Ian Tregillis

"Because the universe was a cold, callous place. And they had just peered into the gulf separating the astronomically unlikely from the truly impossible."

"Heartlessness wasn’t the sole province of the rich."

"Your family excels at being a pain in my ass. Are you certain you’re not part Dutch?"

"How could you comprehend things whose existence you doubt?"

"Every additional second the king didn’t take a bullet in the eye seemed a good sign."

"“It’s a debate,” he spat, “over truth. Which truth is more true? The inspiring myth or the bleak, blood-caked reality?"

"Alchemy was useful but never compassionate."

"Perhaps there really was a God, and He was just as cruel as the humans He made in His form."