant, Battle! Practical Wargaming
Flynn Patrick O'Flynn was as ivory poacher by profession, and modestly he admitted that he was the best on the east coast of Africa. And then the murders began.
Wilbur Smith, Shout At The Devil
Post by: dmeck7755 on April 21, 2022, 07:46:14 AM
Well it is War and Peace!! (longish is a prerequisite.)
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
(I know, I know, this one is a bit longer than "the first sentence"...)
Post by: Yastreb on April 21, 2022, 08:12:39 PM
Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym
What Macy hated about the man was the fact that he squeaked. Macy didn't know if it was the shoes, but he suspected the clothes. And then the murders began.
Alfred Bester, Of Time And Third Avenue
Post by: naclenix on April 23, 2022, 08:26:29 PM
-The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
It does not work very well, but there are some murders! Ha ha ha... *sobbing*
Post by: thegreyarea on April 25, 2022, 08:36:51 PM
Jacob ignored the tiny whirrings of motors and valves in his metal cocoon. He lay still. The water lapped gently against the bulbous nose of his mechanical whale, as he waited for an answer. And then the murders began.
David Brin, Sundiver
Fins had been making wisecracks about human beings for thousands of years. They had always found men terribly funny. The fact that humanity had meddled with their genes and taught them engineering hadn't done much to change their attitude. And then the murders began.
David Brin, Startide Rising
There had never been such traffic at Port Helenia's sleepy landing field-not in all the years Fiben Bolger had lived here. And then the murders began.
David Brin, The Uplift War
(the first three books from Brin's Uplift (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uplift_Universe) series. What a great ride! Read it if you have the chance. It sometimes starts slowly, and sometimes demands a lot from the reader (wrap the mind around so many species, technologies, politics, plotlines...) but it's full of wonders too. And murders! ;) )
(and welcome, @naclenix ! Great choice with Le Guin's masterpiece)
Post by: Róisín on April 25, 2022, 11:28:28 PM
‘Abbot Radulfus came to chapter, on this first day of December, with a preoccupied and frowning face, and made short work of the various trivialities brought up by his obedientiaries.’ And then the murders began……
The Raven in the Foregate, a Brother Cadfael mystery by Ellis Peters. Excellent detective procedurals set in a Mediæval monastery, the detective being the monastery herbalist who is an ex-crusader. Ellis Peters is the nom de plume of a real historian, Edith Pargeter, and they are good stories.
Post by: RanVor on April 26, 2022, 01:39:49 AM
William Gibson, Neuromancer
Post by: Yastreb on April 26, 2022, 02:21:05 AM
The sun was setting. A last crimson glory filled the land and lay like a crown of blood on the snow sprinkled peaks. And then the murders began.
Exile of Atlantis
The blare of the trumpets grew louder, like the soft booming of the evening tides against the silver beaches of Valusia. And then the murders began.
The Shadow Kingdom
Post by: JoB on April 26, 2022, 03:52:44 AM
"Juniper Networks hardware and software products are Year 2000 compliant. Junos OS has no known time-related limitations through the year 2038. However, the NTP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Time_Protocol#Timestamps) application is known to have some difficulty in the year 2036; then, the murders begin."
-- Junos® OS Chassis Cluster User Guide for SRX Series Devices (https://www.juniper.net/documentation/us/en/software/junos/chassis-cluster-security-devices/chassis-cluster-security-devices.pdf#ID_TOC_00-0F-EA-40-0D-4D), published 2022(!)-03-15
Post by: Yastreb on April 27, 2022, 05:20:19 AM
There comes, even to kings, the time of great weariness. Then the told of the throne is brass, the silk of the palace becomes drab. And then the murders begin.
The Mirrors Of Tizun Thane
King Kull went with Tu, chief councillor of the throne, to see the talking cat of Delcardes, for though a cat may look at a king, it is not given every king to look at a cat like Delcardes'. And then the murders began.
The Cat And The Skull.
Post by: dmeck7755 on April 27, 2022, 07:55:14 AM
(Stranger in a Strange Land--Robert A Heinlein)
(Once of the first Sci-Fi's I ever read)
Spoiler: show
Post by: Róisín on April 27, 2022, 08:03:00 AM
Post by: Yastreb on April 27, 2022, 09:28:35 AM
Tain Bo Cuailnge
It was August 25th, 1939. An oppressively hot day was drawing to a close. And then the murders began.
