{ "type": "author", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds.md", "image": null, "quotes_count": 130, "books": [ { "title": "Absolution Gap", "slug": "absolution-gap", "quotes_count": 8, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/absolution-gap_978-05-7508-767-5.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/absolution-gap" }, { "title": "Beyond the Aquila Rift", "slug": "beyond-the-aquila-rift", "quotes_count": 2, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/beyond-the-aquila-rift_978-14-7321-636-5.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/beyond-the-aquila-rift" }, { "title": "Blue Remembered Earth", "slug": "blue-remembered-earth", "quotes_count": 9, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/blue-remembered-earth_978-14-7320-931-2.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/blue-remembered-earth" }, { "title": "Century Rain", "slug": "century-rain", "quotes_count": 15, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/century-rain_978-05-7508-768-2.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/century-rain" }, { "title": "Chasm City", "slug": "chasm-city", "quotes_count": 11, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/chasm-city_978-05-7508-769-9.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/chasm-city" }, { "title": "Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days", "slug": "diamond-dogs-turquoise-days", "quotes_count": 2, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/diamond-dogs-turquoise-days_978-05-7508-770-5.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/diamond-dogs-turquoise-days" }, { "title": "Galactic North", "slug": "galactic-north", "quotes_count": 6, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/galactic-north_978-05-7508-771-2.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/galactic-north" }, { "title": "House of Suns", "slug": "house-of-suns", "quotes_count": 13, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/house-of-suns_978-05-7509-788-9.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/house-of-suns" }, { "title": "On the Steel Breeze", "slug": "on-the-steel-breeze", "quotes_count": 9, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/on-the-steel-breeze_978-05-7509-047-7.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/on-the-steel-breeze" }, { "title": "Poseidon's Wake", "slug": "poseidons-wake", "quotes_count": 17, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/ace/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake_978-04-2525-634-3.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake" }, { "title": "Pushing Ice", "slug": "pushing-ice", "quotes_count": 10, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/pushing-ice_978-05-7508-772-9.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/pushing-ice" }, { "title": "Redemption Ark", "slug": "redemption-ark", "quotes_count": 11, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/redemption-ark_978-05-7508-773-6.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/redemption-ark" }, { "title": "Revelation Space", "slug": "revelation-space", "quotes_count": 10, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/revelation-space_978-13-9962-989-8.png", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/revelation-space" }, { "title": "Terminal World", "slug": "terminal-world", "quotes_count": 7, "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/gollancz/alastair-reynolds/terminal-world_978-05-7508-850-4.jpg", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/terminal-world" } ], "recent_quotes": [ { "id": "e0f56701-1e57-4cd1-8e35-14821bcaea5c", "slug": "we-have-all", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/we-have-all", "text": "We have all made mistakes. The mark of intelligence is to learn from them, and not be bound by the errors of the past.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 437, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "intelligence", "slug": "intelligence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/intelligence" }, { "name": "mistakes", "slug": "mistakes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/mistakes" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "c9c8e87c-a6b3-4dbc-a9a8-e15c7f20ea99", "slug": "the-sense-of-squandered", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/the-sense-of-squandered", "text": "The sense of squandered possibility, of better paths now lost to them all, filled him with a sudden rising sadness. He wondered if it was too late to make something better of their world.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 473, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "sadness", "slug": "sadness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/sadness" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "b27438ad-6366-4270-8ec0-5ac226e2b848", "slug": "if-ive-learned", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/if-ive-learned", "text": "If I’ve learned one thing in my long existence, it’s that hesitation gets you nowhere.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 450, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "a25c779e-d3cf-471a-85b4-418779a67ebb", "slug": "youre-taking-this", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/youre-taking-this", "text": "“You’re taking this very well,” Goma said. Eunice gave a semi-shrug. “Experience. You can fight the odds up to a point, but sooner or later you have to face reality. The universe doesn’t care about temper tantrums or pity.”", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 485, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "acceptance", "slug": "acceptance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/acceptance" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "8b976da0-d7ce-4a09-973f-85d923ef18db", "slug": "you-wish-things", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/you-wish-things", "text": "You wish things were different from the way they are. That’s a refrain as old as time. I’ve lived a long and strange sort of life, Kanu, and I’ve known that feeling a few times. Generally it’s best to accept that things are exactly as bad as they look. At least that way you know it’s time to start digging your way out.