| Part |
Chapter |
Cliffhanger |
Rest point |
Last Line |
Notes |
|
Prologue |
1 |
|
I’ve seen Steelheart bleed. And I will see him bleed again. |
Prologues can run the risk of providing extraneous infodumps that don’t build momentum. This is an exception. You can’t get a more gripping closing line of a prologue than that. |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
|
It was time to hand the Reckoners my resume |
|
| 1 |
2 |
1 |
|
Curveball reached for his gun |
|
| 1 |
3 |
1 |
|
I took a deep breath, concentrated, and squeezed the trigger, fully expecting to be shot in the head from above. |
|
| 1 |
4 |
1 |
|
Fortuity’s head exploded |
|
| 1 |
5 |
1 |
|
And this deep in the steel catacombs, nobody would notice a scream or a gunshot. |
|
| 1 |
6 |
|
1 |
I had failed. |
Mc’s starting goal (to join the reckoners) is shut down by the reckoners themselves. |
| 1 |
7 |
1 |
|
This was Jon Phaedrus himself. Their leader and founder. |
|
| 1 |
8 |
1 |
|
“We need to talk to Prof,” Megan said, towing me by the arm toward where the others were walking ahead. |
|
| 1 |
9 |
1 |
|
“We give them the thing they’re waiting for. Me.” |
|
| 1 |
10 |
1 |
|
Another Epic eliminated. |
Antagonist defeated, but protagonists still inside conflict |
| 1 |
11 |
|
1 |
I pensively sat down beside the steel table as the others gathered around the pack and began rifling through my life. |
24% point |
| 1 |
12 |
1 |
|
“Persuade her.” |
|
| 1 |
13 |
1 |
|
“God help us, we are.” |
MC accepted into Reckoners. End of part 1 at the 29% point – coninciding with end of act 1 |
| 2 |
14 |
1 |
|
“Go get your gun, then. They’re leaving soon.” |
|
| 2 |
15 |
1 |
|
“Here we are,” Abraham announced. |
|
| 2 |
16 |
1 |
|
“Neightwielder is here.” |
|
| 2 |
17 |
1 |
|
It was time for a little more improvising. |
|
| 2 |
18 |
1 |
|
I turned the UV light and shined it on Nightwielder. |
|
| 2 |
19 |
|
1 |
I shook my head and jogged after them. |
Protagonists have accomplished their goal and are safe for now. F |
| 2 |
20 |
1 |
|
“Yes sir,” I said, leaving with a quick step out the cloth-covered doorway. |
|
| 2 |
21 |
1 |
|
Two uniformed guards stepped up to the ledge and peered down into the darkness. |
|
| 2 |
22 |
|
1 |
In seconds we were racing down the street in the opposite direction of fire trucks and emergency responders, heading for the rendezvous point with the other Reckoners. |
End of the midpoint at 55% – heroes have accomplished another goal (which occurred smack back around the 50% mark) and escaped from immediate danger. End of part 2. |
| 3 |
23 |
1 |
|
On a whim I climbed in and went to see if I could find Megan. |
|
| 3 |
24 |
1 |
|
“The bank vault.” |
|
| 3 |
25 |
1 |
|
“Let’s get to work; this is going to take a while….” |
|
| 3 |
26 |
1 |
|
“It’s time to kill Conflux,” Prof said. “And bring down Enforcement.” |
|
| 3 |
27 |
1 |
|
At that moment Nightweilder himself flew through the top of the limo, his arms spread wide, lines of darkness stretching from his fingers out into the night. |
|
| 3 |
28 |
1 |
|
Then I fired at the wall. |
|
| 3 |
29 |
1 |
|
Right onto the side where the gravatonics were broken. |
|
| 3 |
30 |
|
1 |
I followed him through the tunnel, and we made our escape. |
End of act 2 at 77% mark and end of part 3. Again, heroes have escaped from danger, but this time with big consequences: Megan’s mortally wounded. |
| 4 |
31 |
|
1 |
Then I finally let the tears come in force. |
Megan dies at 78% – lowest of lows; dark night of the soul – marks start of act 3. 2 rest endings in a row allow readers to reflect more deeply on the consequences of Megan’s death. Clever slowing of pacing to allow for more reflectiveness. Can’t always do this – here it works because of its contrast to the other faster-paced chapter endings. |
| 4 |
32 |
1 |
|
And just like that, he all but shut down Newcago. |
|
| 4 |
33 |
1 |
|
But I would finally get my chance. |
|
| 4 |
34 |
1 |
|
“Let’s do this.” |
Final confrontation with Steelheart in the stadium begins. |
| 4 |
35 |
1 |
|
A shot rang in the air. |
|
| 4 |
36 |
1 |
|
Eyes I knew. Megan. |
|
| 4 |
37 |
1 |
|
A second later, the hallway exploded. |
|
| 4 |
38 |
1 |
|
Or in this case, the battlefield. |
|
| 4 |
39 |
1 |
|
I fired three shots. |
|
| 4 |
40 |
1 |
|
I didn’t really have time to smile in that frozen moment, but I was feeling it nonetheless as the fire came for me. |
Steelheart – the main antagonist – has been killed. |
| 4 |
41 |
|
1 |
I turned and ran for the copter. I didn’t know what else to do. |
Sanderson shows the perfect way to structure the first book in a series: accomplish the main goal, vanquish the main antagonist (Steelheart), but leave the problems created by this accomplishment open-ended (Megan’s apparently evil) |
|
Epilogue |
|
1 |
I fought because of his dreams |
|
The Novel Analyst Podcast by Jed Herne 