My Top 15 Favorite Author Debuts

I recently read a truly fantastic post on FanFiAddict about authors who absolutely killed it with their debut novels. I had so much fun reading the post that I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and do my own. There are so many amazing authors whose debut books have completely blown me away. As with FanFiAddict’s post, I’ve decided not to add my own thoughts, but instead leave a quote from each spectacular novel. In no particular order, here are my top 15:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Review)

“Sometimes I feel there are doors lurking in the creases of every sentence, with periods for knobs and verbs for hinges.”

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

“Any decent person who knows what warfare is can never go into battle with a whole heart.”

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames (Review)

“A tiger, however fearsome, could be hunted into a corner. It fought alone, so it died alone. But to hunt a wolf was to constantly look over your shoulder, wondering if others were behind you in the dark.”

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

“Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound.”

The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (Review)

“If this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes.”

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

“I am the Reaper and death is my shadow.”

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

“Do you know what it means to be loved by Death?… Do you know what it means to have Death know your name?”

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.”

Feathertide by Beth Cartwright (Review)

“Secretly, the heart navigated you to where it needed you to be.”

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold (Review)

“I like books. They’re quiet, dignified, and absolute. A man might falter but his words, once written, will hold.”

Redwall by Brian Jacques

“Even the strongest and bravest must sometimes weep. It shows they have a great heart, one that can feel compassion for others.“

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

“There was a madness in the scheme of life that men were forced to accept either with resigned fury or blunt indifference.”

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

“Time and I have quarreled. All hours are midnight now. I had a clock and a watch, but I destroyed them both. I could not bear the way they mocked me.”