Sins of Empire (Gods of Blood and Powder, #1)

by Brian McClellan

makes you look either a fool or an asshole. Both of those can come in useful at one time or another, but not as often as you’d think.

Michel’s smile faltered for a moment, and Vlora swore under her breath. “Lots of paint,” Michel said helpfully.

Everyone seems fairly baffled by his success because he seldom takes opportunities to cheat anyone.”

Seeing him approach was like witnessing the arrival of an old friend—if you planned on murdering him painfully—and

“No one else’s suffering is ever as acute as your own,”

“Food, in my experience, is one of the few things that can cement a good friendship between strangers.”

He thought of sorcery like he did politics: He knew it existed, and that it affected his life in deep, intrinsic ways, but he tried his best not to get any on him.