Quotes from George R.R. Martin

We do not choose our destinies.

Every battle is a gamble, Snow. The man who does nothing also takes a risk.

Power is a trick. It lies where we believe it lies.

This world is twisted beyond hope, when lowborn smugglers must vouch for the honor of kings.

Kill me, and be cursed. You are no king of mine.

It was astonishing to see how angry Cersei could wax over accusations she knew perfectly well to be true.

Be certain," Catelyn told her son, "or go home and take up that wooden sword again. You cannot afford to seem indecisive in front of men like Roose Bolton and Rickard Karstark. Make no mistake, Robb-these are your bannermen, not your friends. You named yourself battle commander. Command.

Is he blind, or merely stupid?" "He is honorable. Sometimes it amounts to the same thing.

I must show no fear, no weakness, no doubt.

When it comes to swords, a queen is only a woman after all.

The best lies contain within them nuggets of truth, enough to give a listener pause.

Thrones are won with swords, not quills. Spill blood, not ink.

A child sees an obstacle, and his first thought is to run around it or knock it down. A lord must learn that sometimes words can accomplish what swords cannot.

Things are not always as they seemed, Much that may seem evil can be good.

The lies we tell for love, he thought. May the gods forgive me.

I would choose freedom over comfort every time.

Let his sword break and his shield shatter, Sansa thought coldly as she shoved out through the doors, let his courage fail him and every man desert him.

I have climbed these steps so often I know each one by name.

There is entirely too much tut-tutting in this realm, if you ask me. All these kings would do a deal better if they put down their swords and listened to their mothers.

why is the world so full of pain and injustice ? » « Because of men like you. » « There are no 'men like me'. There's only me. »

Bring on your storm, my lord-and recall, if you do, the name of this castle"-Ser Courtnay Penrose at Storm's End.

That was the way of this cold world, where men fished the sea and dug in the ground and died, whilst women brought forth short-lived children from beds of blood and pain.

Some men think because they are afraid to do. - There is a difference between fear and caution.

Life would be much simpler if men could fuck themselves, don't you agree?