Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (The Siege #1)

by K.J. Parker

My enemies have always come through for me, and I owe them everything.

the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it.

and as far as I’m concerned, hope is also on the major-pests list, about two down from love. Therefore I entertained hope, so they wouldn’t have to.

There are times when you don’t intrude on other people’s despair; it’d be indecent.

“Everyone keeps telling me what I can’t do, but they’re wrong. The only thing I can’t do is nothing.”

Someone told me once, a really great fake can’t just be as good as the original, it’s got to be better.

rarely ask for suggestions, because, when I do, people tend to make them; in this case, all at once and very loudly.

My belief is, either you understand things or you understand people. Nobody can do both. Frankly, I’m happier with things. I understand stuff like tensile strength, shearing force, ductility, work hardening, stress, fatigue. I know the same sort of things happen with people, but the rules are subtly different. And nobody’s ever paid for my time to get to know about people.