Quotes from The Emperor's Blades

Brian Staveley ·  480 pages

Rating: (26.4K votes)


“Resist faith. Resist trust. Believe only in what you touch with your hands. The rest is error and air.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Assume nothing,’” he said. The first chapter of the Tactics. “If we figure everyone might be a murderer, we’re less likely to be disappointed.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Men tend to die when you slide steel beneath their skin and wiggle it around. Even priests.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“You squint hard enough, and everything starts to look suspicious.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Any fool can see what's there. You need to see what is not there.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades



“There’s no blade as keen as surprise.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“we use the time we have. There is no other.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Believe what you see with your eyes; trust what you hear with your ears; know what you feel with your flesh. The rest is dream and delusion.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“The man still fighting last week’s battle will always lose to the man already fighting tomorrow’s,”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“The mind was a clay pot set out in the rain. A monk could empty it daily and still the old hopes and worries, the body’s meager strengths and perennial pains pattered against the bottom, trickled down the sides, filling it once more.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades



“Easier to recall a loosed falcon than a spoken word.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“When you know nothing about a creature," the monk ground out, his voice as hard as a rock slide, "expect it has come to kill you.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“The fighters who frighten you are not the fighters to fear. The man you barely notice will be the one to bury a blade in your back.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“If you hope to play a part in this empire, Sanlitun had told her time and time again, you must learn to divorce your feelings from your face. The world sees what you allow it to see, judges you according to what you reveal.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Henderson Jakes, the founder of the Eyrie, had envisioned a cadre of elite soldiers dedicated to celibacy, the empire, and the art of war. He had to settle for two out of three. Young men and women willing to leap off massive birds into burning buildings at a mere nod from a commanding officer grew violently rebellious when required to abstain from sex.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades



“The present is the present. Tomorrow will still be ‘now.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Leadership isn't just about giving orders. A fool can give orders. A leader listens. He changes his mind. He acknowledges mistakes.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Obedience is a knife that cuts the cord of bondage.
Silence is a hammer that shatters the walls of speech.
Stillness is strength; pain a soft bed.
Put down your basin; emptiness is the only vessel.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Triste lay in a heap, her dress hitched up around her thighs, whimpering and shuddering until Gwenna shifted to kick her ungently in the head.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“The process is the goal,” Kaden responded innocently, trying not to feel smug. It was about time one of those Shin maxims worked in his favor.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades



“What I observe is that the world is ruled by men—good men and bad, desperate men and those with principles.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“I’d leave you here longer, but it’s no longer safe.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Emptiness exists only when something else has been gouged away.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“I’m doubly sorry for your loss,” the old monk began after a time. “First, because every son should have a chance to know his father, not as a child knows his protector, but as a man knows another man.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“every son should have a chance to know his father, not as a child knows his protector, but as a man knows another man.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades



“The ablest swordsman, Hendran wrote, the consummate tactician, the peerless general: All seem invulnerable until luck turns against them. Make no mistake—place a man in death’s way enough times, and his luck will turn.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“dozens of groups of seven to sit on the dozens of trials that would take place, each group composed, as decreed by Terial himself, of the Seven: a mother, a merchant, a pauper, a prelate, a soldier, a son, and a dying man.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Believe what you see with your eyes, trust what you hear with your ears; know what you feel with your flesh. The rest is dream and delusion.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


“Our lives were short, no more than a blink to the foes we fought, but we were fertile. Fathers fought our battles, but it was our mothers who won the war.”
― Brian Staveley, quote from The Emperor's Blades


About the author

Brian Staveley
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“إنكَ تملكُ وجهًا أكثرَ من بشري ، حزينًا كالكون ، جميلاً كالنتحار ".”
― Comte de Lautréamont, quote from Maldoror = Les Chants de Maldoror, together with a translation of Lautréamont's Poésies


“1 :
...
بإرادة الروح
تأتي أشكال لا تعد و لا تحصى ..

و بسبب هذه الإرادة
لا أستطيع حتى أن أتكلم ..

بإرادة الروح
((أي روح القدس))
تأتي جميع الأرواح

اندمج في هذه الروح
و كن عظيما ..

يإرادة الروح
يكون الخير و الشر

و بها يكتب
الألم و السلام
للجميع .

للبعض ، تحضر
الهدايا الوفيرة

للبعض ، تودي
إلى تيه لا نهاية له

كل شئ موجود ضمن تلك الإرادة
.. لا شئ كاذب من ورائها

آه يا ناناك :
إذا فهمت
الإرادة الإلهية
لن تجد
(نفسك)
شئ لتقوله”
― Guru Nanak, quote from Sri Guru Granth Sahib


“Ma'am," Magnus said, advancing. "I must counsel you not to exit the carriage while a demon-slaying is in progress.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale


“Just as much as you cannot stop growing feelings for a certain man, there’s no switch to turn off your heart.”
― J.C. Reed, quote from Surrender Your Love


“Once she tells me she wants me here I know this is where I will stay.” ~ Riley”
― T.H. Snyder, quote from Touch Me


Interesting books

Be My December
(2.5K)
Be My December
by Rachel Brookes
You Are My Sunshine
(2.7K)
You Are My Sunshine
by Roberta Kagan
It's So Easy: And Other Lies
(7.7K)
It's So Easy: And Ot...
by Duff McKagan
Viper's Creed
(2.3K)
Viper's Creed
by T.L. Shreffler
Finding Parker
(395)
Finding Parker
by Scott Hildreth
Villains by Necessity
(1.3K)

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.