Were you not at the Holy City when the army of the faithful burst in? Did you not yourself partake in the slaughter of the pagans, and the women and … - Darrell Schweitzer

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Were you not at the Holy City when the army of the faithful burst in? Did you not yourself partake in the slaughter of the pagans, and the women and infants of the pagans, those who were born in lands where the gospel never reached? Did you not do this and much more, all for the glory of God? And does not that same All Mighty and All Merciful God damn men for sins of weakness and ignorance when He himself made them imperfect and prone to weakness, and taught them not so that they remained ignorant? Did He not allow the serpent to enter the Garden, make no move to stop it, then punished severely his beguiled servants?"
"Lady, as you said, you know the answers. All these things are true."
"Then I ask you, Julian, are these actions of a loving God?"
"I—I—don't—"
"Know! But you do. This knowledge is the heritage of all men. You know they are not, and yet more shall you know. God is mad, Julian. He babbles on his throne of light, and the sound of his gurgling fills his angels with fear. He sends them forth with flaming swords to raze the cities of men, and when thousands upon thousands have been slain, and the smoke of their pyres rises into the heights of the sky, when pestilence and famine slay thousands more, then God laughs and roars like some mindless beast, 'THIS IS PLEASING TO ME!'"
"Why do you tell me these things? Why have I been brought here?"
"Because you are to join us in our war against the Father. He has grown weak in his madness, so preoccupied with dreaming new ways to torture men that he will not notice when the very gates of Hell fly open and the armies of his old Adversary issue forth.

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About Darrell Schweitzer

Darrell Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer, as well as an editor and critic in the field of speculative fiction.

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Darrell Charles Schweitzer
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Additional quotes by Darrell Schweitzer

So now the tale is done. What moral? There was in the abbey a learned man who insisted that all things have a greater meaning, that life is but a symbol of motions on a higher plane. Nothing, he said, is random. Nothing is without purpose. Yet I blundered into my adventure and out of it, seeking only to save my own life. I came to the only place a wretched fugitive could have come on such a night, and my escape was miracle enough. A meaning? A purpose? When others, as the ballads tell, pass into Faerie, or into the lands of the dead, it is for some lofty purpose, to learn some deep wisdom, or to rescue a loved one, or to save a kingdom. It was not like that with me. My life will make a poor amusement if it is ever told. There is no form to it, no order. No conclusion, no moral, no answers. Only more questions.

Horror is not quite as elusive as science fiction, for which there are as many definitions as definers . Most modern practitioners will agree that it's a a matter of mood , not of specific content . A story can be horrific without being supernatural or even fantastic , as much of Edgar Allan Poe readily demonstrates. In the simplest sense, a horror story is one that scares us.

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