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Sky’s forecourt had been designed by my late sister, Kurue, who had understood two key elements of the mortal psyche: they hate being reminded of their own insignificance, yet they simultaneously and instinctively expect their leaders to be overwhelmingly dominant.

— N. K. Jemisin The Kingdom of Gods (2011)

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More quotes by N. K. Jemisin

What happened when people who’d once possessed absolute power suddenly lost it?

The Broken Kingdoms (2010)

Those with power would always find some way to exert it over those who didn’t.

The Kingdom of Gods (2011)

If they will not love me, fear is an acceptable substitute.

The Kingdom of Gods (2011)

I had never been able to truly hate anyone who’d suffered, no matter what evils they’d done in the aftermath.

The Broken Kingdoms (2010)

Put people in a cage and they will devote themselves to escaping it, not cooperating with those who caged them.

The Obelisk Gate (2016)

All N. K. Jemisin quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: N. K. Jemisin (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.