Cajus Bekker, The Luftwaffe War Diaries
Post by: Róisín on April 27, 2022, 12:15:55 PM
Post by: Lee M on April 28, 2022, 11:42:58 PM
--Mark S. Geston, Lords of the Starship.
(A fairly accurate assessment, given the complex Machiavellian scheme that leads to the novel's climactic apocalyptageddon.)
NB Preface omitted; above text from first edition, slightly abridged in reprints.
Post by: Yastreb on May 02, 2022, 05:34:07 AM
Richard Guilliatt and Peter Hohnen, The Wolf
"This place stinks!" my scaly mentor snarled, glaring out of the window at the rain. And then the murders began.
Robert Asprin, Myth Directions.
Post by: thegreyarea on May 02, 2022, 07:42:53 PM
It was the watershed of historical time, the night that divided all that followed from everything that went before, but before it was any of that, it was only his birthday. And then the murders began.
Robert Charles Wilson, Darwinia: A Novel of a Very Different Twentieth Century.
(this is a great book. I'd go straigth to reread it if there weren't so many others in my TBR list...)
You know more than you think you do. Your family is growing and changing. You want to be the best parent you can be, but it’s not always clear what’s best. Everywhere you turn there are experts telling you what to do. The problem is, they often don’t agree with each other. And then the
Dr. Benjamin Spock, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child
(never read it. But lots of people don't read owner's manuals anyway :D )
(And the underline in the beginning is really there in the book)
Post by: thegreyarea on May 04, 2022, 07:11:55 PM
And then the murders began.
Frank Miller, Batman: Year One
I've got the home stretch all to myself when the readings stop making sense. I switch to manual... but the computer crosses its own circuits and refuses to let go. I coax it.
And then the murders began.
Frank Miller, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
"Are you sure we should be so far from the castle, Lord Ozaki? It's not safe..."
And then the murders began.
Frank Miller, Ronin
Three amazing graphic novels by Frank Miller. :headbang:
Ronin (1987), my first contat with his work* changed the way I saw comics. The seventeen years old me found, with great surprise and joy, that the "comic" format could reach much further than the usual DC/Marvel productions that were prevalent in Brazil and some europeans like Goscinny and Uderzo (Asterix), Goscinny and Morris (Lucky Luke), Hergé (Tin Tin) or Jacobs (Blake and Mortimer)** that I knew from my trips to Portugal. The most "artistic" graphic novels I was aware back then was Christin and Mézières' Valerian. (which is good, but obviously I also didn't know about Enki Bilal's fascinating work...)
* Living in Brazil didn't help, and the lack of that thing called Internet (as we know it) neither...
** I still love all those, of course. Few things made me laugh so much as Asterix...
Post by: Yastreb on May 04, 2022, 11:39:56 PM
Identical.
And then the murders began.
Dick Francis, Bonecrack
"Cripes!" said Sergeant Templeton, stumbling over his mess-tin as he stepped back for a better view, "cripes, they can't be real! They're only dummies!" And then the murders began.
W. B. Thomas, Dare To Be Free
Post by: Yastreb on May 09, 2022, 08:10:15 AM
"Would you care for a brandy, Mr Cuthbertson? Or a cigar?" Patrick asked his guest.
And then the murders began.
Constantine Fitz Gibbon, When The Kissing Had To Stop
Suleiman's titles resounded through the high council chamber like a roll of drums: “Sultan of the Ottomans, Allah's deputy on earth, Lord of the Lords of this world, Possessor of men's necks, King of believers and unbelievers, King of Kings, Emperor of the East and the West, Majestic Caesar, Emperor of the Chakans of great authority, Prince and Lord of the most happy constellation, Seal of victory, Refuge of all the people in the whole entire world, the Shadow of the Almighty dispensing quiet on the Earth.” And then the murders began.
Ernle Bradford, The Great Siege
Post by: thegreyarea on May 09, 2022, 08:48:54 AM
Iain M. Banks, The Algebraist
The waiter was, in fact, waiting...;D
Suleiman's titles resounded through the high council chamber like a roll of drums: ... Seal of victory...Let's all hail the Seal of Victory! :D
Spoiler: show
(and what a great set of titles! Daenerys Targaryen would be jelous...)
Post by: dmeck7755 on May 10, 2022, 02:45:55 PM
(Sandkings by George R.R. Martin. NOT a GOT story; pretty mentally creepy in some ways )
Post by: Yastreb on May 13, 2022, 05:59:38 AM
Robert Ludlum, The Matlock Paper
He was never late. Each evening when the German arrived with his old Mauser, his frayed leather binocular case and his dinner pail, the inhabitants of the village of May-et-Multien knew it was six o'clock. And then the murders began.
Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre, Is Paris Burning?
Post by: thegreyarea on May 19, 2022, 06:42:43 PM
Cixin Liu, The Three-Body Problem.
(Everyone seems to think wonders of this one... Already on the shelf, waiting for its turn... Poor book has a long wait ahead :) )
"What’s two plus two?”
Something about the question irritates me. I’m tired. I drift back to sleep.
A few minutes pass, then I hear it again.
“What’s two plus two?”
And then the murders began.
Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary
(this is the one I'm presently reading, and after the first quarter I can already say that's pretty good! ^-^ )
Post by: Yastreb on May 21, 2022, 01:57:46 AM
Shelford Bidwell, Swords For Hire
Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic.
And then the murders began.
Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Post by: thegreyarea on May 23, 2022, 07:28:52 PM
Ted Chiang, Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom (on Exhalation)
Post by: Yastreb on May 24, 2022, 12:15:03 AM
Ben Macintyre, The Napoleon Of Crime
Wolfwind emerged from the pre-dawn sea mist like a wraith slowly taking physical form. And then the murders began.
John Flanagan, Brotherband: The Outcasts
Post by: Lazerbird on May 31, 2022, 07:29:27 PM
- Ken Kaufman, The Kingbird Highway
to be fair, what are you expecting hitchhiking in the 60s ?
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. And then the murders began.
- A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
They were abandoning him. The wounded man knew it when he looked at the boy, who looked down, then away, unwilling to hold his gaze. And then the murders began.
- The Revenant, Michael Punke
Post by: Lazerbird on May 31, 2022, 07:53:13 PM
One night, when the royal bed had been prepared for Ailill and Mebd in Cruachan Fort in Connacht, they engaged in pillow talk. And then the murders began.
Tain Bo Cuailnge
is that the tain ?
Post by: Róisín on May 31, 2022, 09:51:01 PM
Post by: Yastreb on June 01, 2022, 12:41:06 AM
Ann Huxley, Four Against The Bank Of England.
Upon my return to the United States a few months ago, after the extraordinary series of adventure in the South Seas and elsewhere, of which an account is given in the following pages, accident threw me into the society of several gentlemen in Richmond, Va., who felt deep interest in all matters relating to the regions I had visited, and who were constantly urging it upon me, as a duty, to give my narrative to the public. And then the murders began.
Edgar Allen Poe, The Narrative Of Gordon Arthur Pym
Post by: Lazerbird on June 01, 2022, 01:10:16 PM
Surely sounds like it! I love the Tain, it is one of the traditional folktales I tell. Nowadays I rarely get the chance to tell it in its entirety (the whole thing is three winter nights long), but I often tell excerpts at the Mediæval Fairs. I’m just delighted that several people here are familiar with the story..
how did you get that job ? I didn't know that people still passed on stories like that orally
Post by: Jitter on June 01, 2022, 01:15:16 PM
Post by: RanVor on June 01, 2022, 02:00:34 PM
.By being an incredible person, I imagine.
how did you get that job ? I didn't know that people still passed on stories like that orally
Post by: Yastreb on June 01, 2022, 07:29:51 PM
By being an incredible person, I imagine.
Let me be the first to second that remark!
Post by: Yastreb on June 01, 2022, 08:24:34 PM
Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
London, in England, the capital city of the British Empire, is situated upon the banks of the Thames. It is not likely that these facts were unfamiliar to James Abbott McNeill Whistler, a Scottish gentleman born in America and resident in Paris but it is certain that he did not appreciate them. For he settled quietly down to discover a fact which no one had previously observed; namely, that it was very beautiful at night. The man was steeped in Highland fantasy, and he revealed London as Wrapt in a soft haze of mystic beauty, a fairy tale of delicacy and wistfulness. And then the murders began.
Aleister Crowley, Moonchild
Post by: Róisín on June 01, 2022, 10:04:32 PM
Post by: Yastreb on June 03, 2022, 12:41:26 AM
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime And Punishment
It was four o’clock when the ceremony was over and the carriages began to arrive. There had been a crowd following all the way, owing to the exuberance of Marija Berczynskas. The occasion rested heavily upon Marija’s broad shoulders; it was her task to see that all things went in due form, and after the best home traditions; and, flying wildly hither and thither, bowling every one out of the way, and scolding and exhorting all day with her tremendous voice, Marija was too eager to see that others conformed to the proprieties to consider them herself. And then the murders began.
