The Mercy of Gods (The Captive's War #1)

by James S.A. Corey

“But everything changes, doesn’t it? You have a good moment, and then there’s another moment after it. And another one after that. Nothing stays the same.”

Looked at in a wide enough frame, maybe her problems weren’t so large. They just seemed that way when she held them up against her eyes where they’d block out all the light.

Why me? is not something the universe ever answers.

military. A leader must be utterly decisive, especially when giving orders that conflict with the ones from the day before.

His mind spent a lot of time attempting to shield itself using an irrational fear of the unknown. But like picking up that first spider, forcing himself to engage with the fear without looking away was the best inoculation he knew.

He wondered, looking back at all the forced labor in the darker corners of history, if some percentage of the victims had always taken pride in their work. He wasn’t sure which answer would be more disturbing.