Sharp Ends (First Law World #7)

by Joe Abercrombie

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

Golyin sucked her teeth. ‘You always were so overdramatic, Javre. We would rather take you back than kill you.’ Whirrun gave a little snort of laughter. ‘I could swear we just had this exact conversation.’ ‘We did,’ said Javre, ‘and this one will end the same way.’ ‘This woman is a murderer, an oathbreaker, a fugitive,’ said Golyin. ‘Meh.’ Whirrun shrugged. ‘Who isn’t?’ ‘There is no need for you to die here, man,’ said Sarabin Shin, finding her own fighting crouch. Whirrun shrugged again. ‘One place is as good for dying as another, and these ladies helped me with an unpleasant situation.’ He pointed out the six corpses scattered across the muddy ground with the pommel of his sword.

Takes a lifetime of hard work to make a man. Only takes a few moments to end one.

Put a few men with swords together, even men with usually pleasant manners, and it’s never long before they’re all acting like animals. 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.

Pale-as-Snow long ago lost count of the raids he’d had charge of. A lifetime of ’em, and he was still waiting for one that went exactly as he’d hoped. Still waiting for that perfect raid. However careful his planning, there was always some little splinter of bad luck. Some overeager fool on his side, or some over-watchful stickler on the other, a loose strap, or testy horse, or some wrinkle of the weather or the light, or a bloody dry twig in the wrong place. But that’s war, Pale-as-Snow supposed. You get luck of all kinds, and the winner’s the one who makes the best of his share.

Wrongside hated fighting. Far as he could tell, it was the one major drawback of the soldiering life. Apart from the hunger. And the cold. And the threat of hanging and burning. The soldiering life had a lot of drawbacks, in fact, now he came to consider the case. But now wasn’t the time for considering cases.

Shev sighed. ‘It’s a dark tide that lifts no boats at all.’ ‘I’ve made my living picking through the flotsam left behind by other people’s dark tides,’ said Vitari.

Be generous with your own people, she had always said, or others will be.

‘Before you make a man into mud, make sure he’s no use to you alive. Some men will smash a thing just because they can. They’re too stupid to see that nothing shows more power than mercy.’