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 605, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "acceptance", "slug": "acceptance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/acceptance" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "708b0510-f27a-4cf4-aa47-71aabdcefc61", "slug": "for-all-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/for-all-you", "text": "“For all you know, no one even remembers what you did by now.” “No one remembers anything, in the end.”", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 620, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "memory", "slug": "memory", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/memory" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "5b4e4d32-1d12-4511-9613-9ac4d1ac7c19", "slug": "now-youre-scaring", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/now-youre-scaring", "text": "“Now you’re scaring me.” “If you were not scared, you don’t understand the situation.”", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 590, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "4f0bff68-bafe-457d-b693-a9d84dc79ed1", "slug": "there-is-a-point", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/there-is-a-point", "text": "There is a point to love, if love itself is remembered. There is a point to the creation of beauty, because beauty will endure. All words, all thoughts, have a chance of transcending death and time. There is no heaven or hell, no afterlife, no divine creator, no great will behind the universe, no meaning beyond that revealed by our senses and our intellects. This is a hard thing to accept. Yet there is still a point to being alive, and that makes the acceptance bearable. But the universe withholds even this bleak consolation. Within its deepest structure, written like a curse into the very mathematics out of which it is forged, the universe contains a suicidal imperative. Vacuum itself is poised in an unstable condition. Given time—and the one certainty is that there will always be time—the vacuum instability will tip the universe into a new state of being. In that instant of uncreation, all information encoded in the present universe will be erased. No memory of anything will endure. No single experience of any living organism will be preserved. Nothing learned or discovered or made will survive. No art, no science, no history, no deed, no kindness, no fond thought, not a single moment of human happiness. Nothing will last. Nothing will matter. Nothing has ever mattered.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 528, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "meaning of life", "slug": "meaning-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/meaning-of-life" }, { "name": "nihilism", "slug": "nihilism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/nihilism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "47146c08-4524-4218-8022-b3ef84b6c4ff", "slug": "goma-shook-her", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/goma-shook-her", "text": "Goma shook her head. “No. We don’t speak of souls. Not now, not ever. Souls aren’t real.” “Patterns, then. Abstract structures of experience and reaction, making up a consistent, continuous human identity.”", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 425, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "identity", "slug": "identity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/identity" }, { "name": "soul", "slug": "soul", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/soul" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "1f0be5fd-5436-40d5-82c5-06e5e67aee68", "slug": "what-could-be-colder", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/poseidons-wake/what-could-be-colder", "text": "“What could be colder than being made to feel the utter futility of existence? To know that not only is there no meaning to anything, but there never can be? That life itself is completely devoid of purpose? That nothing will be remembered? That despite our grandest efforts our boldest endeavours, nothing can or will ever be preserved? That the kindest acts are doomed to be forgotten, along with the cruelest? All loves, all hates erased from the record? Yes, what could be worse than that?” “You tell me.” “Nothing. Nothing at all in the whole of creation. And if death troubles me—which, I am pleased to say, it most certainly does—then the idea of not even being remembered, not even leaving the tiniest quantum ripple in the wake of the coming vacuum fluctuation…well, that is a great deal more than troubling. We live by our deeds, whether we are machines or people or elephants. And if our deeds are meaningless and forgotten what does that make us?” “Nothing,” Kanu answered, fiercely enough that he spoke the word aloud. “Pointless interactions between matter and energy, doomed to be erased. That’s the message, Swift. That there’s no meaning. That we don’t matter.” “No,” Swift answered with corresponding force. “We do matter. This truth does not rob us of meaning—it gives it back to us. It liberates us from the burden of posterity, from the burden of deluding ourselves that our acts have some chance of outlasting eternity. If we are kind to each other now, it’s not because we are hoping to be remembered well, to be lauded in some great accounting of things. It’s not because we want to be rewarded for our behaviour, or to be admired for the wonderful things we did during our brief span of existence. Exactly the opposite! Now that we know there is no chance of that, our deeds have no higher meaning than the context of the moment in which they occur. One decent deed, one kind gesture, enacted without thought of recompense or remembrance, performed in the full and certain knowledge that it will be forgotten, that it cannot be otherwise—that single deed refutes the entire message of the M-builders. They were wrong! There is no Terror, only enlightenment! Only liberation! And we will continue to refute their message with every gracious act, every decent thought, every human kindness—until the moment the vacuum rips.” “Just a fancy speech, Swift. That’s all it is.” “More than a speech, Kanu. A viable moral strategy for negating the M-builders’ nihilism. It’s a choice. A question of free will. Do you choose it, or reject it?”", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 599, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "kindness", "slug": "kindness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/kindness" }, { "name": "meaning of life", "slug": "meaning-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/meaning-of-life" }, { "name": "nihilism", "slug": "nihilism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/nihilism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Poseidon's_Wake_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:43" }, { "id": "ea7dbe07-07d0-44fa-968a-3df974dc4b5d", "slug": "she-worked-quickly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/blue-remembered-earth/she-worked-quickly", "text": "She worked quickly, but not because she considered the commission beneath her. It was simply the way she always approached her art. Preparation, forethought, hours of meditation, then an explosion of swift and decisive action, like the quick and merciful descent of a sword. Execution, in every sense of the word.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 272, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "art", "slug": "art", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/art" }, { "name": "creativity", "slug": "creativity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/creativity" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Blue_Remembered_Earth_(2012)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:42" }, { "id": "dc2b9741-04d9-4be2-a518-2c61b5aeec10", "slug": "autocratic-governments-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/on-the-steel-breeze/autocratic-governments-are", "text": "Autocratic governments are masters of self-contradiction. They say one thing, do another.", "language": "en", "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 253, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "hypocrisy", "slug": "hypocrisy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hypocrisy" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#On_the_Steel_Breeze_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:42" } ] }