185 quotes
Hope could be more painful than despair.
Against a Dark Background (1993)
Libertarianism. A simple-minded right-wing ideology ideally suited to those unable or unwilling to see past their own sociopathic self-regard.
Transition (2009)
“Some of us prefer history to legends, lady,” DeWar said heavily, “and sometimes everybody can be wrong.”
Inversions (1998)
Is your own existence so replete with equanimity you find no outlet for worry except on behalf of others?
Look to Windward (2000)
Your position is perverse, farcical and as intellectually demeaning as it is morally destitute.
Surface Detail (2010)
I am told he is something of a scholar, which is no bad thing in a king, providing it is not taken to excess.
Inversions (1998)
Any argument or point of view that makes solipsism look no less likely may be discounted.
Transition (2009)
Obsession is just what those too timorous to follow an idea through to its logical conclusion call determination.
The Hydrogen Sonata (2013)
Itz a very strainje feelin wakin up alive when u wer fooly expectin 2 b ded.
Feersum Endjinn (1994)
Empathize with stupidity and you’re halfway to thinking like an idiot.
Consider Phlebas (1987)
Pity they didn’t devote a little more ingenuity to staying alive rather than conducting mass slaughter as efficiently as possible.
Consider Phlebas (1987)
What they had talked themselves into, they could be silent out of.
Use of Weapons (1990)
Trust me; it is rarely an encouraging sign when the more apparel is removed, the less attractive a prospective sexual partner becomes.
The Hydrogen Sonata (2013)
To a gun, all problems resolved into what could be shot at.
Surface Detail (2010)
Believe me; democracy in action can be an unpretty sight.
Look to Windward (2000)
I’m negotiating a tricky course between the minefield of personal honesty on one side and the rocky coast of operational security on the other.
Surface Detail (2010)
“Have you always been so suspicious, Banstegeyn?”
He looked at her, unsmiling. “No, I stumbled into a position of great power quite by accident.”
The Hydrogen Sonata (2013)
Tishlin’s dubious look indicated he wasn’t totally convinced this phrase contributed enormously to the information-carrying capacity of the language.
Excession (1996)
People would swallow anything, just anything at all. Apparently some people found this dismaying. He thought it was a gift, the most wonderful opportunity to take advantage of the weak-minded.
The Algebraist (2004)
Did you know that true subjective time is measured in the minimum duration of demonstrably separate thoughts?
Look to Windward (2000)