George R.R. Martin > Quotes

“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real ... for a moment at least ... that long magic moment before we wake.

Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey, cinnamon and cloves, rare red meat and wines as sweet as summer. Reality is beans and tofu, and ashes at the end. Reality is the strip malls of Burbank, the smokestacks of Cleveland, a parking garage in Newark. Fantasy is the towers of Minas Tirith, the ancient stones of Gormenghast, the halls of Camelot. Fantasy flies on the wings of Icarus, reality on Southwest Airlines. Why do our dreams become so much smaller when they finally come true?

We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang. There is something old and true in fantasy that speaks to something deep within us, to the child who dreamt that one day he would hunt the forests of the night, and feast beneath the hollow hills, and find a love to last forever somewhere south of Oz and north of Shangri-La.

They can keep their heaven. When I die, I'd sooner go to middle Earth.”
― George R.R. Martin

“Winter is coming.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Sleep is good, he said, And books are better.”
― George R.R. Martin

“When you play a game of thrones you win or you die.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Fear cuts deeper than swords.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies...The man who never reads lives only one.”
― George R.R. Martin

“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“They can keep their heaven. When I die, I’d sooner go to Middle Earth. ”
― George R.R. Martin

“What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms . . . or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“We all need to be mocked from time to time, lest we take ourselves too seriously.”
― George R.R. Martin

“Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: “Not today.”
― George R.R. Martin

“Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought bravely. And Rhaegar died. ”
― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

“Every man must die, Jon Snow. But first he must live.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

“it is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Life is not a song, sweetling.
Someday you may learn that, to your sorrow.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.”
― George R.R. Martin

“Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Nothing burns like the cold.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“And I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same.”
― George R.R. Martin

“So many vows … they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws. It’s too much. No matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or another.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember that.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I'll sleep more easily by night.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Power resides only where men believe it resides. [...] A shadow on the wall, yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Oh, my sweet summer child," Old Nan said quietly, "what do you know of fear?
Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet
deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long
night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children
are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and
hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“A woman's life is nine parts mess to one part magic, you'll learn that soon enough...and the parts that look like magic turn out to be the messiest of all.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?"
"That is the only time a man can be brave.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“There's no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“The things I do for love.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“If I look back I am lost.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“Different roads sometimes lead to the same castle.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“The brightest flame casts the darkest shadow.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“The common people pray for rain, healthy children and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“The heart lies and the head plays tricks on us, but the eyes see true. Look with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Taste with your mouth. Smell with your nose. Feel with your skin. Then comes the thinking, afterward, and in a way knowing the truth.”
― George R.R. Martin

“Some writers enjoy writing, I am told. Not me. I enjoy having written.”
― George R.R. Martin

“Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“...the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."
"...a ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

“A craven can be as brave as any man, when there is nothing to fear. And we all do our duty, when there is no cost to it. How easy it seems then, to walk the path of honor. Yet soon or late in every man's life comes a day when it is not easy, a day when he must choose. (Maester Aemon)”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer and I have my mind...and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That's why I read so much Jon Snow. - Tyrion Lannister”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones