I’ll plead insanity. I can back it up. - Lev Grossman

Quentin thought about how wrong things had gone. Things so often went wrong. Was it him? Was he making the same mistake over and over again? Or different mistakes? He like to think he was at least making different mistakes.

What is that thing?" Quentin said.
"This?" Betsy held up the knife, studying its edge. "This is why I'm here. This is what I've always wanted. This is a weapon for killing gods."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Have you ever met a fucking god?"
"I guess I can see your point.

Never risking anything meant never having or doing or being anything either. Life is risk, it turned out.