[Salt-Man Z]

From Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind:

MMPB p.4 said:

"So Taborlin fell, but he did not despair. For he knew the name of the wind, and so the wind obeyed him."

^ Gives me chills every time I read it.

MMPB p.135 said:

There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.

[AlanH]

There are a couple of quotes I want to add (all from memory so sorry if it's not 100% accurate):

"The world is changing. Change doesn't necessarily mean improvement. Change is just change. 'Better' and 'worse' are human definitions. The world changes all the time, and no complaining's going to stop it from changing. You can tell it to stop if you like. It might listen to you, but I wouldn't make any large wagers on it if I were you." - The Redemption of Althalus (or something like that) by David Eddings.

"Evil is relative. You can't hang a sign on it. You can't touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword. Evil depends on where you are standing, pointing your indicting finger." - The Black Company by Glen Cook.

The other is a poem, so this might not really belong here, but oh well (again, from memory so not necessarily totally accurate):

"Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried allowed,
Under the bludeonings of chance
My head is bloodies, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how straight the gate
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul."

Don't know why, but that poem always gets me.

EDIT: Almost forgot, the poem is Invictus by William Ernest Henley.

This post has been edited by AlanH: 28 March 2010 - 06:08 AM

[Salt-Man Z]

A couple of gems from reading Dust of Dreams today. Don't worry, no DoD spoilers.

First is a great (and moving) recap of Deadhouse Gates (spoilered for those who haven't finished it yet--what's wrong with you?)

Spoiler

The Queen hesitated, and then said, "When you spoke of your people's opinions...of these marines of the Malazan Empire, was there truth to your words?"

He straightened. "Highness, although the great Coltaine of the Crow Clan had many Wickans with him, he also possessed marines. Together, they escorted thirty thousand refugees across a third of a continent, and each step of the journey was war."

"Have I not misunderstood then, Warleader? Did not Coltaine fail? Did he not die? And everyone with him?"

The warrior's eyes were suddenly old. "He did. They all died--the Wickans, the marines."

"Then I do not--"

"They died, Highness, even as they delivered those thirty thousand refugees to safety. They died, but they won."

And this one made me tear up as I read it:

Quote

"I have had seven children since then, and yes, most of them are yours. Do you ever wonder why I cannot give this up? What it is that drives women to suffer this time and again? Listen well to this secret, Gall, it is because to carry a child is to be not alone. And to lose a child is to be so wretchedly alone that no man can know the same."

[a Perfect Rake]

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents" - H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

"His followers expected him to laugh, or brag about this fulfillment of vengeance, but he did not. They expected he would now speak, for the first time in decades, and say something like, "Remember my mother in Hell," but he did not. When at last he broke the long silence, he said only, "You have made me lonely, Royal Ilkazar," and cast the torch aside. Head bowed, he turned and walked from the city slowly, leaving mercy or its lack to his followers." - Glen Cook, A Shadow of All Night Falling

"May the Gods Above, or the Gods Below, or any Powers here present, cast down, disperse, and render unto destruction the agents of destruction, the Storm Kings of Ravenkrak." - Glen Cook, A Shadow of All Night Falling

[Macros]

"Tremble and despair for I am POWER"

Pug - Magacian/Servant of the empire

[Ain't_It_Just_]

Salt-Man Z, on 29 March 2010 - 06:25 PM, said:

A couple of gems from reading Dust of Dreams today. Don't worry, no DoD spoilers.

First is a great (and moving) recap of Deadhouse Gates (spoilered for those who haven't finished it yet--what's wrong with you?)

Spoiler

The Queen hesitated, and then said, "When you spoke of your people's opinions...of these marines of the Malazan Empire, was there truth to your words?"

He straightened. "Highness, although the great Coltaine of the Crow Clan had many Wickans with him, he also possessed marines. Together, they escorted thirty thousand refugees across a third of a continent, and each step of the journey was war."

"Have I not misunderstood then, Warleader? Did not Coltaine fail? Did he not die? And everyone with him?"

The warrior's eyes were suddenly old. "He did. They all died--the Wickans, the marines."

"Then I do not--"

"They died, Highness, even as they delivered those thirty thousand refugees to safety. They died, but they won."

And this one made me tear up as I read it:

Quote

"I have had seven children since then, and yes, most of them are yours. Do you ever wonder why I cannot give this up? What it is that drives women to suffer this time and again? Listen well to this secret, Gall, it is because to carry a child is to be not alone. And to lose a child is to be so wretchedly alone that no man can know the same."

"shivers in awe"

This post has been edited by Ain't_It_Just_: 12 April 2010 - 10:27 AM

[Lusipher]

A few from Anathem by Neal Stephenson:

"Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. "We have a protractor."

"'I hadn't known that,' I said. 'I always tend to assume there's an infinite amount of money out there.' 'There might as well be,' Arsibalt said, 'but most of it gets spent on pornography, sugar water, and bombs.'"

