David Gemmell: Trending quotes

“You do not convince me. You rationalize your actions and because the result is favorable you become right.”

Source: Lord of the Silver Bow

“I was a man before I was a king, and no true man walks away when a friend needs him.”

Source: Lord of the Silver Bow

“Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people seek it.”

Source: Fall of Kings

“To be truthful i am not entirely sure what people mean when they talk of happiness. There are moments of joy and laughter, the comfort of friendship, but enduring happiness? If it exists i have not found it”

Source: Fall of Kings

“Love is not about conquest. The truth is a man can only find true love when he surrenders to it. When he opens his heart to the partner of his soul and says: "Here it is! The very essence of me! It is yours to nurture or destroy.”

“Fear is like a fire in your belly. Controlled, it warms you and keeps you alive. Uncontrolled, it burns and destroys you.”

Source: Lord of the Silver Bow

David Gemmell book Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

Source: Drenai series, Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf, Ch. 1

“He didn't want to come, Dweller. He didn't want to get involved. It should have been me who died.' 'Of course he wanted to come. Why else was he here? You didn't force him, Draig. He came because you were his brother and he loved you. He could have left at any time once the pursuit began. He made his own choices. Just as you did. Just as I knew you would.”

“… a man can overcome his background, even as he can overcome a skilled opponent.”

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 6

David Gemmell book The King Beyond the Gate

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 13

“The onset of fear makes the simplest actions complex and difficult.”

David Gemmell book Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

ibid
Drenai series, Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

“It is a rare man who notices a handsome woman.”

David Gemmell book The King Beyond the Gate

Source: Drenai series, The King Beyond the Gate, Ch. 22

“I think that for the coward every day carries a kind of death.”

“… No, I should have died at Bel-Azzar. Nothing has gone right since then.' 'Death comes soon enough to all men. Don't wish for it.”

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 4

David Gemmell book Quest for Lost Heroes

Source: Drenai series, Quest for Lost Heroes, Ch. 1

“[H]e who fears to lose will never win.”

“It's a funny thing about weaknesses…. Most people will tell you they know their weaknesses. When asked, they'll tell you, 'Well for one thing, I'm overgenerous.”

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 17

“I do not mock men who have faith. It goves them comfort, and oft times leads them to help others. Yet I have also seen great evils done in the name of the Source. And never have I witnessed a miracle. Until I do I shall remain sceptical.”

... that's what innkeepers are for.
Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 1

“Constantly at war, the tribesmen fought one another with pitiless ferocity, and only the very strong survived to manhood.”

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 2

David Gemmell book Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

ibid
Drenai series, Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

“A friend in need is a friend to be avoided.”

“Your men are brave men, And you have won. I can live with that, Earl of Bronze — a poor man would I be if I could not.”

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 1

“Makes no sense to me,' said Huntsekker. 'You don't know who is at your door, but you know the thoughts of a man twenty miles away.' ‘ Life is a mystery,’ said Powdermill, with a gold-toothed grin. 'It is that, right enough,' agreed Huntsekker.”

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 31