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Brandon Sanderson Quotes

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It’s what happens when you shoot someone,” Wayne pointed out. “At least, usually someone has the good sense to get dead when you go to all the trouble to shoot them.
From The Alloy of Law
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It has always seemed to me that a coward is a person who cares more about what people say than about what is right. Bravery isn't about what people call you, Spensa. It's about who you know yourself to be.
From Skyward
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Mocking a woman is like drinking too much wine. It may be fun for a short time, but the hangover is hell.
From Warbreaker
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Those who take lightly promises they make to those they love are people who find little lasting satisfaction in life. This is not an easy time in which to live. That does not mean that it has to be a difficult time to love, but it does mean that you will find unusual stresses upon your lives and your relationship.
From The Well of Ascension
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Why hasn't anyone killed him yet?”
“Dumb luck,” Wit said. “In that I’m lucky you’re all so dumb.
From Words of Radiance
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Do you know how many grand romances would have avoided tragedy if the hero had thought, "You know, maybe I should ask her if she likes me first"?
From Tress of the Emerald Sea
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Wayne: You wanna know why I really came to find you?

Waxilliam: Why?

Wayne: I thought of you happy in a comfy bed, resting and relaxing, spending the rest of your life sipping tea and reading papers while people bring you food and maids rub your toes and stuff.

Waxilliam: And?

Wayne: And I just couldn't leave you to a fate like that...I'm too good a friend to let a mate of mine die in such a terrible situation.

Waxilliam: Comfortable?

Wayne: No. Boring.
From The Alloy of Law
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Hope is a grand thing, and having heroes is essential to human aspiration. That is part of why I tell these stories. That said, you do need to learn to separate the story—and what it has done to you—from the individual who prompted it. Art—and all stories are art, even the ones about real people—is about what it does to you.

The true hero is the one in your mind, the representation of an ideal that makes you a better person. The individual who inspired it, well, they’re like the book on the table or the art on the wall. A vessel. A syringe full of transformational aspiration. Don’t force people to live up to your dreams of who they might be.
From Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
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Those candle flames were like the lives of men. So fragile. So deadly. Left alone, they lit and warmed. Let run rampant, they would destroy the very things they were meant to illuminate. Embryonic bonfires, each bearing a seed of destruction so potent it could tumble cities and dash kings to their knees.
From The Way of Kings
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Ten spears go to battle," he whispered, "and nine shatter. Did the war forge the one that remained? No, Amaran. All the war did was identify the spear that would not break.
From Oathbringer
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And don't waste time worshipping Harmony. Doing good was the worship.
From The Alloy of Law
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People can do great things. However, there are some things they just CAN'T do. I, for instance, have not been able to transform myself into a Popsicle, despite years of effort.
From Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
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Marsh: Our best efforts were never even a mild annoyance to the Lord Ruler."
Kelsier: Ah, but being an annoyance is something that I am very good at. In fact, I'm far more than just a 'mild' annoyance--people tell me I can be downright frustrating. Might as well use this talent for the cause of good, eh?
From Mistborn: The Final Empire
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Fleet kept running,” Kaladin growled, getting back under Elhokar’s arm.
“What?”
“He couldn't win, but he kept running. And when the storm caught him, it didn't matter that he’d died, because he’d run for all he had.”
“Sure. All right.” The king sounded groggy, though Kaladin couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or the blood loss.
“We all die in the end, you see,” Kaladin said. “So I guess what truly matters is just how well you've run. And Elhokar, you've kept running since your father was killed, even if you screw up all the storming time.”
“Thank you?” the king said, drowsy.
From Words of Radiance
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Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are.
From The Hero of Ages
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He felt good lots of days. Trouble was, on the bad days, that was hard to remember. At those times, for some reason, he felt like he had always been in that darkness, and always would be.
From Oathbringer
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Vida antes que muerte.
Fuerza antes que debilidad.
Viaje antes que destino.
From The Way of Kings
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The Nelazan believed that there was beauty in darkness, and that the daylight was more profane. They saw the stars as the Thousand Eyes of Trell watching them. The sun was the single, jealous eye of Trell’s brother, Nalt. Since Nalt only had one eye, he made it blaze brightly to outshine his brother. The Nelazan, however, were not impressed, and preferred to worship the quiet Trell, who watched over them even when Nalt obscured the sky.
From Mistborn: The Final Empire
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It was amazing how many books one could fit into a room, assuming one didn't want to move around very much.
From The Well of Ascension
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We were like deaf people trying to dance to a beat we couldn't hear, long after the music actually stopped.
From Steelheart
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XinWey’s Doctrine states that the most essential morality of mankind is to create the greatest amount of happiness among the greatest number of people while using the least amount of resources.
From Perfect State
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Men are more resilient than that, I think. Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The strong lines of the woman's
face bespoke hard-won wisdom and courage, and somehow that made watching
her more difficult. If such a woman could be defeated by Elantris, what hope was there for Raoden?
From Elantris
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Yes, Bastille. I keep trying to get killed because it's inconvenient for you.
From Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia
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It’s what happens when you shoot someone,” Wayne pointed out. “At least, usually someone has the good sense to get dead when you go to all the trouble to shoot them.
From The Alloy of Law
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It has always seemed to me that a coward is a person who cares more about what people say than about what is right. Bravery isn't about what people call you, Spensa. It's about who you know yourself to be.
From Skyward
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Mocking a woman is like drinking too much wine. It may be fun for a short time, but the hangover is hell.
From Warbreaker
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Those who take lightly promises they make to those they love are people who find little lasting satisfaction in life. This is not an easy time in which to live. That does not mean that it has to be a difficult time to love, but it does mean that you will find unusual stresses upon your lives and your relationship.
From The Well of Ascension
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Why hasn't anyone killed him yet?”
“Dumb luck,” Wit said. “In that I’m lucky you’re all so dumb.
From Words of Radiance
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Do you know how many grand romances would have avoided tragedy if the hero had thought, "You know, maybe I should ask her if she likes me first"?
From Tress of the Emerald Sea
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Wayne: You wanna know why I really came to find you?