"Early in the Reticulum — thousands of years ago — it became almost useless because it was cluttered with faulty, obsolete, or downright misleading information." -Reticulum is synonymous with the interwebs

[Twistacles]

"Carai an Caldazar! Carai an Ellisande! Al Ellisande!" (For the honor of the Red Eagle! For the Honor of the Rose of the Sun! The Rose of the Sun! - Mat

[Harvester]

I know it's been posted before, but here's my absolute favorite in its full glory:

Quote

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.
H.P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

[Kurt Montandon]

Bujold is great for quotes, especially from the Vorkosiverse:

Quote

Miles cleared his throat. "As the Emperor is commander-in-chief of the Barrayaran military, his Voice is automatically the ranking officer of any Barrayaran force in his vicinity, yes. If the emergency so demands it."

"So are you saying that if you ordered it, those thugs out there would shoot?" said Venn sourly.

Miles managed a slight bow in his direction, not easy in free fall. "Sir, if an Emperor's Voice so ordered it, they'd shoot themselves ."

Also:

Quote

" ... we have better allies than you. And with fewer inhibitions. They won't care about your profits, or your deals, or your balances. The only question they'll be asking
is whether to start at the north pole, and burn down, or at the south pole, and burn up!"

This post has been edited by Kurt Montandon: 13 May 2010 - 06:02 AM

[ThelomenToblakai]

Salt-Man Z, on 21 May 2008 - 07:28 PM, said:

This one?

"For all that I seem to grate upon all of you, I have walked this land when the T'lan Imass were but children. I have commanded armies a hundred thousand strong. I have spread the fire of my wrath across entire continents, and sat alone upon tall thrones. Do you grasp the meaning of this?"
"Yes. You never learn, Kallor."

I've got a lot of favorite lines from Shardik and Heroes Die, but darned if I'm able to look 'em up.

Yeah i love that quote Brood really puts Kallor in his place its a shame what that meeting leads up to.

[Abyss]

Paraphrasing Stross paraphrasing Lovecraft...

"In time, even death may die."

It's just one of those statements that opens up so much conceptual mindfuck even before you put it in the context of whatever story of Elder Tentacled GoatThings from outside time and space.

[Primateus]

Armour is for women and girly elves!

Gotrek Gurnisson, one of the slayer novels, I forget which one

This post has been edited by Primateus: 17 August 2010 - 04:02 PM

[Salt-Man Z]

Abyss, on 17 August 2010 - 03:31 PM, said:

Paraphrasing Stross paraphrasing Lovecraft...

"In time, even death may die."

It's just one of those statements that opens up so much conceptual mindfuck even before you put it in the context of whatever story of Elder Tentacled GoatThings from outside time and space.

Just because it's so awesome, here's Lovecraft's original couplet:

H. P. Lovecraft said:

That is not dead which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons, even death may die

I'm rather partial to the first line, myself.

[Salt-Man Z]

Here's a quote that caught me when reading Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le Guin:

Quote

"In times like this, Mogien, one man's fate is not important."
"If it is not," said Mogien, raising his dark face, "what is?"

And in fact, Rocannon (the protagonist) reflects on this line near the end of the book.

[jaysen]

From Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

I always get a chill when Rand walks through the gateway into Tel'aran'rhiod near the end of the book:
"He was death.

[Cable]

Alright, here's a few from the collection:
"There were too many. It was beyond hope to ever finish this: it was a task for gods descending from the nine heavens, not for one man. But if you couldn't do everything, did that mean you did nothing?" - Guy Gavriel Kay, Under Heaven

"My parents danced together, her head on his chest. Both had their eyes closed. They seemed so perfectly content. If you can find someone like that, someone who you can hold and close your eyes to the world with, then you're lucky. Even if it only lasts for a minute a day. The image of them gently swaying to the music is how I picture love in my mind even after all these years." - Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

And because I just finished reading it, "The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there... and still on your feet." - Stephen King, The Stand

This post has been edited by Cable: 18 August 2010 - 07:53 PM

[acesn8s]

"Farewell, friend. I was a thousand times more evil than thou!"
Stormbringer

[WhiskeyJackDaniels]

Rodrigo Belmonte, The Lions of Al-Rassan

Quote

Come, brother. Shall we show them how this is done?

Mistborn

Quote

"Survivor," a rasping voice said.
Kelsier spun. The Inquisitor strode forward, stepping with pewter's lithe power, surrounded by a haze of atium-shadows.
"Survivor of Hathsin," it said. "You promised me a fight. Must I kill more skaa?"
Kelsier flared his metals. "I never said we were done." Then, he smiled. He was worried, he was pained, but he was also exhilarated. All of his life, there had been a piece of him that had wished to stand and fight.
He'd always wanted to see if he could take an Inquisitor.

The Judging Eye

Quote

"This," the Captain grates, "isn't Hell."
"How do you know?" Galian cries.
"Because," the Holy Veteran says, his voice so cold it seems the sound should fog or frost. "I would remember."

[Use Of Weapons]

More Pratchett, including my favourite ever quote:

Quote

"It's got three keyboards and a hundred extra knobs, including twelve with '?' on them."

-- The Unseen University Organ, as designed by B. S. Johnson (Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms)

Quote

Being a werewolf meant having the dexterity and jaw power to instantly rip out a man's jugular. It was a trick of her father's that had always annoyed her mother, especially when he did it just before meals.

-- (Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms)