John Barnes: Quotes about people

John Barnes is American science fiction writer. Explore interesting quotes on people.
John Barnes: 76 quotes0 likes

“And just like this, all of a sudden, your people and mine will begin to talk?" "It only looks sudden from some places. Running off a cliff is sudden if you don't know it's there, even if you have been running toward it for days." "That's not a reassuring metaphor.”

John Barnes book Earth Made of Glass

"It isn't meant to be."
Earth Made of Glass (1998)

“Most people think the world is out to get them, because they have all the evidence they need—they don’t get enough of what they want. But that doesn’t make it so.”

John Barnes book Mother of Storms

Source: Mother of Storms (1994), p. 104

“People who put principles before people are people who hate people. They don’t much care about how well it works, just about how right it is... they may even like it better if it inflicts enough pain.”

John Barnes book A Million Open Doors

A Million Open Doors (1992)

“In discussing the existence, or not, of the soul: "I am Caledon. Quite a few of my fellow Caledons still believe there is some essence to a human being, something that makes a person unique." "And you don't." "I don't. I see that people who believe in anything beyond plain physical reality are mainly engaged in making themselves or others miserable."”

John Barnes book Earth Made of Glass

Earth Made of Glass (1998)

“Too bad about all those people, but as Hassan says, compassion speaks well of its holder but does little for its recipient.”

John Barnes book Mother of Storms

Section 2, “Vortex“ (p. 214)
Mother of Storms (1994)

“I know I pretend to be the apolitical businessman a lot, but the reality is that like anybody who’s interested in getting people together with the things they need and want, I have an agenda. I want people to get what they want, and I want them ideally to get it fro me, but most of all I want them to be free to want it and to make offers to get it. Those poor stupid fanatics have ben sold on the idea that what they want is the ability to give themselves a little priggish congratulations over having done the right thing. They’d rather be right than happy. More importantly, they’d rather that I be right than happy and they’re not about to leave the choice up to me. I say, let ‘em die, and I hope it’s slow and it hurts.”

John Barnes book A Million Open Doors

A Million Open Doors (1992)

“The only thing Carla has ever learned to like about dealing with power is how easy it is to embarrass people who have it.”

John Barnes book Mother of Storms

Source: Mother of Storms (1994), p. 261

“The beautiful earth is being crapped up by an excess of people—lovely as individuals, towns, and cultures, but hideous in such profusion.”

John Barnes book Mother of Storms

Source: Mother of Storms (1994), p. 473

“[Regarding politicians]... like any group of people selected for ambition and nothing else, they turn out to be a pretty bad lot. Like mandarins in China, colonial administrators in the British Empire, lawyers in old North America, or the reconstruction agencies after the Slaughter -- individually there are decent people who do some good, but as a class they’re amoral, vicious leeches with a good cover story.”

John Barnes book A Million Open Doors

A Million Open Doors (1992)