Alastair Reynolds: Trending quotes (page 4)

“Evolution doesn’t greatly care about what happens to creatures once they’ve passed on their genetic heritage.”

Alastair Reynolds book Chasm City

Source: Chasm City (2001), Chapter 20 (p. 332).

““I’m not a bad man, Ilia. I’m just someone who knows exactly what needs to be done.”
“Like you said, always the most dangerous sort.””

Alastair Reynolds book Redemption Ark

Source: Redemption Ark (2002), Chapter 33 (p. 611)

“You are that rarest of creatures: a man with the wisdom to see beyond his own time.”

Alastair Reynolds book The Prefect

Source: The Prefect (2007), Chapter 10 (p. 125)

Wisdom , Time

“Pretty smart piece of thinkware by all accounts: full Turing compliance; about as clever as you can make a machine before you have to start giving it human rights.”

Alastair Reynolds

Nightingale (p. 277)
Short fiction, Galactic North (2006)

“It was a glaring omission, a sign of cosmic sloppiness. Not even that, Vasko corrected himself. It was a sign of cosmic obliviousness. The universe didn’t know what was happening here. It didn’t know and it didn’t care. It didn’t even know that it didn’t know.”

Alastair Reynolds book Absolution Gap

Source: Absolution Gap (2003), Chapter 39 (p. 627)

Universe

“Until recently we were a trio. Before that, a quartet. Perhaps it’s just me, but I’m beginning to detect a trend.”

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

Source: Century Rain (2004), Chapter 1 (p. 1)

““A splendidly inept thing,” Sylveste said, nodding despite himself.
“What?”
“The human capacity for grief. It just isn’t capable of providing an adequate emotional response once the dead exceed a few dozen in number. And it doesn’t just level off—it just gives up, resets itself to zero. Admit it. None of us feel a damn about these people.””

Alastair Reynolds book Revelation Space

Source: Revelation Space (2000), Chapter 15 (p. 323).

People , Feeling , Dead

“Don’t overestimate your familiarity with technologies you barely understand. It could be your undoing.”

Alastair Reynolds book Redemption Ark

Source: Redemption Ark (2002), Chapter 30 (p. 565)

Understanding

““I’m just saying… we can’t trust them. We’ve never been able to trust them. That’s always been a cornerstone of our operational policy.”
“Then maybe it’s time we got a new cornerstone. They’re people, Lillian. They might be people who make us uncomfortable, people with very different values from ours, but when we’re facing local extinction at the hands of a genocidal machine intelligence, I don’t think the differences between us look massively significant, do you?””

Alastair Reynolds book The Prefect

Source: The Prefect (2007), Chapter 28 (p. 472)

People , Intelligence , Thinking , Time

“She must have walked through life with men like him falling at her feet, squashing them underfoot like autumn leaves. It probably happened so often that all she noticed was that nice crunching sound.”

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

Source: Century Rain (2004), Chapter 21 (p. 357)

Life , Men , Autumn

“There’s a catch,” Skellsgard said.
“Another one? But of course there is. You know, I’m thinking I should start a collection.”

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

Source: Century Rain (2004), Chapter 11 (p. 171)

Thinking

“The Fascists got what they deserved,” Floyd said.
“My husband lived long enough to see those monsters come to come to power. He saw through their lies and promises, but he also knew that they spoke to something nasty and squalid in the human spirit. Something in all of us. We want to hate those who are not like us. All we need is an excuse, a whisper in the ear.”

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

Source: Century Rain (2004), Chapter 9 (p. 135)

Hate

“You seem upset by the fact that we’re hated and feared. It does give one pause for thought.”

Alastair Reynolds book Redemption Ark

Source: Redemption Ark (2002), Chapter 5 (p. 80)

Hate , Fear

“Volyova did not like planets at the best of times, and gas giants struck her as an unreasonable affront to human scale and frailty. In that respect, they were almost as bad as stars.”

Alastair Reynolds book Redemption Ark

Source: Redemption Ark (2002), Chapter 11 (p. 206)

Star , Time

“Maybe it’s not as bad as she fears. Old people always think the world is going to ruin. It’s their job. Maybe they’re right, Floyd replied.”

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

Source: Century Rain (2004), Chapter 9 (p. 138)

Thinking , World , Fear , People

“I’m fed up with everyone being lied to just because the administration thinks it’s in our best interests not to know all the facts.”

Alastair Reynolds book Absolution Gap

Source: Absolution Gap (2003), Chapter 25 (p. 378)

Thinking

““I feel as if I’m missing all the excitement.”
”In my experience,” Tunguska said, making himself a temporary seat, “excitement is always better when it happens to other people.””

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

Source: Century Rain (2004), Chapter 36 (p. 561)

People , Feeling

“The mere fact that there could be danger in this is fascination in itself; almost an incentive to push further. That’s how you feel, isn’t it? Every argument they could use against you would only strengthen your resolve. Because knowledge makes you hungry, and it’s a hunger you can’t resist, even if you know that what you’re feasting on could kill you.”

Alastair Reynolds book Revelation Space

Source: Revelation Space (2000), Chapter 26 (p. 452).

Hunger , Feeling , Knowledge

“I’ll survive,” Floyd said. “I’m a private detective. If I don’t get clouted on the head at least once a week, I’m not doing my job properly.”

Alastair Reynolds book Century Rain

Source: Century Rain (2004), Chapter 24 (p. 392)

“That would require an unprecedented leap of faith. I don’t do faith, Scorpio said.”

Alastair Reynolds book Absolution Gap

Source: Absolution Gap (2003), Chapter 33 (p. 515)

Faith