Rip-Off!

This anthology gathers thirteen short stories by speculative-fiction authors, each one built from the opening line of a famous work of literature. The setup is a creative challenge: borrow the first sentence, then make an original story from it, whether closely connected to the source or only loosely inspired by it.

The stories range across science fiction, fantasy, noir, alternate history, dystopia, and horror-adjacent ideas. Across the collection are private eyes, astronauts, wizards, immortal elites, political upheaval, virtual reality, hellish settings, and playful or dark retellings of classic material.

Each story is prefaced by an author introduction explaining the borrowed line and why it was chosen. Readers repeatedly note that the collection is uneven but varied, with several standout pieces, several divisive ones, and a strong emphasis on the pleasure of hearing how each author approached the prompt.