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
Post by: Yastreb on June 05, 2022, 09:53:08 PM
Kenneth Cook, Wake In Fright
Jose Antonio Rey Maria had no intention of making history when he rowed out into the Atlantic from the coast of Andalucia in southwest Spain on 30 April 1943. He was merely looking for sardines. And then the murders began.
Ben MacIntyre, Operation Mincemeat
Post by: Róisín on June 05, 2022, 11:44:21 PM
Post by: dmeck7755 on June 10, 2022, 12:27:15 PM
(Ailo Gaup - In Search of the Drum)
I had been looking for this book a while and finally found one that was not EXPENSIVE, and written in English.
I think the murder part would sound better if
Jon HAD BEEN driving all day. It was now evening. He was tired and on his way toward a mountain pass. A series of dreams about a drum was the reason for this journey ... And then the murders began.
Post by: Yastreb on June 12, 2022, 05:49:57 PM
Albert Camus, L'Étranger (The Outsider)
As the sun sank lower in the western sky, there was the first hint of smoke in the air, carried on a breeze so faint it barely stirred the dust. And then the murders began.
Neil Hanson, The Dreadful Judgement
Post by: thegreyarea on June 12, 2022, 09:19:15 PM
Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Time
(this one looks promising... :) )
The island in the middle of the frozen lake, the home of the great Polish duke, was lit by cold moonlight. And then the murders began.
The Widow Queen, Elżbieta Cherezińska
(And this one too!)
BTW...
Spoiler: show
Post by: RanVor on June 13, 2022, 10:18:37 AM
Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House
(I know this is more than one sentence, but this entire paragraph is just SO GOOD!)
Post by: Yastreb on June 15, 2022, 11:11:34 PM
Carrie Vaughan, Kitty And The Midnight Hour
Beige, sandy mountains surrounded the ground, which appeared to be worlds away from civilisation, although we were only kilometres from Baluchistan's capital, Quetta. A large crowd had arrived and most gathered on the hillside, offering as it did a perfect view of the pitch, which was rough, stony and grassless; hardly a typical match venue. And then the murders began.
Emma Levine, A Game Of Polo With A Headless Goat
Post by: thegreyarea on June 16, 2022, 03:31:59 PM
And then the murders began.
Thomas S. Kane, The Oxford Guide to Writing
MADRID IS FULL OF BOYS NAMED PACO, which is the diminutive of the name Francisco, and there is a Madrid joke about a father who came to Madrid and inserted an advertisement in the personal columns of El Liberal which said: PACO MEET ME AT HOTEL MONTANA NOON TUESDAY ALL IS FORGIVEN PAPA and how a squadron of Guardia Civil had to be called out to disperse the eight hundred young men who answered the advertisement. And then the murders began.
Ernest Hemingway, The Capital of The World
Post by: Yastreb on June 17, 2022, 08:39:02 AM
Frederick Forsyth, The Day Of The Jackal
There were no stars that night on the bush airstrip, nor any moon; just the West African darkness wrapping around the scattered groups like wet velvet. And then the murders began.
Frederick Forsyth, The Dogs Of War
Post by: dmeck7755 on June 17, 2022, 09:01:26 AM
(The Wizard of OZ - L Frank Baum)
A mile above Oz, the witch balanced on the wind's forward edge, as if she was a green fleck of the land itself, flung up and sent wheeling away in the turbulent air..and then the murders began
(Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire)
Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on June 19, 2022, 12:40:11 AM
John A. Keel, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse
Now we had been five days in the boats, and in all this time made no discovering of land. Then upon the morning of the sixth day came there a cry from the bosun, who had the command of the lifeboat, that there was something which might be land afar upon our larboard bow; but it was very low lying, and none could tell whether it was land or but a morning cloud. Yet, because there was the beginning of hope within our hearts, we pulled wearily towards it, and thus, in about an hour, discovered it to be indeed the coast of some flat country. And then the murders began.
William Hope Hodgson, The Boats Of The Glen Carrig
Post by: Róisín on June 19, 2022, 04:22:39 AM
Post by: Yastreb on June 19, 2022, 08:35:01 AM
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The New Catacomb
It is hard luck on a young fellow to have expensive tastes, great expectations, aristocratic connections, but no actual money in his pocket, and no profession by which to earn any. The fact was that my father, a good, sanguine, easy-going man, had such confidence in the wealth and benevolence of his bachelor elder brother, Lord Southerton, that he took it for granted that I, his only son, would never be called upon to earn a living. And then the murders began.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Brazilian Cat
Post by: thegreyarea on June 19, 2022, 09:36:08 PM
Ernest Hemingway, The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The strange thing was, he said, how they screamed every night at midnight. I do not know why they screamed at that time. We were in the harbor and they were all on the pier and at midnight they started screaming. We used to turn the searchlight on them to quiet them. That always did the trick. And then the murders began.
