Brandon Sanderson Quotes

“You see, that is the sad, sorry, terrible thing about sarcasm.

It's really funny.”

“Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”

“Every man had to die. He’d always found it odd that so many died when they were old, as logic said that was the point in their lives when they’d had the most practice not dying.”

“Honor is dead. But I'll see what I can do.”

“Are there any religions on your list that include the slaughter of noblemen as a holy duty?”

“If you're always on time, it implies that you never have anything better you should be doing.”

“You want to be a better person? Go listen to someone you disagree with. don't argue with them just. It's remarkable what interesting things people will say if you take the time to not be a jerk.”

“Other men are strong like bricks - firm, unyielding, but if you pound on them long enough, they crack. You… you're strong like the wind. Always there, so willing to bend, but never apologetic for the times when you must be firm.”

“If there was a universal law regarding mankind, it was that they’d find a way to ferment anything, given time.”

“It is a time of change,'' Sazed said. ''Perhaps it is also time to learn of other truths, other ways.”

“It's going to be painful."
"It's a fun tradition."
"So was witch-burning," Melody said. "Unless you were the witch.”

“Don’t worry that you aren’t giving people what they want. Give them who you are, and let that be enough.”

“You can't just avoid the game by saying you don't want to play.”

“Weakness can imitate strength if bound properly, just as cowardice can imitate heroism if given nowhere to flee.”

“You don't have to believe in my miracles. You can call them accidents or coincidences, if you must. But don't pity me for my faith. And don't presume that you're better, just because you believe something different.”

“The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.”

“Life before Death.
Strength before Weakness.
Journey before Destination.”

“You should try not to talk so much, friend. You'll sound far less stupid that way.

- Breeze”

“I've always been very confident in my immaturity.”

“Mocking a woman is like drinking too much wine. It may be fun for a short time, but the hangover is hell.”

“But you can't kill me, Lord Tyrant. I represent that one thing you've never been able to kill, no matter how hard you try. I am hope.”

“My behavior is nonetheless, deplorable. Unfortunately, I'm quite prone to such bouts of deplorability--take for instance, my fondness for reading books at the dinner table.”

“There's always another secret.”

“People can do great things. However, there are some things they just CAN'T do. I, for instance, have not been able to transform myself into a Popsicle, despite years of effort.”

“Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.”

“I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and—if you're not careful—those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it in a book.”

“Expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they were to crack.”

“I'm not really sure why. But… do you stop loving someone just because they betray you? I don't think so. That's what makes the betrayal hurt so much - pain, frustration, anger… and I still loved her. I still do.”

“Good men don't become legends," he said quietly.
"Good men don't need to become legends." She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "They just do what's right anyway.”

“To lack feeling is to be dead, but to act on every feeling is to be a child.”

“I swear, my dear. Sometimes our conversations remind me of a broken sword."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Sharp as hell," Lightsong said, "but lacking a point.”

“Men rarely see their own actions as unjustified.”

“A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them.”

“If you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you'll end up miserable.”

“Unknowing ignorance is preferable to informed stupidity.”

“… A man can only stumble for so long before he either falls or stands up straight.”

“Why hasn't anyone killed him yet?”
“Dumb luck,” Wit said. “In that I’m lucky you’re all so dumb.”

“It was amazing how many books one could fit into a room, assuming one didn't want to move around very much.”

“Never throw the first punch. If you have to throw the second, try to make sure they don't get up for a third.”

“Belief?"
"Yes," Sazed said. "Tell me, Mistress. What is it that you believe?"
Vin frowned. "What kind of question is that?"
"The most important kind, I think.”

“Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are.”

“In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.”

“Somebody has to start. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right.”

“The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.”

“This is going to take a while. I'm a fantasy author. We have trouble with the concept of brevity.”

“Every man is a hero in his own story, Princess.”

“Ah, the outdoors,' Shallan said. 'I visited that mythical place once.”

“We follow the codes not because they bring gain, but because we loathe the people we would otherwise become.”

“? Is that boy crazy?"
"Most young men his age are somewhat crazy, I think," Sazed said with a smile. "However, this is hardly unexpected. Haven't you noticed how he stares at you when you enter a room?"
"I thought he was just creepy.”

“Remember, the past need not become our future as well.”

“I ain't grouchy,” Teft snapped. “I just have a low threshold for stupidity.”

“A man was defined not by his flaws, but by how he overcame them.”

“The only time you seem honest is when you’re insulting someone!”
“The only honest things I can say to you are insults.”

“Personally, I say, "Out of the frying pan and into the deadly pit filled with sharks who are wielding chainsaws with killer kittens stapled to them." However, that one's having a rough time catching on.”

“The right belief is like a good cloak, I think. If it fits you well, it keeps you warm and safe. The wrong fit however, can suffocate.”

“Lately, I feel like my life is a book written in a language I don't know how to read.”

“I'm convinced that responsibility is some kind of psychological disease.”

“That hat looks ridiculous.”
“Fortunately, I can change hats,” Wayne said, “while you, sir, are stuck with that face.”

“You sent him to the sky to die, assassin," Kaladin said, Stormlight puffing from his lips, "but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life.”

“As I fear not a child with a weapon he cannot lift, I will never fear the mind of a man who does not think.”

“That's the funny thing about arriving somewhere, Vin. Once you're there, the only thing you can really do is leave again”