Sharp Ends (First Law World, #7)

by Joe Abercrombie

There’s no style of contempt like the stuff one kind of savage has for another,

‘It is the least I could do. You have been a fine sidekick so far.’ ‘I thought this was an equal partnership.’ ‘All the best sidekicks think that,’

‘Some men will break a thing just because they can,’ he had whispered. ‘But war must be a leader’s last resort. Fight a war, you’ve lost already.’

‘Rules must be for all, and for those who lead most of all. Without rules, every man stands alone, owning only what he can tear from the world with one hand and grip with the other. Chaos.’