First paragraphs in fantasy

I haven't posted here in a while, and honestly, it's because I haven't had much to say but I've had a lot that needed to get done.

But never fear, I will always find something to say eventually.

Today, I was reading my f-list and I came across this post about epic openings from green_knight, where two opening paragraphs from two epic fantasy novels had been posted and compared.

What I found so fascinating was that based on just those two paragraphs, the conclusions and analysis drawn were totally different between the two of us. You can read green_knight's conclusion at the post, but suffice it to say, in that analysis the first paragraph is considered to be superior to the second.

Which is totally different from what I read.

( the paragraphs in question and analysis thereof )