The Lost City of Ithos Quotes

“Most people who knew of Alustin’s vendetta assumed he had some grand master plan, but there was nothing of the sort. Alustin preferred a far more improvisatory approach— it was best, so far as he was concerned, to have tools to react to any sort of situation, rather than relying on a more fleshed-out plan. That isn’t to say he didn’t have plans at all, of course. Plans were fine so long as you remembered that they were just tools, not goals in and of themselves. People tended to get over-attached to plans, to the point where they would fail to achieve their objective rather than abandoning the plan they’d put so much time and effort into.”
― John Bierce, The Lost City of Ithos

“No, the problem was that cleverly winning a debate against an opponent of strong convictions didn't change minds. That only happened over time via the planting of seeds of doubt and their patient cultivation.

Pursuing winning a debate against an opponent in circumstances such as this was, more often than not, just a way to impress one's own allies and assuage one's own pride.

Her grandmother had spent years warning her of the idiocy and uselessness of that path in most situations.”
― John Bierce, The Lost City of Ithos

“Strapping a pair of knitted cat ears to a two-foot long spider really doesn’t make it a cat,” Alustin said. “Precious likes her ears,” the woman retorted”
― John Bierce , The Lost City of Ithos

“Avah wanted adventure, but ones of discovery, of visiting natural wonders and ancient ruins. Avah chased the thrill of bargaining with merchants and seeking new trades, not the stress of battle,”
― John Bierce, The Lost City of Ithos

“I didn’t exactly expect a search for an enchanted city-killing weapon to be a particularly relaxing vacation, Master,” he said.”
― John Bierce, The Lost City of Ithos