121 quotes
He wasn’t afraid of dying, only of having not done all he could, and not properly spitting in the eye of death when it came for him. That final gesture was important.
Startide Rising (1983)
In that case, I wondered, why do it at all?
Rationalizations. People are talented at coming up with reasons to keep doing stupid things.
Kiln People (2002)
A dragon’s inertia is not shifted by yanking its tail.
Glory Season (1993)
The same was true of the most popular girls. They had no empathy, no compassion for more normal kids.
The Uplift War (1987)
This is not about classic left-vs-right anymore. (As if that metaphor ever held cogent meaning.)
A rant about stupidity... and the coming civil war (2009)
Freedom was wonderful beyond relief. But with it came that bitch, Duty.
The Postman (1985)
Survivalists. Gordon felt a wave of revulsion.
The Postman (1985)
“Huh,” Sepak thought, marveling how much one could learn by just sitting still and observing. It wasn’t a skill one learned in the frenetic pace of modern society.
Earth (1990)
It was silly to suppose that trials only hardened men, automatically making them wise. He knew many who were stupid, arrogant, and mean, in spite of having suffered.
The Uplift War (1987)
Oh, there’s no high quite like getting the focused attention of powerful enemies. Nothing is better guaranteed to make you feel important in the world, which may be why conspiracy theories are so popular among frustrated underachievers.
Kiln People (2002)
One of life’s joys was to have friends who gave you reality checks...who would call you on your crap before it rose so high you drowned in it.
Earth (1990)
The lesson they took home with them was simple; it takes a full belly before a man or woman gives a tinker’s damn about anything as large as a planet.
Earth (1990)
There was one exception to the rule that all our foes have committed the Decadence Assumption.
A rant about stupidity... and the coming civil war (2009)
Magic may be more romantic than science. But science is honest…and it works.
Temptation (1999)
Had I been wrong, this would still have been the honorable thing to do.
I am very glad, however, to find out that I was right.
The Uplift War (1987)
What was it like, he wondered, to care about something so passionately? He suspected it made her somehow more alive than he was.
Earth (1990)
“All this talk of using tax policy to ‘assess social costs’...what a dumb idea. The only way to stop polluters is to put them against walls and shoot them.”
Earth (1990)
I’d rather be dead than so suspicious I can’t trust anybody.
Glory Season (1993)
What hope has any endeavor which is based on hate and fear?
Glory Season (1993)
But it’s not so hard, learning to picture yourself as part of a great chain. One that began long before you, and will go on long after.
Glory Season (1993)