A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness, #1)

by Joe Abercrombie

Spend two days shitting an anvil and we’ll talk again.’

Battles may sometimes be won by the brave, but wars are always won by the clever.

Not fighting is what war’s all about.’

Times change, but that crowd of cunts stays much the same.

A dash of blackmail, tastefully administered, could always be relied upon to shift prices in the right direction.

The more powerful you are, the less you can really do about anything.’

could tell you some stories about my old friend Logen Ninefingers—’

‘You can’t change what’s past, can you? Only what’s next.’

if I learned one thing in the camps …’

‘It’s that you stand with the winners.’

we all want what’s best. The root o’ the world’s ills is that no one can agree on what it is.’

‘You should go into business.’ ‘Not sure I’m ruthless enough. I’ll stick with the Inquisition.’

She was not a woman to be deterred by hatred:

Law alone, without enforcement, is just breath.

Forest provided the experience, judgement, warmth, discipline, courage, facial scarring and, of course, superb moustache.

how does a man make taking orders from his mother sound good?

Reminds me of me as a young man.’ Clover shook his head. ‘If I’d been an absolute cunt.’

No grinding worry, no chafing frustration, no wasted days slipping past. Only the beautiful, terrible now.

‘You wonder why they keep doing it.’ ‘What, war?’ ‘Aye, war.’

‘You can’t choose what you see. But you can choose what you say.

Hate a man that much, you give him power over you.’

‘No leader worth a damn ever led from the front.’

‘We relics of the Age of Magic really should stick together.’

‘You look more like a banker than a wizard.’

in the end, what truly makes a man is above the neck.