Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel, #2)

by Josiah Bancroft

This violence had affected him like a shot of brandy, leaving him clearheaded and vigilant. It was a surprise to find that violence could work in such a way, and he wondered if it was like brandy in other ways: Was violence clarifying in doses but intoxicating in excess? Could one deal out murder responsibly, even civilly? Was violence, like wine, the midwife of philosophy?