Reaper's Gale (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #7)

by Steven Erikson

Too much of the world defies our efforts to conform to what would please us. To live is to know dissatisfaction and frustration.’

The winners never won because the losers refused to lose.

‘Having a reason to be miserable is always worse than having no reason but being miserable anyway. If it’s just a way of life,

‘The canal’s current cannot change the law that binds its direction. The canal is but a detour.’ ‘Yes, one that slows the passage of its water. And in turn that water changes, gathering the refuse of the city it passes through, and so, upon returning to the river, it is a different colour. Muddier, more befouled.’ ‘The slower your path, the muddier your boots?’ ‘Even so,’ Icarium said, nodding. ‘Time is nothing like that.’ ‘Are you so certain? When we must wait, our minds fill with sludge, random thoughts like so much refuse. When we are driven to action, our current is swift, the water seemingly clear, cold and sharp.’