N. K. Jemisin

Quotes

1. There’s not such thing as magic that does no harm.

   p. 93

2. 

   “When things are bad, change is good, right? Change means things will get better.”

   p. 19

3. 

   Peace is meaningless without freedom.

   p. 514

4. 

   Otherwise it was quiet—that eerie, not-quite-comforting quiet one finds in small towns before dawn.

   p. 364

5. 

   I was beginning to understand, a little. “Is that why you’re a usurer?”

   Madding chuckled. “I prefer the term investor. And my rates are perfectly fair, thank you.”

   “Drug dealer, then.”

   “I prefer the term independent apothecary—”

   p. 68

6. 

   Mother always said that if one must do something unpleasant, one should do it wholeheartedly and not waste effort on regret.

   p. 563

7. 

   That was the way of things, after all. Children had to grow up. They did not always become what others wanted.

   p. 166

8. 

   Sky’s forecourt had been designed by my late sister, Kurue, who had understood two key elements of the mortal psyche: they hate being reminded of their own insignificance, yet they simultaneously and instinctively expect their leaders to be overwhelmingly dominant.

   p. 119

9. 

   I think you’re just so gods-damned certain of your own importance that you haven’t figured it out. So let me make this clear: I don’t care about you. You’re irrelevant. It’s a waste of my energy even to hate you!”

   p. 232

10. 

    It is a massive palace, each spire of which could house a village; its chambers contain dozens of entertainments. All of these become tedious to the point of torment after two thousand years. Hells, after twenty.

    p. 139

11. 

    It takes great strength to compromise, Shahar. More than it does to threaten and destroy, since you must fight your own pride as well as the enemy.

    p. 171

12. 

    “They follow the creed of the Bright: that which disturbs the order of society must be eliminated, regardless of whether it caused the disturbance.” She rolled her eyes. “You’d think they’d get tired of parroting Itempas and start thinking for themselves after two thousand years.”

    p. 105