The Swan Riders Quotes

“What is love but a pain we choose?”
― Erin Bow, The Swan Riders

“There were snow geese there—hundreds of them, white and crisp against the dark and shining water, and more coming in, sounding like trumpets as the sky drew downward. The season was turning.”
― Erin Bow, The Swan Riders

“My name is Grace,” I said, to Elián, to Talis, to Queen Agnes Little, to the listening world. Then I drew with my hand a circle across the whole of the sky, and it filled with streaking, breaking platforms.
Grace, the gift unexpected, unearned.
Grace in a grid of falling stars.”
― Erin Bow, The Swan Riders

“It turns out . . .” I edged out to the idea carefully. “It turns out you can’t love someone and hold them in the crosshairs. It turns out you can’t love the world, that way. It’s not . . .”
“Human,” said Talis.”
― Erin Bow, The Swan Riders

“Talis,” I said. “Are you saying we’re equals?”
“Well,” said Talis. “I aspire to that.”
“In that case, I would like to propose that peace achieved through terror can never truly be peace.”
― Erin Bow, The Swan Riders

“Invulnerable people cannot be strong, for the same reason fearless people cannot be brave. For the same reason immortal people cannot be human.

Talis slept a mortal sleep, curled up with his back against Francis Xavier’s front. The master of the world. The little spoon.”
― Erin Bow, The Swan Riders

“Are you all right?” I asked him.
“Sure,” he said, unconvincingly. Because here it was, in a nutshell: AIs do not remember. We relive. Our memories are too perfect. We cannot tell the memory of pain from pain; cannot tell the memory of fear from fear. Talis was looking at me with wide blank eyes and inside them was the time he’d been on fire. But instead of screaming, he smiled.”
― Erin Bow, The Swan Riders