You've Got Five Pages, Babel by R.F. Kuang, to Tell Me You're Good.

The first chapter can make or break a reader's engagement with a story. We as writers must craft brilliant opening pages in order to hook those picky readers, so let's study the stories of others to see how they do it! Goodness, ANOTHER happy find! I don't know if I've ever had such a run with great books on this podcast. :) Babel by R.F. Kuang not only has a fascinating book cover, but an intriguing premise as well: the world's magic is manipulated through words and silver, and in the early 1800s, England is the master of that magic. The opening is not set in England, though, but in China, where a young boy awaits his death from cholera, the same illness that had already taken his family. A mysterious British professor knows where he lives and magically heals him before taking him to the English Factory. Where this factory actually is I've no idea, as this would take us past five pages, but I can safely say the first five pages do a wonderful job of hooking us as readers. Kuang's use of descriptive language wastes no time ensnaring us with her description of the boy's mother dying of cholera and his acceptance of his fate. On the second page, we're already shown a magic healing; while it doesn't tell us how the boy is healed, it's enough worldbuilding for us to know that some have magic, and others do not. As a writer, I'm also intrigued by the details dropped about the mysterious professor and English woman who helped raise the boy. What is it about this particular child that has drawn distinctively different English people to him, thousands of miles away in China? I don't know, but I'm excited to find out. :) What will you make of these first five pages? Let's find out!