Alastair Reynolds Quotes

I imagine you feel insignificant," Sajaki said, almost as if he had been listening in on the conversation. "Well; you're justified in feeling that way. You are insignificant. That's the majesty of this place. Would you choose it any other way?

Ideology is all there is." "Really? I would have thought there were many other human qualities worth considering. Fairness. Generosity. A sense of humour. A willingness to see the best in people, even those we do not automatically agree with.

I was going to call it a mistake, but you could argue that there are no mistakes in war, only fortunate and less fortunate events.

She must have walked through life with men like him falling at her feet, squashing them underfoot like autumn leaves. It probably happened so often that all she noticed was that nice crunching sound.

There's a catch," Skellsgard said. "Another one? But of course there is. You know, I'm thinking I should start a collection.

I had you down as a xenophobic zealot," Quillen said. "I didn't realize you were also a sadist." "We all have our hidden depths.

Charm was what he excelled at. If anyone sensed his underlying shallowness, they usually mistook it for well-hidden great depth of character, like misinterpreting a radar bounce.

Could be worse, as they say." "That's the sum story of human history, isn't it? Could be worse. As if that's the very best that we can manage.

They dug too far into physics and it bit them. Physics will do that. It's an ungrateful piece of shit. It's a fickle lover that will always betray you. It courts you, gives you rewards, coughs up little treats like fire and the wheel, telescopes and the secret of starflight, makes you think you're worth it, that you're the special one, that you really, really matter to it.…All the while it's saving up this nasty little truth: that every thought, every deed, every hope you've ever held is futile. That the universe will end, and forget itself. That there is no such thing as meaning.… "Do you believe it?" Goma asked. "Of course I believe it. Physics doesn't give a damn about how we feel. It doesn't give a damn about a sleeping soundly in our beds, thinking we matter.

The problem was, although I was as certain as I could be that I was right, I could offer nothing to bolster my arguments.

Wonderful, isn't it?" "Wonderful and a little spooky." "Like all the best things in the universe.

It's all in the fine print. You should read it sometime." "When I'm gripped by existential boredom," Khouri said, "I might try it.

“I don’t know.” That was typical Sajaki; like all the genuinely clever people Sylveste had met he knew better than to feign understanding where none existed.

Am I that fascinating to you, or are you just more bored than I imagined?

I know what you're feeling," Meroka said. "You're thinking, this was my little adventure, it was all revolving around me. And now it's not. You're just a detail, swept up in the stuff she's making happen. Welcome to the way most of us spend our lives feeling, Cutter. We're just turds swirling our way down the pipe.