James S. A. Corey Quotes

I try to do the right thing, Holden. But there are times when it's not obvious what that is.
I agree with you," Holden said. "Right up to the part where you tell me this is one of those times.

That sounds like post hoc realpolitik rationalizing bullshit.

History’s made of surprises that seem obvious in retrospect.

The aliens that sent the protomolecule hadn’t needed to destroy humanity. They’d given humans the opportunity to destroy themselves, and as a species, they’d leaped on it.

His head hurt. His back hurt. He couldn’t feel his legs. It was all distressing until his mind came back enough for him to realize it meant he hadn’t died.

I never thought I'd feel wind again. I never thought I'd be outside. It's so beautiful.
Amos glanced around the ruins and shrugged. "That's got a lot to do with context, I guess.

The only right you have with anyone in life is the right to walk away.

You are a special flower.
Well, sure. Just not used to anybody appreciating it.

You think we're going to die?
Yup.
Of this?
Maybe.

Sometimes you don't get redeemed," she said, and here voice made it clear she'd thought about the question. Tired and strong at the same time. "Not every stain comes out. Sometimes you do something bad enough that you carry the consequences for the rest of your life and take the regrets to the grave. That's your happy ending.

Something in the back of her head shifted. The serpent of learned helplessness long asleep starting to wake. She pretended it wasn’t there, in hopes that if she denied it enough, it wouldn’t exist.

In order to be heard by the oppressing class, one must speak as a member of it. Not only the language, but the diction. The accusation of tyranny, however well-founded in fact, is dismissed unless it is delivered in the manner that power recognizes as powerful.

You think you know what I am, she thought, but all you’ve got is stories.

Realizing you’ve got shit on your fingers is the first step toward washing your hands.

Alex’s experience of real family—of blood relations—was more like having a lot of people who had all wound up on the same mailing list without knowing quite why they signed up for it.