Quotes About Adversity

John Sandford

you'll get back to your trucks. Some of those people, you

There's a saying: "May you live in interesting times." To begin, it's a curse. "Interesting" in this case uniformly means "Oh god, death is raining down upon us and we shall all perish wailing and possibly on fire.

We don't get to choose our battles.

For two years, all you have to do is go where they tell you, stay behind your rifle, and kill and not be killed. It's simple, but simple isn't the same as easy.

Destiny gets compressed, you know, into just that small fraction of a second you have right in front of you at any one time. And there's nothing romantic about keeping your head down to avoid getting shot, or trying to save a friend who's been injured, or coming face to face with a creature who is as smart and mean and as terrified of dying as you are, and who wants to make sure that if someone is left on the ground there, it's you and not it.

If someone is telling you to live in interesting times, they are basically telling you they want you to die horribly, and to suffer terribly before you do. Seriously, they are not your friend. This is a tip I am giving you for free.

This novel took me rather longer than usual to write, for a number of reasons but one big one being simply that 2017 was a raging trash fire of a year, filled with horrible people trying to do horrible things and often succeeding. It's harder to bear down creatively when the world is burning.

It's war, you jackasses," Keyes snapped. "I'm sorry it's not terribly convenient or comfortable for you.

It was breathtaking the situations that humans put themselves into, and still managed to thrive.

If we're going to be fucked, Colonel, I prefer to get fucked on my feet instead of on my knees.

Sometimes in life you're going to win and sometimes you're going to lose. But just because you lose doesn't mean the other guy needs to win.

The next day, I got shot in the head. Before that happened, though, I fell out of my bunk. The falling out of the bunk was not the important part.

she will find a way to make the rest of your natural existence one of unceasing woe and misery.

It's not too bad. I'll live." "Can you walk?" Sagan asked. "As long as I'm not required to like it

How do you feel?" "I have a headache," Lee said. "My muscles are sore. I am dying of thirst. I have to pee. I am restrained. I'm blind. How are you?" "Better than you, I will admit

Don't you ever want to stop fighting?" I asked. "Why?" Jane asked. "Well, for one thing, it dramatically cuts down your chances of violent death

All of us have people who saw weaknesses, who saw pressure points, and who saw ways to use of own ways and stubbornness against us. This threat is real. This treat is both practical and existential. It it isn't met by all of us, all of us are likely to be destroyed.

And of course, just like in the movies, as soon as you mention that life is good, that means something needs to come by and sqaut one out on your life.

You believe someone is leveraging all this to work against me." "You are the emperox, ma'am. Someone is always working against you. It's in the job description.

If we're going to be fucked, Colonel, I prefer to get fucked on my feet instead of on my knees." "You have a way with mental imagery, General

Musuh membiak seperti tikus. Kau injak mereka, kau racun mereka, kau bakar mereka, akan lebih banyak lagi yang muncul! Tidak ada bedanya apakah kau hidup pada masa perang atau damai, makmur atau kelaparan! Musuh selalu menyusun rencana di belakangmu. (Shah Jahan dalam Taj Mahal, Kisah Cinta Abadi)

He had an idea that even when beaten he could steal a little victory by laughing at defeat.

Luck, you see, brings bitter friends.