C.J. Cherryh > Quotes

“Were the seeds of next things always there, in the circle of the year, and was that how the world worked its miracles?”
― C.J. Cherryh, Fortress of Eagles

“The world was full of life, more life than they could hold back with guns or fences; it came into the town at night; it seduced the children and year by year crept closer.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Forty Thousand in Gehenna

“...the necessity of getting up. He made it that far. Ended up with Banichi's arm around him, Banichi standing on one leg. The dowager-aiji said something rude about young men falling at her feet, and go sit down, SHE was in command of the plane.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Foreigner

“The worst atrocities began with half-measures, with apologies, compromising with the wrong side, shrinking from what had to be done.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station

“Gods and Thunders!”
― C.J. Cherryh

“The t'ca [ship] left them, rolled and slewed off in a maneuver that made sense to a multi-brained snake.”
― C.J. Cherryh, The Kif Strike Back

“We are the Face that Looks Outward. We are makers of paths, walkers on the wind”
― C.J. Cherryh

“It was a scientific success, bringing back data enough to keep the analysts busy for years… but there was no glib, slick way to explain the full meaning of its observations in layman’s terms. In public relations the mission was a failure; the public, seeking to understand on their own terms, looked for material benefit, treasure, riches, dramatic findings.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station

“It represents a real point of consensus we haven’t got now, and a lot of people were willing to give up things they wanted so they could get that agreement. It was a point in human history where all of Union agreed to a set of priorities, and now we’ll either prove that agreement still binds everybody, or we’ll prove somebody with enough guns can run everything at any given moment; and that means no peace, even for them.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Regenesis

“Their minds were geared to the old problems and to their own problems and their own politics.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station

“My name’s Elai, Ellai’s daughter, line of the first Cloud, the first Elly; of Pia, line of the first Jin when they made the world. And you’re on my land.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Forty Thousand in Gehenna

“...seeing the mystery of forest leaves and the wonder in a water-polished stone, a light had come on him, a bright, bright hope, that this was the true world, all around him, truer than his darkening sight. And ever after that and forever, he hoped for himself, and whenever he thought of dark and practical deeds, why, that light distracted him toward this dream he had....”
― C.J. Cherryh, Fortress of Owls

“There was a wicked man once who called a hatani. ‘Kill my neighbor,’ he said. ‘That’s not hatani business,’ the hatani said and went away. The wicked man found another hatani. ‘My life is wretched,’ the wicked man said. ‘I hate my neighbor. I want to see him die,’ ‘That is a hatani matter,’ the hatani said. ‘Do you give it into my hands?’ ‘Yes,’ the wicked man said. And the hatani struck him dead. Do you understand the solution?” Thorn”
― C.J. Cherryh, The Deep Beyond: Cuckoo's Egg / Serpent's Reach

“You are not to tell my parents,” he said, with his arm over his eyes, “but I drank a little brandy from a glass someone left and I am not feeling well this morning. One does not think it was poisoned.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Protector

“Bren turned back to the room, somewhat easier about the boy, and realizing only then that he and the dowager had both just leaped into order-giving regarding the aiji’s own son, in the aiji’s and the consort’s presence and in front of witnesses.
Habit. Two years of habit. He was mortified.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Pretender

“While the world had been under kif guns, they had tidied up the house, cooked dinner, and started replanting the garden. Pyanfar lowered her ears at the thought, how little real the larger universe was to downworld hani, who had never thoroughly imagined what had almost happened to them; who heard about the terrible damage to the station as they might hear about some earthquake in a remote area of the globe, shaking their heads in sympathy and regretting it, but not personally touched—worried for their own kin, of course worried; and there would be hugging and sympathy at homecoming. But they set the world in order by replanting the garden and seeing Kohan fed. Gods look on them all.”
― C.J. Cherryh, The Pride of Chanur

“We cannot say what we would have been, but we can still say what we will be. We are making up that sentence as we go, and we shall never be through with that statement.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Deliberations

“I couldn’t yet see the limits of my life, but he could see the limits of his. His life was thin, and he had a hunger for recognition.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Galaxy's Edge Magazine Issue 7, March 2014

“He had read about evil in Efanor's little book, and how it permeated the doings of Men, but he had never foud such doings evil, rather good and bad...but none without self-interest, none he could not understand even in terms of his own will to have his way.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Fortress of Dragons

“We are not mentioning to the captain that Cajeiri is six,” Bren said. “She believes sixteen.”
“Sixteen?” Cajeiri crowed, delighted.
“Hush, rascal,” Ilisidi said.
“It’s a convenient misunderstanding,” Bren said, “saving argument. And there would be argument about his presence otherwise, in a dangerous place. Human custom is against it.”
“Do you hear?” Ilisidi said. “You must pretend ten more years, young scoundrel, to satisfy the ship-aiji’s expectations of your wisdom, your sense and your self-restraint.”
“I think the ship-aiji will suspect me,” Cajeiri said sadly, and the Ragi-speakers could not but laugh a little.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Defender

“Don't mourn might-have-beens . Magic can't work backwards , only forward . I taught you better than that .”
― C.J. Cherryh, Rusalka

“Oh, man,' Azdra'ik said. 'This is what our eldest saw. This is what our legends say. Who could know, but us?”
― C.J. Cherryh, The Goblin Mirror

“Unquestioning believers who thought they questioned everything, unhearing believers who heard nothing that in the least degree questioned the tenets of their sacred quest toward a salvation they predetermined to exist.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Fortress in the Eye of Time

“Multiple sets of golden eyes lit up in anticipation. Fried fish, in the style of Mospheiran street vendors, was his aishid’s favorite of the new flavors they’d discovered on the island.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Emergence

“It is of course, always an age of wonders. The true gift is remembering to look out the windows, and to let the thoughts run backward and forward and wide to the breadth and height of all that’s ever been and might yet be— Once upon a time, I tell you.”
― C.J. Cherryh, The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh

“Change, son of mine, should be applied like salt to a dish—best taste it, understand it, and then decide.” “Is”
― C.J. Cherryh, Convergence

“Change, son of mine, should be applied like salt to a dish—best taste it, understand it, and then decide.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Convergence

“It lent a Man a certain peace of mind... to ride through threats and terrors unhearing: it even lent a man a certain real protection, for he could not hear temptation and bad advice to be swayed by it, but it was no protection at all when power reached out with tangible results and brought down the lightning.”
― C.J. Cherryh, Fortress of Dragons

“He knew that he wielded magic as well as iron, and yet looked away from it, and made himself fables to explain his own presence in the world, and sought gods who might be more powerful than himself. It would be very comfortable if there were someone more powerful than himself, on this Road, on this particular morning, someone to guide him, even someone to blame....”
― C.J. Cherryh, Fortress of Eagles

“He watched the desert slip under the airship's nose, and the land roughened into highlands over which he had traveled at great cost, in great pain - dreamlike, such speed, looking down on a world where time moved more slowly, where realities were different and immediate and he had learned for a time to live.”
― C.J. Cherryh, The Faded Sun Trilogy