Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)

by Joe Abercrombie

“Then I am sure that I can still find a use for your talents. Something that does not require a sense of humour.

People would far rather be handed an easy lie than search for a difficult truth, especially if it suits their own purposes.

And so, it seems, I survive. Again. Glokta raised his eyebrows. Perhaps the trick is not wanting to.

“And I will be proud to draw my sword beside you! We will fight for each other! We will fight for the Union! Every man… every woman… a hero!”

Fearlessness, as Logen Ninefingers had once observed, is a fool’s boast.

“If they are willing to die for me, then I am willing to die for them!”

It can be a terrible curse for a man to get everything he ever dreamed of. If the shining prizes turn out somehow to be empty baubles, he is left without even his dreams for comfort.