Steven Erikson

The tiger is humbled by memories of prey.

— Steven Erikson

“Well, the world can go fuck itself.”

— Steven Erikson

Never, dear gods. Never mess with mortals.

— Steven Erikson

“To rule is to kneel before expediency.”

— Steven Erikson

“The scars without are the scars within.”

— Steven Erikson

“I have never much liked Forkrul Assail.”

— Steven Erikson

“Every gift is edged.”

— Steven Erikson

The only death I fear is dying ignorant.

— Steven Erikson

“What the soul can house, flesh cannot fathom.”

— Steven Erikson

“Very well, permit me, if you will, on this night. To break your hearts once more.”

— Steven Erikson

“There are tides beneath every tide And the surface of water Holds no weight.”

— Steven Erikson

What makes a Malazan soldier so dangerous? They’re allowed to think.

— Steven Erikson

“Is your friendship such a burden, then?” “Some burdens are willingly embraced.”

— Steven Erikson

“Unwitnessed...is what happens when nobody survives.”

— Steven Erikson

“A civilization for ever within easy reach of a blade had little to boast about.”

— Steven Erikson

The harder the world, the fiercer the honour.

— Steven Erikson

Soldiers are issued armour for their flesh and bones, but they must fashion their own for their souls. Piece by piece.

— Steven Erikson

“You must dismantle your sources, Toc the Younger, lest you do nothing but ape the prejudices of others.”

— Steven Erikson

“If she was a friend, you will miss her company, and that is the true source of your grief—your sorrow is for…

— Steven Erikson

“There are times, Kruppe murmurs, when celibacy born of sad deprivation becomes a boon, nay, a source of great relief.”

— Steven Erikson

“There’s a sweet promise to giving up, but realizing that demands a journey. One of spirit. You can’t walk to Hood’s Gate,…

— Steven Erikson

“There is no struggle too vast, no odds too over- whelming, for even should we fail – should we fall – we…

— Steven Erikson

It is one thing to lead by example with half a dozen soldiers at your back. It is wholly another with ten…

— Steven Erikson

“We are all interludes in history, a drawn breath to make pause in the rush, and when we are gone, those breaths…

— Steven Erikson

“She’d forgotten what love could do, as it threaded its roots through her entire soul, as it tugged and pulled at her…

— Steven Erikson

“He was not too old, and he had a family—people to fight for, to return to, people that mattered in his life.…

— Steven Erikson

“Conviction is a fist of stone at the heart of all things. Its form is shaped by sure hands, the detritus quickly…

— Steven Erikson

“Others? Other dragons? I think not, and let us be clear here, Kanyn Thrall, your other victories have all the bravado of…

— Steven Erikson

“But Hood was not yet done with her. He swung her up again, spun and once more hammered her onto the stone.…

— Steven Erikson

“History comforts the dull-witted,”” the young Malazan said. Beneth barked a laugh as he reached the gate. “And whose words are those,…

— Steven Erikson

“Of all the weapons we turn upon ourselves, guilt is the sharpest, Silverfox. It can carve one's own past into unrecognizable shapes,…

— Steven Erikson

“The man is a drunk with a drunk’s bloated self-image – Abyss knows, drunks think themselves clever, and measure the prowess of…

— Steven Erikson

“This is Quick Ben’s game, O Elder. The bones are in his sweaty hands and they have been for some time. Now,…

— Steven Erikson

“The body directly before him, however, was that of a child. The blue of the eyes was now covered in a milky…

— Steven Erikson

“My shamans have read the sands. They have learned much of your future. (...)’ Gamet was scowling. ‘I do not wish to…

— Steven Erikson

“I am as much a scholar as a warrior. T'isten'ur — a name with curious echoes. Tiste Andii, the Dwellers in Darkness.…

— Steven Erikson

“Death. Now, that was an interesting notion. One that, perhaps, he should have been more familiar with than any other being, but…

— Steven Erikson

“A pointless, senseless death.’ ‘They’re all pointless and senseless, friend. Until the living carve meaning out of them. What are you going…

— Steven Erikson

“He had seen often enough the wilful truncation people undertook upon leaving childhood (and the wonder of its endless possibilities), as if…

— Steven Erikson

“Ammanas slipped noiselessly forward until he was on the other side of the corpse. ‘It’s her, isn’t it.’ ‘It is.’ ‘How many…

— Steven Erikson