The Invasion of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling #2)

by Erika Johansen

the day you declare martial law is the day you’ve lost the game of government.

This, I think, is the crux of evil in this world, Majesty: those who feel entitled to whatever they want, whatever they can grab.

“Corruption begins with a single moment of weakness.”

“Picture a world where there are no rich and poor. No luxury, but everyone is fed and clothed and educated and cared for. God controls nothing. Books aren’t forbidden. Women aren’t the lower class. The color of your skin, the circumstances of your birth, these things don’t matter.

“This country is diseased. The fortunate celebrate on the backs of the starving, the ill, the terrorized. The law affords no recourse to the disadvantaged. That’s a historical sickness, and there’s only one cure.