Pierce Brown

"In war, men lose what makes them great. Their creativity. Their wisdom. Their joy. All that's left is their utility. War is not monstrous for making corpses of men so much as it is for making machines…"

"They call him father, liberator, warlord, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the pale blue planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-…"

"I once thought the greatest sin of war was violence. It isn't. The greatest sin is it requires good men to become practical."

"Humans are always negotiating. That's what conversation is. Someone has something, knows something. Someone wants something."

"I think, as with all things, honor is best appreciated in moderation. As is cruelty."

"Life is meant to be felt. Else why live? Valleys make the mountains."

"What is pride without honor? What is honor without truth? Honor is not what you say. It is not what you read." Romulus thumps his chest. "Honor is what you do."

"These Peerless thump their chests in salute to me. The monsters. They go with the wind, chasing power. But they don't realize power doesn't shift. Power is resolute. It is the mountain, not the wind. …"