Ernest Hemingway, On the Quai at Smyrna
(Hemingway's short stories work really well for this, don't you agree?)
(and Róisín, I remember something like that, and how that showed Hitchcok's genious!)
Post by: Yastreb on June 22, 2022, 01:44:53 AM
Robert E. Howard, She Devil
I was born in 1946. The Goons first appeared on the radio when I had just turned five. And then the murders began.
Humphrey Carpenter, Spike Milligan: The Biography
Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on July 29, 2022, 07:27:55 AM
George Orwell, Animal Farm
THE rue du Coq d'Or, Paris, seven in the morning. A succession of furious, choking yells from the street. Madame Monce, who kept the little hotel opposite mine, had come out on to the pavement to address a lodger on the third floor. Her bare feet were stuck into sabots and her grey hair was streaming down. And then the murders began.
George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London
Post by: thegreyarea on August 08, 2022, 06:32:31 PM
Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere
(Seriously, no lack of murders on this one...)
His name was Gaal Dornick and he was just a country boy who had never seen Trantor before. That is, not in real life. He had seen it many times on the hyper-video, and occasionally in tremendous three-dimensional newscasts covering an Imperial Coronation or the opening of a Galactic Council. Even though he had lived all his life on the world of Synnax, which circled a star at the edges of the Blue Drift, he was not cut off from civilization, you see. At that time, no place in the Galaxy was. And then the murders began.
Isaac Asimov. Foundation
(did I use this one already? Sorry if I did, but it's almost midnight and I'm to lazy to go back and hunt for my own posts :) )
(BTW, nice choices, Yastreb!)
Post by: Jitter on August 08, 2022, 06:34:09 PM
https://lithub.com/first-lines-of-classic-novels-if-no-one-had-childcare/?fbclid=IwAR2AZ2_UusxkmPa6yN2s3kuM1DEbOpJfnUj7f4qsTIQfFPTA7kqycBcwY9Y&fs=e&s=cl
Post by: thegreyarea on August 10, 2022, 08:30:09 AM
Sorry to interrupt your murder spree, butThanks! It's very funny. :D (perhaps even inspiring...)
https://lithub.com/first-lines-of-classic-novels-if-no-one-had-childcare/?fbclid=IwAR2AZ2_UusxkmPa6yN2s3kuM1DEbOpJfnUj7f4qsTIQfFPTA7kqycBcwY9Y&fs=e&s=cl
Meanwhile, back to our murder spree...
The Galactic Empire Was Falling.
It was a colossal Empire, stretching across millions of worlds from arm-end to armend of the mighty multi-spiral that was the Milky Way.
Its fall was colossal, too – and a long one, for it had a long way to go.
And then the murders began.
Isaac Asimov. Foundation and Empire
The First Galactic Empire had endured for tens of thousands of years.
It had included all the planets of the Galaxy in a centralized rule, sometimes tyrannical, sometimes benevolent, always orderly.
Human beings had forgotten that any other form of existence could be.
And then the murders began.
Isaac Asimov. Second Foundation
(and here we complete the original trilogy. Both quotes are from the respective prologues - and not from the beginning of the first chapter, as usual - because I think they sound really good, and ominous, that way...)
Post by: Lazerbird on August 12, 2022, 06:06:34 PM
The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon
Later in the same fields he stood at night when eels moved through the grass like hatched fears. And then the murders began.
The Book of Eels - Patrick Svensson
because is there anything more terrifying than a horde of murderous terrestrial eels ?
Post by: Róisín on August 13, 2022, 05:58:34 AM
And then the murders began, starting with the stabbing of an old beggar woman outside a church, and becoming steadily stranger - murders less of bodies than of reputations, careers, origins and social institutions. A most puzzling puzzle story!
Post by: Yastreb on August 14, 2022, 03:27:34 AM
M. A. R. Barker, The Man Of Gold
The Honorable J. Hardy Wells, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Morale, scanned the covering memorandum clipped to the top of a ten-page report on his desk, frowned slightly, and sat back in his chair to study the report itself. And then the murders began.
