John Brunner Quotes

British author (1934–1995)

John Kilian Houston Brunner (September 24, 1934 – August 26, 1995) was a science fiction author. His work in the new wave sub-genre is highly acclaimed and influential. His earlier (prolific, often pseudonymous) space operas are generally considered unremarkable.

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Birth Name: John Kilian Houston Brunner

Alternative Names: K. H. Brunner • Henry Crosstrees, Jr. • Gill Hunt • John Loxmith • Ellis Quick • Trevor Staines • Keith Woodcott

From Wikidata (CC0)

Most rich people get rich by taking what they want without paying for it. It’s the way of the world.

Get me a drink of water, please, and something to quiet my belly. It’s rumbling so much I can’t hear myself think.

One might as well claim that the tide which rubs pebbles smooth on a beach is doing the pebbles a service because being round is prettier than being jagged. It's of no concern to a pebble what shape it is. But it's very important to a person.

The theory was and always had been: this is the thing the solid citizen has no need to worry about. Important, later all-important question: what about the hollow citizen?

"But I was never put on trial, never convicted!" "You are not entitled to a trial." "Anybody's entitled to a trial, damn you!" "That is absolutely true. But you see you are not anybody. You are nobody.

It's not because my mind is made up that I don't want you to confuse me with any more facts. It's because my mind isn't made up. I already have more facts than I can cope with.

First we had the legs race. Then we had the arms race. Now we're going to have the brain race. And, if we're lucky, the final stage will be the human race.

We’ve been amazingly lucky, which is another way of saying we’ve kept our eyes and minds open and responded when something turned up.

I simply can’t make myself believe that if they’d been handicapped by belief in capricious supernatural beings they’d have achieved what they did.

There’s an old saying: The genius sees what happens, but the plodder sees what he expects to happen.

How can a man be so brilliant and so obtuse?

“I was brought up as a Christian,” Cissy said. “Spelt K-I-L-L-J-O-Y. My mam still is one. When I said I was going to quit the church because of what I’d learned from Val about the history of slavery, I thought she was going to kill me!” She laughed nervously. But obviously that was not a joke.

We are agreed that before we kill each other we should better serve mankind by killing those who order us to kill each other.

So what do you think will happen?" Sawyer asked the barman who was drawing his mid-morning pint.
"Dunno," the man grunted. "Except one thing. I know we've been led by fools and rogues, but this is the first time we've ever been led by a criminal!

If you kill a dozen people by sniping at them from a roof-top, you’re a criminal. Unless you had a uniform on. Then you get a medal.