Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, #1)

by Brandon Sanderson

People are never pleased when you reveal that their beliefs are wrong.

So there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil Librarians.

“Well, I don’t like to brag, but it’s quite a powerful Talent indeed.” I raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You see,” Grandpa Smedry said, “I have the ability to arrive late to things.” “Ah,” I said. “Of course.” “I know, I know. I don’t deserve such power, but I try to make good use of it.”

“Can’t I wear sunglasses, like Sing?” Grandpa Smedry chuckled. “You don’t need Warrior’s Lenses, lad. You can access abilities far more potent. Here, take these. They’re Oculator’s Lenses.”

“This isn’t a language,” I said. “It’s just a bunch of scribbles.” “Well, any language you don’t understand would look like scribbles, lad!”

“Oh,” I said. “Um, what’s your Talent, Sing?” “I can trip and fall to the ground,” Sing said. I blinked. “That’s a Talent?” “It’s not as grand as some, I know,” Sing said, “but it serves me well.” “And the kimono?” I asked. “I come from a different kingdom than your grandfather,” Sing said. “I am from Mokia, while your grandfather and Quentin are from Nalhalla.” “Okay,” I said. “But what difference does that make?” “It means I have to wear a different disguise from the rest of you,” Sing explained. “That way, I won’t stand out as much. If I look like a foreigner to America, people will ignore me.”

A clever person can make anything turn to his advantage, no matter how much a disadvantage it may seem at first.

This war we’re fighting—it isn’t about guns, or even about swords.” “What is it about, then? Sand?” “Information,” Grandpa Smedry said. “That’s the real power in this world. That man who held a gun on us earlier—he had power over you. Why?” “Because he was going to shoot me,” I said. “Because you thought he could shoot you,” Grandpa Smedry said, raising a finger. “But he had no power over me, because I knew that he couldn’t hurt me. And when he realized that…” “He ran away,” I said slowly. “Information. The Librarians control the information in this city—in this whole country. They control what gets read, what gets seen, and what gets learned. Because of that, they have power. Well, we’re going to break that power, you and I. But first we need those sands.”

Authors write books for one, and only one, reason: because we like to torture people.

Great success often depends upon being able to distinguish between the impossible and the improbable.

Determination—true determination—is more than simply wanting something to happen. It’s wanting something to happen, then finding a realistic way to make certain that what you want to happen, happens.