Waxilliam: Why?

Wayne: I thought of you happy in a comfy bed, resting and relaxing, spending the rest of your life sipping tea and reading papers while people bring you food and maids rub your toes and stuff.

Waxilliam: And?

Wayne: And I just couldn't leave you to a fate like that...I'm too good a friend to let a mate of mine die in such a terrible situation.

Waxilliam: Comfortable?

Wayne: No. Boring.
From The Alloy of Law
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Hope is a grand thing, and having heroes is essential to human aspiration. That is part of why I tell these stories. That said, you do need to learn to separate the story—and what it has done to you—from the individual who prompted it. Art—and all stories are art, even the ones about real people—is about what it does to you.

The true hero is the one in your mind, the representation of an ideal that makes you a better person. The individual who inspired it, well, they’re like the book on the table or the art on the wall. A vessel. A syringe full of transformational aspiration. Don’t force people to live up to your dreams of who they might be.
From Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Those candle flames were like the lives of men. So fragile. So deadly. Left alone, they lit and warmed. Let run rampant, they would destroy the very things they were meant to illuminate. Embryonic bonfires, each bearing a seed of destruction so potent it could tumble cities and dash kings to their knees.
From The Way of Kings
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Ten spears go to battle," he whispered, "and nine shatter. Did the war forge the one that remained? No, Amaran. All the war did was identify the spear that would not break.
From Oathbringer
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
And don't waste time worshipping Harmony. Doing good was the worship.
From The Alloy of Law
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
People can do great things. However, there are some things they just CAN'T do. I, for instance, have not been able to transform myself into a Popsicle, despite years of effort.
From Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Marsh: Our best efforts were never even a mild annoyance to the Lord Ruler."
Kelsier: Ah, but being an annoyance is something that I am very good at. In fact, I'm far more than just a 'mild' annoyance--people tell me I can be downright frustrating. Might as well use this talent for the cause of good, eh?
From Mistborn: The Final Empire
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Fleet kept running,” Kaladin growled, getting back under Elhokar’s arm.
“What?”
“He couldn't win, but he kept running. And when the storm caught him, it didn't matter that he’d died, because he’d run for all he had.”
“Sure. All right.” The king sounded groggy, though Kaladin couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or the blood loss.
“We all die in the end, you see,” Kaladin said. “So I guess what truly matters is just how well you've run. And Elhokar, you've kept running since your father was killed, even if you screw up all the storming time.”
“Thank you?” the king said, drowsy.
From Words of Radiance
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are.
From The Hero of Ages
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
He felt good lots of days. Trouble was, on the bad days, that was hard to remember. At those times, for some reason, he felt like he had always been in that darkness, and always would be.
From Oathbringer
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Vida antes que muerte.
Fuerza antes que debilidad.
Viaje antes que destino.
From The Way of Kings
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The Nelazan believed that there was beauty in darkness, and that the daylight was more profane. They saw the stars as the Thousand Eyes of Trell watching them. The sun was the single, jealous eye of Trell’s brother, Nalt. Since Nalt only had one eye, he made it blaze brightly to outshine his brother. The Nelazan, however, were not impressed, and preferred to worship the quiet Trell, who watched over them even when Nalt obscured the sky.
From Mistborn: The Final Empire
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It was amazing how many books one could fit into a room, assuming one didn't want to move around very much.
From The Well of Ascension
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
We were like deaf people trying to dance to a beat we couldn't hear, long after the music actually stopped.
From Steelheart
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
XinWey’s Doctrine states that the most essential morality of mankind is to create the greatest amount of happiness among the greatest number of people while using the least amount of resources.
From Perfect State
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Men are more resilient than that, I think. Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The strong lines of the woman's
face bespoke hard-won wisdom and courage, and somehow that made watching
her more difficult. If such a woman could be defeated by Elantris, what hope was there for Raoden?
From Elantris
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Yes, Bastille. I keep trying to get killed because it's inconvenient for you.
From Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It’s what happens when you shoot someone,” Wayne pointed out. “At least, usually someone has the good sense to get dead when you go to all the trouble to shoot them.
From The Alloy of Law
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It has always seemed to me that a coward is a person who cares more about what people say than about what is right. Bravery isn't about what people call you, Spensa. It's about who you know yourself to be.
From Skyward
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Mocking a woman is like drinking too much wine. It may be fun for a short time, but the hangover is hell.
From Warbreaker
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Those who take lightly promises they make to those they love are people who find little lasting satisfaction in life. This is not an easy time in which to live. That does not mean that it has to be a difficult time to love, but it does mean that you will find unusual stresses upon your lives and your relationship.
From The Well of Ascension
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Why hasn't anyone killed him yet?”
“Dumb luck,” Wit said. “In that I’m lucky you’re all so dumb.
From Words of Radiance
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Do you know how many grand romances would have avoided tragedy if the hero had thought, "You know, maybe I should ask her if she likes me first"?
From Tress of the Emerald Sea
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Wayne: You wanna know why I really came to find you?

