The Cry of the Icemark Quotes

“To a happy war!' laughter echoed with all the insane glee of an army of psychopaths.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“If you reach for the stars, you just might land on a decently sized hill.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“And exactly how does a miserable face help the war effort?" he asked sharply, his mood beginning to change. "Will a frown bring back the dead or fortify a town? If I allow myself to laugh in the face of misery, I rest my mind from the stress of it all, and then it'll work the better for you and your war. And if I'm really to be one of your advisers, Your Majesty, accept this piece of advise: Take happiness where and when you find it, because there is going to be precious little of it in the next few months!”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“If you dare try to leave me behind, I'll follow on foot, and when I die in the snow, Ill come back and haunt you. I'll make your life a complete misery. No ghost will ever have been as inventive in its nastiness as I'll be: I'll turn your food rancid; I'll transform your drink into blood; I'll howl and moan throughout the night; there'll be no place safe from me. And don't think I couldn't do it, Thirrin, Queen of Icemark, because I can assure you, I could.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“Thanks, Dad," she whispered in his ear. Then recovering her composure, she knelt before him and said, "I give thanks, my Father. May your decision be proved right and true.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“Pain! Deep, tearing, throbbing, needle-sharp, hammer-blunt pain – ripping through his body and through his mind, twisting deep in his guts and slicing at his skin with razors and broken glass. Oskan wanted to scream, but his vocal cords had burned away. He was desperate for water and he could hear it dripping all around him, but his charred tongue found nothing in his mouth but blisters and scorched flesh. For hours he lay on the ropes of the low bed, unable to move, the pressure of the hemp on his destroyed skin sending new agonies deep into his body.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“One of the most important lessons she'd recently learned was that looking strong and confident was sometimes all the people required of you.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“To be really honest, I think if anybody did derive comfort from the fact that 'there's always someone worse off than yourself,' they'd have to be a pretty sad and sick individual. If I've sprained my wrist, I'm not made happier by the thought that someone somewhere has broken their leg!”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“But leave us some magic in the world. Leave us some mystery to enjoy.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“You are about to enter the realms of human beings. Be prepared for cruelty and kindness, for friendship and hatred. People are made of all possibilities and conditions.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“Madness was only a handicap only if you couldn't control its irrationalities.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark

“If we'd just been fighting their army without the general, we might, just MIGHT have had a chance. But with him...?' The big man shrugged, then stood to leave. 'But that's defeatist talk. And I've got a fyrd to help train. I'll see you tonight at dinner, Maggie.”
― Stuart Hill, The Cry of the Icemark