Victor J. Fox, The Pentagon Case
Post by: midwestmutt on August 31, 2022, 10:12:38 PM
Post by: Yastreb on October 02, 2022, 02:04:03 AM
James Moloney, Master Of The Books
I was the first child born to a hunted people, in the first winter of their flight. And then the murders began.
Sherryl Jordan, Time Of The Eagle
Post by: thegreyarea on October 10, 2022, 07:21:21 PM
Desiring therefore to present myself to your Magnificence with some testimony of my devotion towards you, I have not found among my possessions anything which I hold more dear than, or value so much as, the knowledge of the actions of great men, acquired by long experience in contemporary affairs, and a continual study of antiquity; which, having reflected upon it with great and prolonged diligence, I now send, digested into a little volume, to your Magnificence.
And then the murders began.
Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince
Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on October 11, 2022, 08:47:24 PM
Scott Westerfield, Touching Darkness
Three score years ago - it seems just a week or so back - I set out to see the world. And then the murders began.
Ion Idriess, The Silver City
Post by: thegreyarea on October 20, 2022, 06:49:15 PM
Alberto Manguel, Reading Pictures
The potato must be one of the World's most consumed vegetables, particularly when prepared in the most familiar way, as French fries. And then the murders began.
Nicola Hill, The Potato Cookbook
Post by: Yastreb on October 21, 2022, 01:09:41 AM
Ian Rankin, Set In Darkness
The temperature was forty below and dropping. The sun had already set for the winter. And then the murders began.
Juris Jurjevics, The Trudeau Vector
Post by: thegreyarea on November 11, 2022, 08:43:31 PM
This almost 7-foot-high canvas was produced shortly after the death of the Hollywood screen star and sex symbol. It was not commissioned and obviously Monroe never sat for it, an activity that we generally associate with portraiture.
Instead, Warhol worked from a press photograph, a still from the 1953 movie Niagara, which he cropped to his liking and then transferred onto canvas using silkscreen.
This process involves mechanically transferring the photograph onto a mesh screen, or in this case several screens, one for each color, and pressing printing ink through them onto canvas. Warhol then surrounded Marilyn s head with a field of broadly brushed gold paint. And then the murders began.
H.W. Janson, Janson's History of Art - The Western Tradition
For the greater part of its course the river Drina flows through narrow gorges between steep mountains or through deep ravines with precipitous banks. And then the murders began.
Ivo Andrić, The Bridge on the Drina
Post by: dmeck7755 on November 11, 2022, 10:23:27 PM
sounds of silence -- Simon and Garfunkle
Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on November 12, 2022, 03:30:25 AM
The walls of the underground room took the crash of sound and batted it to and fro until there was silence.
And then the murders began.
Ian Fleming, Moonraker
Thongor of Valkarth ducked as the heavy wine-goblet hurled harmlessly over his head, ringing against the wall and splattering cold wine over his face and naked chest. He blinked the cold, stinging fluid from his eyes expressionlessly. And then the murders began.
Lin Carter, The Wizard of Lemuria
Post by: angsttronaut on November 12, 2022, 06:45:28 AM
He came into the world in the middle of the thicket, in one of those little, hidden forest glades which seem to be entirely open, but are really screened in on all sides. There was very little room in it, scarcely enough for him and his mother.
He stood there, swaying unsteadily on his thin legs and staring vaguely in front of him with clouded eyes which saw nothing. And then the murders began. -Bambi by Felix Salten
When the Moon rose in the Third Northern hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule to witness the joining of the three Tides, and then the murders began. - Pirasnesi by Susanna Clark
Post by: thegreyarea on November 14, 2022, 11:14:53 AM
A Night at the Tarn House, George R.R.Martin (in: Songs of the Dying Earth - Stories in Honor of Jack Vance)
There are flea-markets all across Florida, and this was not the worst of them. It had once been an aircraft hangar, but the local airport had closed. And then the murders began.
An Invocation of Incuriosity, Neil Gaiman (in: Songs of the Dying Earth - Stories in Honor of Jack Vance)
BTW, so many interesting stories, angsttronaut, Yastreb and dmeck! Bambi! ;D And, of course, Sounds of Silence... O_O Excellent!
Post by: Yastreb on November 14, 2022, 07:14:17 PM
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding – riding – riding –
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.
And then the murders began.
Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door –
Only this, and nothing more."
And then the murders began.
Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven
Post by: thegreyarea on November 14, 2022, 07:57:49 PM
as if calling for me. como quem chama por mim.
Is it rain? Is it people? Será chuva? Será gente?
People not, for sure Gente não é, certamente
and rain doesn't knock like this. e a chuva não bate assim.
And then the murders began. E então começaram os assassinatos.
Snow Ballad (Balada da Neve), Augusto Gil (my translation)
Yastreb, Poe's The Raven instantly reminded me this one, from a portugues poet (1873-1929).
While Gil's poem starts in this chilling way, it's not, at all, about any supernatural or frightening event but rather about the harsh winter and how it weights over the poor people (he lived at Guarda, one of the few cities in Portugal where snow is - or was - usual on winter).
Post by: Yastreb on November 15, 2022, 06:57:10 AM
Ian Fleming, Thunderball
It was one of those Septembers when it seemed that the summer would never end. And then the murders began.
Ian Fleming, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The geisha called 'Trembling Leaf', on her knees beside James Bond, leaned forward from the waist and kissed him chastely on the right cheek. And then the murders began.
Ian Fleming, You Only Live Twice
Post by: Yastreb on January 01, 2023, 10:42:44 PM
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
And then the murders began.
Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Charge Of The Light Brigade
When he found her in the snowbank, he was sure she must be dead. And then the murders began.
Alice Borchardt, The Wolf King
Post by: Yastreb on January 26, 2023, 05:35:33 PM
Robert Ludlum, The Bancroft Strategy
Rayner and the child came up on the fore well-deck just after seven. And then the murders began.
Gwyn Griffin, An Operational Necessity
Post by: thegreyarea on January 30, 2023, 07:34:07 PM
Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
It was midnight in Ankh-Morpork's Royal Art Museum.
It occurred to new employee Rudolph Scattering about once every minute that on the
whole it might have been a good idea to tell the Curator about his nyctophobia, his fear
of strange noises and, he now knew, his fear of absolutely every thing he could see (and,
come to that, not see), hear, smell and feel crawling up his back during the endless hours
on guard during the night. It was no use telling himself that everything in here was dead.
That didn't help at all. It meant that he stood out.
And then
Unseen Academicals, Terry Pratchett
Spoiler: show
Post by: midwestmutt on February 10, 2023, 11:31:35 AM
Post by: Yastreb on February 11, 2023, 09:15:13 AM
F. Marion Crawford, The Upper Berth
He lay flat on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin on his folded arms, and high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the pine trees. The mountainside sloped gently where he lay; but below it was steep and he could see the dark of the oiled road winding through the pass. There was a stream alongside the road and far down the pass he saw a mill beside the stream and the falling water of the dam, white in the summer sunlight. And then the murders began.
Ernest Hemingway, For Whom The Bell Tolls
Post by: thegreyarea on February 23, 2023, 08:07:33 AM
CHANTEMERLE: A ROMANCE OF THE VENDEAN WAR, D. K. Broster AND G. W. Taylor
"'Ho, ho, vacation days are here,
We welcome them with right good cheer;
In wisdom's halls we love to be,
But yet 'tis pleasant to be free,'"
warbled Tabitha Catt, pausing on the doorstep of her little desert home as she vigorously shook a dingy dusting cloth, and hungrily sniffed the fresh, sweet morning air, for, although the first week of June was already gone, the fierce heat of the summer had not yet descended upon Silver Bow, nestling in its cup-like hollow among the Nevada mountains.
And then the murders began.
TABITHA'S VACATION, Ruth Alberta Brown
Note: I don't know about you, dear friends, but in both cases above I see the addition of "And then the murders began" as something that makes those books* look much more compelling ;)
* both, Chantemerle (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70103) and Tabitha's Vacation (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20332), are available at Project Gutenberg, BTW
Post by: Yastreb on February 25, 2023, 02:17:02 AM
Leonard Cottrell, The Bull of Minos
Corporal Binns, lying on his stomach in a shallow of the ground, counted the dive-bombers as they came across the skyline. And then the murders began.
Elleston Trevor, The Big Pick-Up
Post by: midwestmutt on March 01, 2023, 12:31:37 PM
Post by: Yastreb on March 10, 2023, 07:55:18 AM
Fran Bryson, In Brazil
It was ten past three in the morning, and Kevin Lewis looked like he was about to pass out. And then the murders began.
Ben Mezrich, Bringing Down The House
Post by: thegreyarea on March 10, 2023, 10:45:31 AM
Arthur C Clarke, The Ghost From The Grand Banks
(One of the least known works from Clarke. As usual lots of fascinating ideas but IMHO would benefit from more character development and/or murders...)
Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer of his. And then the murders began.
