Steven Erikson quotes - page 2

We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And, indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again." ~Fiddler, pg. 558. (Steven Erikson)
Children are dying." Lull nodded. "That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words. View quote
Steven Erikson
Desires should never be justified,' Tehol said, wagging a finger. 'All you end up doing is illuminating the hidden reasons by virtue of their obvious absence. View quote
Steven Erikson
We are contrary creatures, us humans, but that isn't something we need be afraid of, or even much troubled by. And if you make a list of those people who worship consistency, you'll find they're one and all tyrants or would-be tyrants. Ruling over thousands, or over a husband or a wife, or some cowering child. Never fear contradiction, Cutter, it is the very heart of diversity. View quote
Steven Erikson
"What war is this?" "A pointless one." "They are all pointless Denier. Subjugation and defeat breed resentment and hatred, and such things cannot be bribed away." "Unless the spirit of the defeated is crushed," Trull said. View quote
Steven Erikson
From the sun-drenched south slopes of Gris, where grow the finest grapes this world has seen. Is mine an informed opinion, you are wondering? Most assuredly so, lass, since I hold a majority interest in said vineyards. View quote
Steven Erikson
Now, it's just occurred to me that we're missing something crucial. Ah, yes, an artist! Bugg, have we a court artist? We need an artist! Find us an artist! Nobody move! View quote
Steven Erikson
Memories belong in the soil, in stone, in wind. They are the land's unseen meaning, such that touches the soul of all who would look - truly look - upon it. Touches, in faintest whisper, old, almost shapeless echoes - to which a mortal life adds its own. View quote
Steven Erikson
Indeed Bugg. is it because, do you think, at the human core, we are naught but liars and cheats?" "Probably." "With no hope of ever overcoming our instinctive nastiness?" "Hard to say. How have we done so far? View quote
Steven Erikson
all these Dark Lords intent on creating wastelands packed with enslaved victims ... for what? View quote
Steven Erikson
This swirl of stars,' Draconus suddenly said, 'marks the plunge of light into darkness. These stars, they are distant suns, shihing their light down upon distant, unknown worlds. Worlds, perhaps, little different from this one. Or vastly different. It hardly matters. Each star swirls its path towards the centre, and at that centre is death - the death of light, the death of time itself. (Steven Erikson)
What do you mean by a tyrant?” "One whose blood was poisoned by the ambition to rule over others. View quote
Steven Erikson
All art is an intensely vulnerable gesture, and it is made with no small amounts of risk, and fear. So, I have plenty of sympathy for self-defense mechanisms, especially among artists. View quote
Steven Erikson
The idea that an author can extricate her or his own ongoing life experience from the tale being written is a conceit of very little worth. View quote
Steven Erikson
Believe it or not, friendships are difficult to write in fiction. They can easily come across as forced, particularly if they involve too much explication and too many overt gestures of affection. View quote
Steven Erikson
Ah, Fist, it's the curse of history that those who should read them, never do. View quote
Steven Erikson
He was not a modest man. Contemplating suicide, he summoned a dragon.' Gothos' Folly. View quote
Steven Erikson
And over it all, the butterflies swarmed, like a million yellow-pettalled flowers dancing on swirling winds. View quote
Steven Erikson
Shake your fist all you want but dead is dead. View quote
Steven Erikson
"A god intervened, Captain Paran. Returned the life to you. You might think it was on your behalf, but I'm afraid there wasn't any altruism involved. Are you following me?” "I'm being used,” Paran stated flatly. She raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't bother you?” Paran shrugged and turned away. "It's nothing new,” he muttered. View quote
Steven Erikson
Sometimes, mortals did indeed forget. Sometimes, mortals needed ... reminding. (Steven Erikson)
Ambition is not a dirty word. Piss on compromise. Go for the throat. View quote
Steven Erikson
Show me a god that does not demand mortal suffering. Show me a god that celebrates diversity, a celebration that embraces even non-believers, and is not threatened by them. Show me a god that understands the meaning of peace. In life, not in death. View quote
Steven Erikson
Name none of the fallen, for they stand in our place, and stand there still in each moment of our lives. Let my death hold no glory, and let me die forgotten and unknown. Let it not be said that I was one among the dead to accuse the living. View quote
Steven Erikson
Shadow is ever besieged, for that is its nature. Whilst darkness devours, and light steals. And so one sees shadow ever retreat to hidden places, only to return in the wake of the war between dark and light. View quote
Steven Erikson