Horizon (The Sharing Knife, #4)

by Lois McMaster Bujold

really, you’d think despair was his favorite corn-husk dolly, the way he clutches it—

“That wasn’t luck, that was preparation. Know the difference. Preparation, you can control.”

“Rules aren’t actually made to be broken. They’re generally invented because someone made a mistake or a mess, and folks didn’t ever want to have to clean up after another one like it.”