Ann Leckie

"It’s easy to say that if you were there you would have refused, that you would rather die than participate in the slaughter, but it all looks very different when it’s real, when the moment comes to ch…"

"What, after all, was the point of civilization if not the well-being of citizens?"

"Without feelings insignificant decisions become excruciating attempts to compare endless arrays of inconsequential things. It’s just easier to handle those with emotions."

"I don’t confuse abstract philosophical concepts with reality."

"You don’t like me saying that, but here’s the truth: luxury always comes at someone else’s expense. One of the many advantages of civilization is that one generally doesn’t have to see that, if one do…"

"People often think they would have made the noblest choice, but when they find themselves actually in such a situation, they discover matters aren’t quite so simple."

"If you’re going to do something that crazy, save it for when it’ll make a difference. But absent near-omniscience there’s no way to know when that is. You can only make your best approximate calculati…"

"We have a saying where I come from: Power requires neither permission nor forgiveness."