Quotes from work
Vorkosigan Saga

Lois McMaster Bujold

The Vorkosigan Saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories set in a common fictional universe by American author Lois McMaster Bujold. The first of these was published in 1986 and the most recent in May 2018. Works in the series have received numerous awards and nominations, including five Hugo award wins including one for Best Series.

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“If you want to catch something, running after it isn't always the best way.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, The Mountains of Mourning (1989)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“I gather from the pattern of her flinches that the late unlamented Tien Vorsoisson was one of those subtle feral parasites who leave their mates scratching their heads and asking, "Am I crazy? Am I crazy?"”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, A Civil Campaign (1999)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“It is always easier to get forgiveness than permission.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

This seems to be derived from a statement attributed to Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, and which she regularly used in her public addresses: "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission."
Vorkosigan Saga, A Civil Campaign (1999)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“For her, this was a metaphor, he reminded himself. Though maybe he was a metaphor too, inside his head with the Black Gang. A metaphor gone metastatic.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, A Civil Campaign (1999)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Old age," she said, "is slower than a grenade, but a lot more thorough.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, Cryoburn (2010)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Your "accidents," I once noticed, have ways of entangling your enemies that are the green envy of mature and careful strategists. Far too consistent for chance, I concluded it had to be unconscious will.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, The Vor Game (1990)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Miles cursed himself silently, then out loud. He really had to try to cultivate a more normal attitude toward senior officers…. When a normal ensign looked at his commander, he ought to see a god-like being, not a, a… future subordinate.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, The Vor Game (1990)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“I'm sorry. I can love you. I can grieve for you, or with you. I can share your pain. But I cannot judge you.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Source: Vorkosigan Saga, Shards of Honor (1986), Chapter 11 (p. 162)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Most days it's just stumbling around in the dark with the rest of creation, smashing into things and wondering why it hurts.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, Shards of Honor (1986)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Mother Nature gives a sense of romance to young people, in place of prudence, to advance the species. It's a trick—that makes us grow.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, Mirror Dance (1994)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“Some men just aren't cut out for paternity. Better they should realize it before and not after they become responsible for a son.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, Ethan of Athos (1986)

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“The most interesting question of history is always, What were these people thinking?”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, (2012)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“I may be small, but I screw up big because I'm standing on the shoulders of GIANTS.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

This evokes the statement by Newton: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
Vorkosigan Saga, The Vor Game (1990)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“"Let's see what happens." Yes, let's.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, A Civil Campaign (1999)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“All the worry people expend over not existing after they die, yet nary a one ever seems to spare a moment to worry about not having existed before they were conceived. Or at all. After all, one sperm over and we would have been our sisters, and we'd never have been missed.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, Cryoburn (2010)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“It's never too late while you're breathing.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, The Warrior's Apprentice (1986)

Lois McMaster Bujold photo

“I can't quit, once I've started. I've been told I'm pathologically persistent. I can't quit.”

Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga

Vorkosigan Saga, Borders of Infinity (1989)