Waxilliam: Why?

Wayne: I thought of you happy in a comfy bed, resting and relaxing, spending the rest of your life sipping tea and reading papers while people bring you food and maids rub your toes and stuff.

Waxilliam: And?

Wayne: And I just couldn't leave you to a fate like that...I'm too good a friend to let a mate of mine die in such a terrible situation.

Waxilliam: Comfortable?

Wayne: No. Boring.
From The Alloy of Law
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Hope is a grand thing, and having heroes is essential to human aspiration. That is part of why I tell these stories. That said, you do need to learn to separate the story—and what it has done to you—from the individual who prompted it. Art—and all stories are art, even the ones about real people—is about what it does to you.

The true hero is the one in your mind, the representation of an ideal that makes you a better person. The individual who inspired it, well, they’re like the book on the table or the art on the wall. A vessel. A syringe full of transformational aspiration. Don’t force people to live up to your dreams of who they might be.
From Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Those candle flames were like the lives of men. So fragile. So deadly. Left alone, they lit and warmed. Let run rampant, they would destroy the very things they were meant to illuminate. Embryonic bonfires, each bearing a seed of destruction so potent it could tumble cities and dash kings to their knees.
From The Way of Kings
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Ten spears go to battle," he whispered, "and nine shatter. Did the war forge the one that remained? No, Amaran. All the war did was identify the spear that would not break.
From Oathbringer
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
And don't waste time worshipping Harmony. Doing good was the worship.
From The Alloy of Law
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
People can do great things. However, there are some things they just CAN'T do. I, for instance, have not been able to transform myself into a Popsicle, despite years of effort.
From Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Marsh: Our best efforts were never even a mild annoyance to the Lord Ruler."
Kelsier: Ah, but being an annoyance is something that I am very good at. In fact, I'm far more than just a 'mild' annoyance--people tell me I can be downright frustrating. Might as well use this talent for the cause of good, eh?
From Mistborn: The Final Empire
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Fleet kept running,” Kaladin growled, getting back under Elhokar’s arm.
“What?”
“He couldn't win, but he kept running. And when the storm caught him, it didn't matter that he’d died, because he’d run for all he had.”
“Sure. All right.” The king sounded groggy, though Kaladin couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or the blood loss.
“We all die in the end, you see,” Kaladin said. “So I guess what truly matters is just how well you've run. And Elhokar, you've kept running since your father was killed, even if you screw up all the storming time.”
“Thank you?” the king said, drowsy.
From Words of Radiance
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are.
From The Hero of Ages
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
He felt good lots of days. Trouble was, on the bad days, that was hard to remember. At those times, for some reason, he felt like he had always been in that darkness, and always would be.
From Oathbringer
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Vida antes que muerte.
Fuerza antes que debilidad.
Viaje antes que destino.
From The Way of Kings
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The Nelazan believed that there was beauty in darkness, and that the daylight was more profane. They saw the stars as the Thousand Eyes of Trell watching them. The sun was the single, jealous eye of Trell’s brother, Nalt. Since Nalt only had one eye, he made it blaze brightly to outshine his brother. The Nelazan, however, were not impressed, and preferred to worship the quiet Trell, who watched over them even when Nalt obscured the sky.
From Mistborn: The Final Empire
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
It was amazing how many books one could fit into a room, assuming one didn't want to move around very much.
From The Well of Ascension
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
We were like deaf people trying to dance to a beat we couldn't hear, long after the music actually stopped.
From Steelheart
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
XinWey’s Doctrine states that the most essential morality of mankind is to create the greatest amount of happiness among the greatest number of people while using the least amount of resources.
From Perfect State
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Men are more resilient than that, I think. Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
The strong lines of the woman's
face bespoke hard-won wisdom and courage, and somehow that made watching
her more difficult. If such a woman could be defeated by Elantris, what hope was there for Raoden?
From Elantris
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
Yes, Bastille. I keep trying to get killed because it's inconvenient for you.
From Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia
Avg Rating: --Rate This Quote
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