“Adventures are only interesting once you ve lived to see the end of them. Before that, they are nothing but fear, and being too cold or too hot or too wet or too hungry, and getting hurt.”
“One of the inescapable encumbrances of leading an interesting life is that there have to be moments when you almost lose it.”
“I have discovered that even the mediocre can have adventures and even the fearful can achieve.”
“I looked on, I thought, I reflected, I admired, in a state of stupefaction not altogether unmingled with fear!”
“I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die.”
“I thought climbing the Devil s Thumb would fix all that was wrong with my life. In the end, of course, it changed almost nothing. But I came to appreciate that mountains make poor receptacles for dreams.”
“The only life worth living is the adventurous life. Of such a life the dominant characteristic is that it is unafraid. It is unafraid of what other people think...It does not adapt either its pace or its objectives to the pace and objectives of its neighbors. It thinks its own thoughts, it reads its own books. It develops its own hobbies, and it is governed by its own conscience. The herd may graze where it pleases or stampede where it pleases, but he who lives the adventurous life will remain unafraid when he finds himself alone.”
“I decided that adventure was the best way to learn about writing.”
“Look, Grace said. How strange! In spite of the rain, you can still see the stars. How bright they are tonight. She pointed, but Lorcan didn t look. His eyes remained fixed intently on her. I can t think of a finer sight in the whole world than the one I m looking at right now, he said. In spite of being drenched, Grace flushed at his words. Lorcan s eyes sparkled at her, brighter than ever before. It was as if the rare blue gems of his iriseshad been washed by the rain amd buffed by the moonlight to a new intensity. Grace, there s been something I ve wanted to do for a very long time now, but things have kept getting in the way. He reached forward, bringing a hand to the side of her face. Then he gently but firmly drew her wet face toward his. He gazed at her, as if seeing her for the first time. Then he brought his soft lips down to hers and kissed her.”
“Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.”
“I will go forth as a real outlaw, he said, and as men do robbery on the highway I will do right on the highway; and it will be counted a wilder crime.”
“ i had a dream when i was 22 that someday i would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till i came to one of the poles of the earth”
“Magnus threw the monkey a fig. The monkey took the fig. There, said Magnus. Let us consider the matter settled. The monkey advanced, chewing in a menacing fashion. I rather wonder what I am doing here. I enjoy city life, you know, Magnus observed. The glittering lights, the constant companionship, the liquid entertainment. The lack of sudden monkeys. He ignored Giuliana s advice and took a smart step back, and also threw another piece of fruit. The monkey did not take the bait this time. He coiled and rattled out a growl, and Magnus took several more steps back and into a tree. Magnus flailed on impact, was briefly grateful that nobody was watching him and expecting him to be a sophisticated warlock, and had a monkey assault launched directly to his face. He shouted, spun, and sprinted through the rain forest. He did not even think to drop the fruit. It fell one by one in a bright cascade as he ran for his life from the simian menace. He heard it in hot pursuit and fled faster, until all his fruit was gone and he ran right into Ragnor. Have a care! Ragnor snapped. He detailed his terrible monkey adventure twice. But of course you should have retreated at once from the dominant male, Giuliana said. Are you an idiot? You are extremely lucky he was distracted from ripping out your throat by the fruit. He thought you were trying to steal his females. Pardon me, but we did not have the time to exchange that kind of personal information, Magnus said. I could not have known! Moreover, I wish to assure both of you that I did not make any amorous advances on female monkeys. He paused and winked. I didn t actually see any, so I never got the chance. Ragnor looked very regretful about all the choices that had led to his being in this place and especially in this company. Later he stooped and hissed, low enough so Giuliana could not hear and in a way that reminded Magnus horribly of his monkey nemesis: Did you forget that you can do magic? Magnus spared a moment to toss a disdainful look over his shoulder. I am not going to ensorcel a monkey! Honestly, Ragnor. What do you take me for?”
“She did it, though she hated opera. She hated everything about it. The overblown sense of drama. The violence and lewdness. No one had ever died of heartbreak in Reverie. Betrayal never led to murder. Those things didn’t happen anymore. They had the Realms now. They could experience anything without taking risks. Now, life was Better than Real.”
“Seaward ho! Hang the treasure! It s the glory of the sea that has turned my head.”
“To err is to wander and wandering is the way we discover the world and lost in thought it is the also the way we discover ourselves. Being right might be gratifying but in the end it is static a mere statement. Being wrong is hard and humbling and sometimes even dangerous but in the end it is a journey and a story. Who really wants to stay at home and be right when you can don your armor spring up on your steed and go forth to explore the world True you might get lost along get stranded in a swamp have a scare at the edge of a cliff thieves might steal your gold brigands might imprison you in a cave sorcerers might turn you into a toad but what of what To fuck up is to find adventure: it is in the spirit that this book is written.”
“Go small, go simple, go now”