Quotes from book
Stormrider

Stormrider
David Gemmell

Stormrider is a fantasy novel by British writer David Gemmell, published in 2002. It is the fourth and last novel in the Rigante series.

“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.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 6

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

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 4

“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.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 2

“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.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 8

“I don't pray, Master Ring. I act.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 8

“Steal a loaf of bread and they hang you, steal a land and they'll make you king.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 5

“‘ Is the war coming to Eldacre, my lord?’ asked Ramus, as he settled into the chair.
'I fear it is. A more stupid and wasteful business there never was. Fields will not be planted, food will run low, tax revenues will dry up — save from the makers of swords and munitions.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 15

“…[A]ll duels followed a pattern. They began with heat and fury, then settled into a contest of wills. With two equally matched opponents there would come a time when the worm of doubt entered the equation. The truly skilled recognized such moments, and fed them. It was at this time that the endgame would begin.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 7

“It never ceases to surprise me how few friends the doomed have. One moment they are surrounded by smilingfaces, the next they are uterly friendless.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 4

“Our ancestors have fought wars since time. And won them. More than that, we have built societies and held them together. We are the rulers, Gaise. We are the mighty. Remember that tomorrow.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 17

“When healers yearn to kill then hope begins to die … Evil cannot be overcome by evil.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 2

“Well, who decides who as won or lost? It's not like Avondale any more. That was easy. We charged. They ran. We captured their cannon. Now, that was a victory. Now, we just charge each other, kill each other, and argue about who won.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 3

“The nature of a coward is to avoid death. If such a man courts peril there can be only two reasons. Either he is not a coward at all — or there is no danger.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 4

“Kings are chosen by the Source, so it is said … Therefore those who fight for the king can be said to be godly. Is that not cause enough?”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 2

“Evil corrupts, Bael, by promising us what we want, and telling us that it is good.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 13
Context: You think evil corrupts men by saying come with me and I will turn you into a merciless killer, and damn your soul for eternity? Who would agree to such a bargain? Evil corrupts, Bael, by promising us what we want, and telling us that it is good. Evil talks of the end justifying the means. It speaks of distant goals — aye, and of golden ages. It seduces, Bael. It does not threaten. Not at first.

“Men have been killing each other for centuries without need to blame skulls or relics.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Rigante series, Stormrider
Context: We don’t have time for theological debates, or philosophical discussion on the nature of evil,’ he said. ‘Men have been killing each other for centuries without need to blame skulls or relics.

“Beautiful wine and sour vinegar come from exactly the same source. Curiously if one leaves a bottle of wine open for long enough it will become vinegar”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 7
Context: No need for confusion, my dear Mulgrave [... ] Beautiful wine and sour vinegar come from exactly the same source. Curiously if one leaves a bottle of wine open for long enough it will become vinegar. Happily in this house wine never survives long enough to go bad.

“As men we are all cursed by the violence in our natures.”

David Gemmell book Stormrider

Men like the Moidart — aye, and Winterbourne — revel in that nature. We do not. We struggle to overcome it.
Source: Rigante series, Stormrider, Ch. 7

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