George R.R. Martin is well known as a master storyteller. People frequently praise his world-building, his shocking twists and intricate histories. But as aspect of his writing that I see praised less often is the writing itself. My e-book copies of A Song of Ice and Fire are riddled with highlights, because every other page I’ll come across a line that takes my breath away. Here are some of my favorite quotes found in the books that the Game of Thrones fans may not be familiar with.
“Black and white and grey, all the shades of truth.”
“The grey sheep have closed their eyes, but the mastiff sees the truth. Old powers waken. Shadows stir. An age of wonder and terror will soon be upon us, an age for gods and heroes.”
“Darkness will be your cloak, your shield, your mother’s milk. Darkness will make you strong.”
“When I was a boy, I dreamt that I could fly,” he announced. “When I woke, I couldn’t … or so the maester said. But what if he lied?”
“The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer.”
“There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man.”
“Many called her beautiful. She was not beautiful. She was red, and terrible, and red.”
“I prefer my history dead. Dead history is writ in ink, the living sort in blood.”
“On the morning after the battle, the crows had feasted on victors and vanquished alike, as once they had feasted on Rhaegar Targaryen after the Trident. How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king?”
“Every man should lose a battle in his youth, so he does not lose a war when he is old.”
“War makes monsters of us all.”
“The world is one great web, and a man dare not touch a single strand lest all the others tremble.”
“Men live their lives trapped in an eternal present, between the mists of memory and the sea of shadow that is all we know of the days to come.”
“A man must know how to look before he can hope to see.”
“Some had been heroes, some weaklings, knaves, or cravens. Most were only men—quicker and stronger than most, more skilled with sword and shield, but still prey to pride, ambition, lust, love, anger, jealousy, greed for gold, hunger for power, and all the other failings that afflicted lesser mortals. The best of them overcame their flaws, did their duty, and died with their swords in their hands. The worst…
The worst were those who played the game of thrones.”
“This was a place of deep silence and brooding shadows, and the gods who lived here had no names.”
“When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.”
“Winter will never come for the likes of us. Should we die in battle, they will surely sing of us, and it’s always summer in the songs. In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining.”
“It is night in your Seven Kingdoms now,” the red woman went on, “but soon the sun will rise again. The war continues, Davos Seaworth, and some will soon learn that even an ember in the ashes can still ignite a great blaze.”
“He made plans to keep himself sane, built castles of hope in the dark.”
“It all goes back and back. To our mothers and fathers and theirs before them. We are puppets dancing on the strings of those who came before us, and one day our own children will take up our strings and dance on in our steads.”
“Sleep is good,” he said. “And books are better.”
Feature Image Via ‘jemimus’ on Flickr
