She knew intellectually that he was beautiful, the way the iridescent wings of a carrion fly would be. - James S. A. Corey

Ah! I see what you're doing," Alex said. "You're trying to make flying out to Charon and dodging radiation flares sound like a good idea. It's that whole 'I'll put a shitty idea next to a really shitty idea so the first one looks shiny by comparison' thing.

What you’re really doing is trying to win back what you’ve lost by going all in. It’s shitty poker, and even worse as a battle strategy.

He probed himself like a doctor searching for inflammation. Did it hurt here? Did he feel the loss there? He didn’t. There was only a sense of relief so profound it approached giddiness.