“I remembered Nahadoth's lips on my throat and fought to suppress a shudder, only half succeeding. Death as a consequence of lying with a god wasn't something I had considered, but it did not surpri...”

“You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I tire of your whining.”

“In the future, as in the present, as in the past, black people will build many new worlds.This is true. I will make it so. And you will help me.”

“He has come to seduce the god of seduction, and oh, has he come prepared.”

“How terrible to be a god of change and endure grief unending.”

“So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all, every single one of us, no matter who we are and no matter whats been taken from us or wha...”

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for t...”

“You know Balbec so well - do you have friends in the area?'I have friends wherever there are companies of trees, wounded but not vanquished, which huddle together with touching obstinacy to implore...”

“Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying youre friends is easy. Being friends is not.”