Steven Brust > Quotes

“Always speak politely to an enraged dragon.”
― Steven Brust, Jhereg

“No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style.”
― Steven Brust

“Everybody generalizes from one example. At least, I do.”
― Steven Brust

“A stupid person can make only certain, limited types of errors; the mistakes open to a clever fellow are far broader. But to the one who knows how smart he is compared to everyone else, the possibilities for true idiocy are boundless.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“The tools are real. The viewer is real, you, the artist, is real and a part of everything you paint. You connect yourself to the viewer by sharing something that is inside of you that connects with something inside of him. All you have as your guide is that you know what moves you. All you have to do it with is a brush, some chemical and canvas, and technique.”
― Steven Brust

“Most people seem to take pleasure in feeling superior to someone. I'm not like that, which pleases me because it makes me feel superior.”
― Steven Brust, Jhegaala

“The Cool Stuff Theory of Literature is as follows: All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool. And that works all the way from the external trappings to the level of metaphor, subtext, and the way one uses words. In other words, I happen not to think that full-plate armor and great big honking greatswords are cool. I don't like 'em. I like cloaks and rapiers. So I write stories with a lot of cloaks and rapiers in 'em, 'cause that's cool. Guys who like military hardware, who think advanced military hardware is cool, are not gonna jump all over my books, because they have other ideas about what's cool.

The novel should be understood as a structure built to accommodate the greatest possible amount of cool stuff.”
― Steven Brust

“All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what’s cool.”
― Steven Brust, The Paths of the Dead

“I'm told I'm very charming when people do what I want.”
― Steven Brust, Tiassa

“When I say that life is like an onion, I mean this: if you don't do anything with it, it goes rotten. So far, that's no different from other vegetables. But when an onion goes bad, it can either do it from the inside, or the outside. So sometimes you see one that looks good, but the core is rotten. Other times, you can see a bad spot on it, but if you cut that out, the rest is fine. Tastes sharp, but that's what you paid for, isn't it?”
― Steven Brust, Yendi

“I’ve heard it said: ‘By his home you shall know him’; and we all know that we must pay attention to anyone who reverses the subject and auxiliary verb in his sentence.”
― Steven Brust, Issola

“True heroics must be carefully planned - and strenuously avoided.”
― Steven Brust

“Because here’s the thing: No matter how much one tells stories of magical beasts or impossible worlds, in the end, it is always the world of here and now one is writing about. The better one understands that world, the more powerful the stories will be.”
― Steven Brust

“One man's mistake is another man's opportunity.”
― Steven Brust

“The struggle is always worthwhile, if the end be worthwhile and the means honorable; foreknowledge of defeat is not sufficient reason to withdraw from the contest.”
― Steven Brust

“I will do you one last favour, in the name and memory of the figment you have replaced. I will clarify a misapprehension of yours. Circumstances did not conspire against me. I was not led into anything, nor did I fall. I chose my life and my course. I chose to do wrong in the hope that right might come of it. I regret it. I would choose differently now. But the choice was mine. Deny that, falsify it, tinsel it over with pious, pitying justification, and you deny everything I am and every scrap of what little good I have been able to do in my life. Good or bad, give me credit for what I have done. I would rather go honestly to Hell, admitting that I leaped knowingly into error and folly, than enter into the sweetest Heaven men can dream of by whining that I had been pushed.”
― Steven Brust, Freedom & Necessity

“The others followed, and found themselves in a small, stuffy basement, which would have been damp, smelly, close, and dark, were it not, in fact, well-lit, which prevented it from being dark.”
― Steven Brust, The Phoenix Guards

“Staring into the dragon's maw, one quickly learns wisdom.”
― Steven Brust

“Plan. Yes. Good idea. I should come up with a plan.”
― Steven Brust, Dzur

“Can you be serious for two words?"

"Not without effort.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“Q: The Witness is reminded that she may be held in contempt.
A: The feeling is mutual.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“I guess there's just a time for doing dumb things.”
― Steven Brust

“Why do you work so hard to make yourself disliked? I should think you'd find it happens enough on its own without putting yourself to any extra trouble.”
― Steven Brust, Tiassa

“People trying to force their agenda on my by deciding how I'm permitted to speak is offensive.”
― Steven Brust, The Incrementalists

“In our memories, there is a graveyard where we bury our dead. They all lie there together, the loved ones and the ones we hated, friends and foes and kin, with no distinction among them. We have to mourn every one of them, because our memories have made them as much a part of us as our bones or our skin. If we don't, we've no right to remember anything at all.”
― Steven Brust

“There is no excuse for bad manners, except fast reflexes.”
― Steven Brust, Teckla

“I have something to tell you."

"How, you have something to tell me?"

"You have understood me exactly."

"Well, I am listening."

"Listening? Then, you wish me to tell you?"

"Yes, that is it. I am listening, and therefore I wish you to tell me."

"Shall I tell you now?"

"No.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“There was a sergeant at a desk. I knew he was a sergeant because I recognized the marks on his uniform, and I knew it was a desk because it's always a desk. There's always someone at a desk, except when it's a table that functions as a desk. You sit behind a desk, and everyone knows you're supposed to be there, and that you're doing something that involves your brain. It's an odd, special kind of importance. I think everyone should get a desk; you can sit behind it when you feel like you don't matter.”
― Steven Brust, Iorich

“You may borrow them, if
you wish," so I could avoid letting him startle me.
"I'd like that very much."
"I should warn you, however, that I have several volumes devoted to curses for
people who don't return books."
"I'd like to borrow those, too.”
― Steven Brust, Dragon

“You can't put something together again unless you've torn it apart first.”
― Steven Brust