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
(BTW a great book, though somehow adding a few murders would undoubtedly make it even more interesting...)
Post by: Yastreb on March 10, 2023, 05:50:19 PM
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
And then the murders began
Simon and Garfunkel, The Sound Of Silence
I went to a garden party
To reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories
Play our songs again
When I got to the garden party
They all knew my name
No one recognized me
I didn't look the same
And then the murders began
Ricky Nelson, Garden Party
Post by: Yastreb on April 07, 2023, 05:36:48 AM
Henri Charriere, Papillon
Osbert fitzRalph held the manor of Bodeham from the Count of Eu. But in the winter of 1095 the Count was in the King's prison, awaiting sentence for his unsuccessful rebellion that summer. And then the murders began.
Alfred Duggan, Knight With Armour
Post by: thegreyarea on April 07, 2023, 07:12:28 AM
"My God, what's happening!" Sammil Mc9 cried, waking up.
The cart he and his companion had hitched a ride on was shaking violently. And then the murders began"
Iain M. Banks, Road of Skulls
(this is part of a collection of shorts called "The State of The Art". Expect more... :) )
Post by: dmeck7755 on April 07, 2023, 10:08:54 AM
(Hugh Howey--Wool)
Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on April 07, 2023, 10:27:05 AM
Brian W. Aldiss, But Who Can Replace A Man?
"All torch pilots! Report to the Commodore!" The call echoed through Earth Satellite Station.
And then the murders began.
Robert A. Heinlein, Sky Lift
Post by: thegreyarea on April 18, 2023, 05:48:19 AM
Iain M Banks, Odd Attachment (in The State of The Art collection of short stories)
Post by: midwestmutt on April 18, 2023, 07:53:13 PM
Post by: Yastreb on April 23, 2023, 04:40:22 AM
Hans Christian Andersen, The Swineherd
On a certain afternoon, in the late springtime, the bell upon Tunstall Moat House was heard ringing at an unaccustomed hour. Far and near, in the forest and in the fields along the river, people began to desert their labours and hurry towards the sound; and in Tunstall hamlet a group of poor countryfolk stood wondering at the summons. And then the murders began.
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Black Arrow
Post by: Yastreb on August 05, 2023, 12:26:04 AM
Ursula Moray Williams, The Moonball
Looking back on this, a night whose repercussions would change Europe's history forever, some claimed to remember nothing more than a distant noise. It had skimmed across the surface of an icy sea, the sound waves amplified by the stillness of the water, their notes hammered taut by the frost of a late winter's night. And then the murders began.
Charles Spencer, The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy, and the Wrecking of Henry I's Dream
Post by: Róisín on August 05, 2023, 02:25:27 AM
‘He was a prince of lust and pride
Who showed no grace ‘til the hour he died.
Lands are swayed by a king on a throne.
God only knows where his soul did wake
But I saw him die for his sister’s sake.
The sea hath no king but God alone.’
A fitting place for the murders to begin.
Post by: JoB on August 05, 2023, 07:10:54 AM
where would I find that book?I forget your exact location, would the half-dozen stores QBD (https://www.qbd.com.au/the-white-ship-conquest-anarchy-and-the-wrecking-of-henry-is-dream/charles-spencer/9780008296841/) has in
If not, there are several (https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-white-ship-charles-spencer/book/9780008296841.html) online shops (https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/the-white-ship-conquest-anarchy-and-the-wrecking-of-henry-is-dream-9780008296841.do) willing to ship the book to you, of course.
Post by: Róisín on August 05, 2023, 07:42:23 AM
Post by: wavewright62 on August 05, 2023, 10:46:55 PM
Becoming - Michelle Obama
Cheated a little and included the first two sentences.
Post by: Yastreb on August 08, 2023, 12:02:37 AM
Bill and I had just finished covering the Presidential conventions. And it was with a sigh of relief that we boarded our flight in Chicago bound for the West Coast. And then the murders began.
Salem Kirban, 666
What he saw seemed like a dream. Could it be true? Or would he suddenly wake up into reality? After struggling through seven long years for survival... against what seemed to be incredible odds... victory seemed impossible. And then the murders began.
Salem Kirban, 1000
Spoiler: show
Post by: Yastreb on January 07, 2024, 04:19:27 AM
Correlli Barnett, The Desert Generals
Cardinal Lomelli left his apartment in the Palace of the Holy Office shortly before two in the morning and hurried through the darkened cloisters of the Vatican towards the bedroom of the Pope. And then the murders began.
Robert Harris, Conclave