N. K. Jemisin Quotes

Mother always said that if one must do something unpleasant, one should do it wholeheartedly and not waste effort on regret.

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

Home is people, she says to Asael, softly. Asael blinks. Home is what you take with you, not what you leave behind.

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

At least I’m done with adolescence. Never could stand it; if I don’t want to kill someone, I want to have sex with them.

Love betrayed has an entirely different sound from hatred outright.

There is no logic to grief.

It is a massive palace, each spire of which could house a village; its chambers contain dozens of entertainments. All of these become tedious to the point of torment after two thousand years. Hells, after twenty.

I'm tired of being what everyone else has made me, I said. I want to be myself.
Don't be a child.
I looked up, startled and angry, though of course there was nothing to see. What?
You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I'm tired of your whining.

Weapons have no need of friends.

You’re abbreviating heavily, not lying. That’s what you tell yourself.

It is surprising how refreshing this feels. Being judged by what you do, and not what you are.

Funny thing, employment. If you keep doing it, you keep getting paid.

…You’re still putting a pretty hefty mental commitment into making a short story. Even though it’s relatively brief, you still have to come up with a world that’s coherent. I find short stories almost as difficult to write as novels, it’s just less time-consuming. Short stories are hard for me. That’s why the collection is something like fifteen years worth of short stories. They asked me to write several new ones for the collection and I was just like, Not likely to happen. In fact, I can really only write them when I’m between novels because they take away from whatever energy I’m trying to pour into a novel.

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.