76 quotes
Never felt so alive as you did after you came out of a battle in one piece. And if you were dead? You wouldn’t feel that...
The Ramal Extraction (2012)
Honor was in surviving, not fair play.
Matadora (1986)
He did not have to have all the answers. Hell, he didn’t have to have any of them. All he could do was the best he could. Nothing else much mattered worth a damn.
The 97th Step (1989)
The matadors didn't hold with killing, but the way Sleel figured it, when someone tried to take you out, they lost their breathing rights. He'd worry about his conscience later. At least he'd be alive to worry about it.
The Albino Knife (1991)
He had thought about it. Mostly, after the fantasies, he had let it go. It was done, history. No point in bumping into the furniture while looking back over your shoulder.
The Tejano Conflict (2014)
What had Von told him, so long ago? He might not be able to control what he felt or thought, but he could control what he did. That was the important thing, that was the crux of free will.
The 97th Step (1989)
Veate said, “You said ‘used to be.’ Not a mystic any more?”
“No. I burned too many bridges. I saw too much grief to believe in a benevolent cosmos any longer. I caused much of that grief myself.”
The Albino Knife (1991)
But her first reaction was from fear. Her very best, most potent trick suddenly didn't work anymore. Her first thought probably was that something was wrong with you. But her second thought would have been that something was wrong with her. Had to be pretty scary.
The Albino Knife (1991)
Could he use the same excuse as the Confed—the end justified the means? Sometimes it did, of course, but could one ethically justify using the same methods as a deplored enemy, in order to get it to stop?
The Man Who Never Missed (1985)
When he saw me look her over, he hinted that she might be willing to, ah, stay behind and work out details of the contract with me personally, no matter how long it might take.”
Jo nodded. No surprise there. Sex had sold stuff ever since stuff had been around.
The Vastalimi Gambit (2013)
Civilization didn’t like surprises...
The Ramal Extraction (2012)
Jo nodded. The Vastalimi were stoic about many things, death notwithstanding. People came and went, that was the way of it, and there was no need to be overly disturbed; nothing could be done to change the general pattern, only the individual ones. Everybody got onto the hoverbus, and eventually, everybody got off; the questions were, how long was the ride, and how did you leave?
The Tejano Conflict (2014)
The beast has long since stopped serving to become the master. The Confed did what governments were famed for: it made more government. To oppose it was treason, and worth death. Even a monster has fear.
The Man Who Never Missed (1985)
“The rules are different for rich men,” he said. “Always have been.”
The Vastalimi Gambit (2013)
“People, this is your weapon, not your gun.” He waved the Parker in the air. “This is for work.” He dropped one hand to touch himself on the crotch. “This is for fun. Don’t mistake one for the other. Those of you not male or electively equipped as such might remember that easier.”
The Man Who Never Missed (1985)
Of course, laws weren’t always just. Some rules outlawed a thing because it was intrinsically bad: child molestation, say. Other rules made harmless activities crimes only because someone wished them to be so. Take cohabitation on a religious holiday. On some worlds, it was legal on one day, illegal the next, and on the third, okay once again. Khadaji could see no moral dilemma there.
The Man Who Never Missed (1985)