Sharp Ends (First Law World #7)

by Joe Abercrombie

Times like these reveal a man for what he truly is. For a while Temple had convinced himself he was a righteous man, but it is easy to be virtuous before your virtue is put to the test. Like a camel turd baked in the sun, beneath the pious crust he was the same stinking, self-serving coward he had always been.

‘If only I had known then what I know now things might have been different.’ He gave a sad smile. ‘But it is easy to speak of the past, impossible to go there.

But the sad fact was, only the winners got to regret what they did in a fight,

The world’s a mean bully, all right, and the lower down you are the more it delights in kicking you.

It was like old Threetrees always said–a sword’s a shitty thing to give a man. Shitty for him, and shitty for everyone around him.

Surprise is like virginity. You only get the one chance at using it, and that normally turns out a crushing disappointment.