# The Opening Of Your Favorite Author's Undiscovered Novel

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opening-of-your-favorite-authors-undiscovered-novel/793148>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [August 9, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opening-of-your-favorite-authors-undiscovered-novel/793148 "2017-08-09T02:41:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opening-of-your-favorite-authors-undiscovered-novel/793148/1 "2017-08-09T02:41:05Z")

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You lucky dog!

While out for a pleasant summer drive last weekend, you stopped by an estate sale, and on impulse bought a steamer trunk for 99 cents.

Inside, you’re amazed to find amidst the junk, the handwritten (or typewritten) manuscript of a heretofore undiscovered novel by Hemingway. Or Faulkner. Or Jacqueline Susann. Whoever floats your boat.

What’s the opening line or paragraph?

This game is inspired by events in Stephen King’s short story “Ur,” in which the protagonist finds an undiscovered Hemingway novel: _Cortland’s Dogs._

> [@](#):
>
> A man’s life was five dogs long, Cortland believed. The first was the one that taught you. The second was the one you taught. The third and fourth were the ones you worked. The last one was the one that outlived you. That was the winter dog. Cortland’s winter dog had no name. He thought of it as the scarecrow dog.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opening-of-your-favorite-authors-undiscovered-novel/793148/2 "2017-08-09T16:17:29Z")

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Frank and Joe Hardy frantically struggled to keep the minigun aimed at Hitler’s car while trying to clear the jammed round. If they let this opportunity slip by then all of their efforts to build that time machine were wasted.

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**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opening-of-your-favorite-authors-undiscovered-novel/793148/3 "2017-08-09T20:45:22Z")

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Sam found an old journal hidden in Frodo’s attic. According to the title page it was all about Frodo’s ancestor and his adventures with Gandalf. Intrigued Sam sat down and began to read.

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**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-opening-of-your-favorite-authors-undiscovered-novel/793148/4 "2017-08-10T01:03:04Z")

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From Alfred Bester’s _ **Down to Phobos** _: “At thirty thousand feet his shield incandesced, shedding a brutal corsucation of fireworks as the incoming particle beams were blocked; he spun to get his feet beneath him and hit the retros, trying to keep the little green spot centered on the tiny planetoid visible beyond his spaceboots.”