Favourite Book Dedications & Sizzling Starts

[Farseer]

I am currently teaching my daughter the importance of a "sizzling start" in her writing, so, I thought I'd amend this thread to include favourite starts as well as dedications.

What gets you sucked into a book? Are you won or lost within the first page? Do you have any favourite "sizzling starts"?

I wouldn't say it's my favourite start but an interesting start nonetheless, and something to get you thinking...this one comes from the prologue of the first book of John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series, 'The Ruins of Gorlan' (a brilliant series, but I've told you all that already!):

Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, former Baron of Gorlan in the Kingdom of Araluen, looked out over his bleak, rainswept domain and, for perhaps the thousandth time, cursed.

You never know, we may see some sizzling starts that will make us want to read the whole book!