Quotes from George R.R. Martin

Is it so far from madness to wisdom?" - Daenerys Targaryen

A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face.

Minds are like swords, I do fear. The old ones go to rust.

Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He'll break before he bends. And Renly, that one, he's copper, bright and shiny, pretty to look at but not worth all that much at the end of the day.

True knights protect the weak." He snorted. "There are no true knights, no more than there are gods. If you can't protect yourself, die and get out of the way of those who can. Sharp steel and strong arms rule this world, don't ever believe any different." Sansa backed away from him. "You're awful." "I'm honest. It's the world that's awful.

Only a fool humbles himself when the world is so full of men eager to do that job for him.

Some truths did not bear saying, and some lies were necessary.

Drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover's kisses, and melted on her cheeks. At the center of the garden, beside the statue of the weeping woman that lay broken and half-buried on the ground, she turned her face up to the sky and closed her eyes. She could feel the snow on her lashes, taste it on her lips. It was the taste of Winterfell. The taste of innocence. The taste of dreams.

All dwarfs may be bastards yet not all bastards are dwarfs.

Woman, you bray like an ass, and make no more sense." "Woman? Is that meant to insult me? I would return the slap, if I took you for a man.

Every once in a very long while, Lord Tywin Lannister would actually threaten to smile; he never did, but the threat alone was terrible to behold.

Of all the bright cruel lies they tell you, the cruelest is the one called love.

Kind? How boring that would be. I aspire to be wicked.

The storms come and go, the waves crash overhead, the big fish eat the little fish, and I keep on paddling. (Varys)

Men are men, vows are words, and words are wind.

I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.

You must put these dreams aside, they will only break your heart.

I am surrounded by flatterers and fools. It can drive a man to madness,.. . Half of them don't dare tell me the truth, and the other half can't find it.

Are you a maid, Penny?" She blushed. "Yes. Of course. Who would have –" "Stay that way. Love is madness, and lust is poison.

Words are wind, Brienne told herself. They cannot hurt you. Let them wash over you.

He'll be down with the books. My old septon used to say books are dead men talking. Dead men should keep quiet is what I say. No one wants to hear a dead man's yabber.

Nothing burns like the cold. But only for a while. Then it gets inside you and starts to fill you up, and after a while you don't have the strength to fight it.

She narrowed her eyes. "What is our heart's desire?" "Vengeance." His voice was soft, as if he were afraid that someone might be listening. "Justice." Prince Doran pressed the onyx dragon into her palm with his swollen, gouty fingers, and whispered, "Fire and blood.

Do you want to die old and craven in your bed?- How else? Though not till I'm done reading.