“If your appearance is all people see, they have no respect for your mind.”
“Unquestioning obedience is for slaves, the uneducated and the pathetic.”
“Cold, truthful common sense was harder to like than warm, hopeful generosity.”
“He liked the idea that if either of them ever fell from grace, the other might be there to offer support.”
“As the others paired off he turned to face her.
"Can't leave me partnerless," he said.
She pulled a face, grabbed the bowl and stood up."Forgot my little speech earlier, have you, Jayan?Not if you were the last man in Kyralia.”
“Era mejor evitar las heridas desde un principio que tener que tratarlas”
“Suddenly she was all too aware how different she was. A woman among all these man. A natural from a humble background among rich young men chosen from powerful families. A beginner among the well trained.”
“You two still establishing a pecking order?”
“Oh, it’s clear who’s at the top,” Jayan said. “The lesser hordes need to sort out their own hierarchy. Are you enjoying being the prize they’re fighting over?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. I’m afraid female magicians have quite a reputation. My young, naïve subordinates are trying to work out if any of them stands a chance with you.”
“A chance?” She turned and began picking fruit again. “Am I to expect a marriage proposal, or something much shallower?”
“Definitely shallower,” he said.”
“People and land, they’re the same, his father used to say. Neglect one and the other suffers eventually.”
“Lo único que se necesita en la vida es seguridad, conocimiento y mucho descaro.”
“The right rumour in the right ears can kill the emperor, as they say.”
“Nunca le gustó mirar atrás. El pasado estaba repleto de malos recuerdos, y los buenos lo dejaban lleno de amargura”
“I love you, he told her.
Sweet joy rushed through her. But there was a distinct smugness about his words. He’d sensed her feelings in return, and was pleased with himself for doing so.
Turns out I love you too, she replied, communicating her wry amusement. Of all the annoying people in the world.”
“Jayan found teaching both frustrating and rewarding. It depended on the apprentice. Some were attentive and talented. Some were not.”
“Our army is retreating. The Sachakans are following. They will be here soon. We must be ready. The servants are bringing horses.” He paused and frowned at one of the apprentices. “Stop wating time asking stupid questions and see if your horse is here!” he snapped. He turned and pointed. “You! Arelenin. I can see someone bringing your horse. Yes, I’d hardly miss that ugly beast if it were on the other side of the country. Go and get it.”
“There was no fast and painless way to perform an amputation, Tessia knew. Not if you did it properly.”
“It always seems easier to do nothing, when the harm is don elsewhere,” Dakon said. “They know their young ones will either learn a lesson and limp home – or die and stop being a problem – or prove successful. The worst that could happen is a bit of a diplomatic hiccup in history.”
“We have more in common than I thought, he mused wryly. He liked the idea that, if either of them ever fell from grace, the other might be there to offer support. It’s always easier to become friends with someone you have something in common with. I just hope it doesn’t take some socially disastrous fall before she’ll consider the possibility I might be a friend.”
“The healers’ university looked exactly as Tessia had imagined. Her father had described it as an ‘old but strange building that has adopted and absorbed surrounding houses as opportunity and funds allowed’. It sounded confusing and intriguing, and it was.”
“La gente y la tierra son lo mismo - solia decir su padre- si desatiendes una de las dos, la otra acaba pagando las consecuencias”
“Todos somos esclavos, ama —replicó Vora—. Las mujeres. Los hombres, a su manera. No existe la libertad, solo diferentes tipos de esclavitud. Incluso un ashaki ve constreñidos sus actos por las restricciones que imponen la tradición y la política. Y el emperador es aún menos libre que ellos.”
“It had surprised and impressed Tessia to learn that Everran and Avaria owned two wagons, one for their own everyday use and one kept for visits to the Royal Palace. Since the journey to the palace consisted of half the length of two streets, it seemed frivolous to own a vehicle especially for it.”
“When Tessia and Jayan were served a large, fat rassook each, Jayan had smugly commented that Tessia certainly had a way with villagers and he would not be surprised if she could charm pickpockets into putting money into her wallet.”
“Secrets are weapons, and silence is the trigger. – V. S. H. I”
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
“Happy". I had not heard that word since Mr. Milgrom spoke it at the last Hanukkah. I asked him the question that had been on my mind since then. "Tata, what is happy?"
He looked at me and at the ceiling and back to me.
"Did you ever taste an orange?" he said. ”
“Magic is always impossible.... It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in between. That is why it's magic.”
“Merrick belonged to that class of reader who was able to forget with amazing ease the hand moving the characters behind the scenes of the novel.”
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.