“To everyone who thinks writing a sequel should be easy because you've already clreated the universe: Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! Heh. No.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Colonel, I'm giving you a direct order. Eat the fucking cookie.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Every creature has a survival instinct. It looks like fear but it’s not the same thing. Fear isn’t the desire to avoid death or pain. Fear is rooted in the knowledge that what you recognize as yourself can cease to exist. Fear is existential.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Occam’s razor theory of combat: The simplest way of kicking someone’s ass was usually the correct one.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“It was interesting what you could do, when your enemy was officially your ally. And unaware you knew it was your enemy.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Yes, he's an equal opportunity asshole," Szilard said. "And he's aware of it, which he thinks means it's okay.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“The supply transport’s on autopilot most of the way down anyway. I’m just on board so that if it crashes, they can say someone died.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Imagine waking up and finding your first and last view of the world was a shotgun barrel. That’d be a hell of a life.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Harvey knew what he was and what he was best at: He was a noisy son of a bitch and he was good at making things fall down and go boom.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“First off, to everyone who thinks writing a sequel should be easy because you’ve already created the universe: Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! Heh. No.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“At least one tribe, the Geln, strongly opposed attacking the Colonial Union, since humans were reasonably strong, distressingly tenacious and not especially principled when they felt threatened.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Two classics stuck with them. Ender’s Game delighted them all; here were soldiers who were just like them, except smaller. The main character was even bred to fight alien species like they were. The next day the members of the 8th greeted each other with the salutation ::Ho, Ender,:: until Brahe told them to knock it off and pay attention.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“After watching Star Wars everyone wanted a lightsaber and was irritated that the technology for them didn’t really exist. Everyone also agreed the Ewoks should all die.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“It was this philosophy that had Harvey taking the hovercraft Sagan had stolen, mounting it, and, after a few moments to glean the fundamentals of navigating it, rocketing on it toward the door of the Obin mess hall. As Harvey approached, the door to the mess hall opened inward; some Obin heading to duty after dinner. Harvey grinned a mad grin, gunned the hovercraft, and then braked it just enough (he hoped) to jam that fucking alien right back into the room.
It worked perfectly. The Obin had enough time for a surprised squawk before the hovercraft’s gun struck it square in the chest, punching backward like it was a toy on a string, hurling down nearly the entire length of the hall. The other Obin in the room looked up while Harvey’s victim pinwheeled to the ground, then turned their multiple eyes toward the doorway, Harvey, and the hovercraft with its big gun poking right into the room.
“Hello, boys!” Harvey said in a big, booming voice. “The 2nd Platoon sends its regards!” And with that, he jammed down the “fire” button on the gun and set to work.
Things got messy real fast after that. It was just fucking beautiful.
Harvey loved his job.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“We're in the wrong universe for fair.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“One of Harvey’s guiding lights in terms of strategies was simplicity; all things being equal, Harvey preferred the course of action that let him get into the middle of things and then just buckle down.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“He reached over, took the second cookie, and offered it to Robbins. “Here,” he said. “I saw you coveting it.” Robbins stared at the cookie, then looked around. “I can’t take that,” he said. “Sure you can,” Szilard said. “I’m not supposed to eat anything here,” Robbins said. “So what?” Szilard said. “Screw ’em. It’s a ridiculous tradition and you know it. So break it. Take the cookie.” Robbins took the cookie and stared at it glumly. “Oh, good God,” Szilard said. “Do I have to order you to eat the damn thing?” “It might help,” Robbins said. “Fine,” Szilard said. “Colonel, I’m giving you a direct order. Eat the fucking cookie.” Robbins ate it. The waiter was scandalized.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“While landing a spacecraft on a planet via Skip Drive navigation was officially and strongly discouraged by the Colonial Union, the Colonial Defense Forces recognized the strategic value of sudden and unexpected arrivals.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“If they can work out the kinks, it could revolutionize space travel.” “ ‘Work out the kinks’?” Jared said. “I’m about to use this thing. Kinks are bad.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Some planets evolved genetic structures roughly similar to Earth’s, incorporating some if not all the nucleotides involved in terrestrial genetics (perhaps not coincidentally, the intelligent species of these planets have been known to consume humans from time to time;”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“It’s not that Seaborg disliked Harvey, but after a couple of combat drops with the 2nd Platoon one got the sense that if you didn’t like things to explode unnecessarily around you, you would want to stay well clear of Daniel Harvey.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“At dinner members of the 8th enthusiastically told each other to pass the fucking salt, you fucking sack of shit, until Brahe told them to quit that goddamn shit, cocksuckers, because it got old pretty goddamn quick.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“On the sixth day, Jared and the rest of the 8th finally figured out what that sex thing was all about. On the seventh day, and as a direct consequence of the sixth day, they rested.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“You’ve got yourself a cloned body here, Jim.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Szilard looked over at Robbins. “Is it true?” he said. “Which part, sir?” Robbins said. “That you don’t like General Mattson,” Szilard said. “He can take some getting used to, sir,” Robbins said. “By which he means I’m an asshole,”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Fear isn’t the desire to avoid death or pain. Fear is rooted in the knowledge that what you recognize as yourself can cease to exist. Fear is existential.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“After watching Star Wars everyone wanted a lightsaber and was irritated that the technology for them didn’t really exist. Everyone also agreed the Ewoks should all die. Two”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“Harvey called it his Occam’s razor theory of combat: The simplest way of kicking someone’s ass was usually the correct one.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“If we’re going to be fucked, Colonel, I prefer to get fucked on my feet instead of on my knees.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
“When asked about it, Harvey called it his Occam’s razor theory of combat: The simplest way of kicking someone’s ass was usually the correct one.”
― John Scalzi, quote from The Ghost Brigades
John Scalzi
Born place: in The United States
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“He could melt glaciers with that smile. End wars. Resolve the national debt crisis.”
― Kristen Proby, quote from Come Away with Me
“I finished the beer and sighed. “Arrogance,” I said. “I feel stupid.” “Good,” Michael said. “It’s good for everyone to feel that way sometimes. It helps remind you how much you still have to learn.”
― Jim Butcher, quote from Skin Game
“We are the people birthed from this land. For the first time I can see something I've not fully understood before, not until now as these pale creatures from somewhere far away stare down at us in wonder, trying to make sense of what they see. We are this place. This place is us.”
― Joseph Boyden, quote from The Orenda
“Polly finished her huge narrative during the summer term. The day after she had finished it, she went round with the oddest mixture of feelings, pride at having got it done, sick of the sight of it and glad it was over, and completely lost without it.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Fire and Hemlock
“Self knowledge is always bad news.”
― John Barth, quote from Giles Goat-Boy
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