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There’s a quiet contract between a reader and a book’s opening pages. Before the first real chapter begins, before the protagonist has spoken a single line, the prologue decides whether you stay. Most readers have experienced it: that moment when you read the pre-chapter material intending to skim it and find yourself completely, helplessly absorbed.
A great prologue is all about setting the stage, baiting the tease, opening up the mystery, allowing the reader to come in slowly and, once they’re there, hooking them. The ten prologues below did exactly that. Each one earns its place not through spectacle, but through precision: a well-placed threat, a haunting voice, an unanswered question that refuses to let go.
1. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
George R.R. Martin is best known for his surprises, and the prologue to his most famous book doesn’t disappoint on that front. There are ten whole pages dedicated to it, and in that time, Martin introduces a whole bunch of characters who are swiftly killed off. It’s a bold move, and it works precisely because it’s so ruthless.
In A Game of Thrones, the book opens with a small party of Night’s Watch ranging into the wild and wintry wastes beyond the Wall. Most are killed by the mysterious Others, which gives the reader knowledge of the overarching threat facing Westeros while its denizens squabble with each other for power. The severity…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-04-20 11:40:00
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