That was a tall order for Ivy. Sarcasm was kind of her native tongue, though she was fluent in “stern disappointment” and “light condescension” as well. She was also a good friend. Well, imaginary friend.
Janala is a fool, just bright enough to be proud of the wits she has, but stupid enough to be unaware of how outmatched they are.
She had to stop judging people. But was that possible? Wasn’t interaction based, in part, on judgments? A person’s background and attitudes influenced how she responded to them.
It’s okay. I’m a rhinoceros astronaut.
Men in power always pretend things like virtue, or divine guidance, some kind of mandate to ‘protect’ the rest of us. If we believe that the Almighty put them where they are, it’s easier for us to swallow what they do to us.
I can’t let you make changes until I authenticate, sir,” the man said in the neutral, patient voice of one accustomed to talking on the phone all day to people who deserved to be strangled.
It’s always a dangerous thing for a writer to resurrect a character. It threatens to undermine the consequences in a story, and minimizes the risks characters take.
I can’t worry about everything at once, Elend thought with determination. I just have to trust. Trust in myself and keep going.
He found himself weeping. Not for the future or for the emperor. These were the tears of a man who saw before himself a masterpiece. True art was more than beauty; it was more than technique. It was not just imitation. It was boldness, it was contrast, it was subtlety. In this book, Gaotona found a rare work to rival that of the greatest painters, sculptors, and poets of any era. It was the greatest work of art he had ever witnessed. Gaotona.
It was a brutal truth. The best truths, however, were simple.
I’m good at doing things I’m not supposed to,” she said, then kicked the door open.
He clutched to these names, repeating each one in his head, holding them like precious gemstones. The names mattered. The men mattered.
The Survivor said that we should smile,” the priest pled. “He taught that we should not let our sorrows drag us down no matter how bad life became.
A little fear, a little history, those things don’t mean anything. Only what we do means anything.
Time to think like a guard. It was hard, as he didn’t have a guard’s hat.
Past failure does not prove that there is not chance in the future, yes?
Adolin was there in a heartbeat, attacking with more skill than any other man Dalinar had known. The lad was a genius with the Blade, an artist with paint of only one shade.
I’m mysterious,” Kaladin said. “I used to think you were. Then I found out you don’t like good puns – it’s truly possible to know too much about somebody.
Like a highstorm, regular in their coming, yet always unexpected.
Epics are weak because they are fools. They will destroy this world. Give men power, and they abuse it. That is all one needs to know.