83 Quotes by K.J. Parker

The longer you think about truth and wisdom, the more clearly you come to understand that they’re figments of the imagination; and what does that leave?

Secretly, deep down, everybody on Earth believes they can write poetry, apart from the members of the Poets' Guild, who know they can't.

I told you that you wouldn't like me. I understand. It shows proper feeling. If you said to me: There's this man who is so callous and brutal that he doesn't give a damn about his fellow human beings, wouldn't shed a tear over the death of an innocent; would you care to meet this person, shake hands with him, maybe invite him into your home and have dinner with him? You're kidding, right. That hypothetical piece of shit is, of course, me.

Ah". Tzimisces smiled. "Let me guess. Flowery periphrases, back-to-back literary allusions and quotations from thousand-year-old authors. A marked reluctance to use one word when twelve can be jammed in if you sit on the lid.

If the world is a book, are you the hero, or just a walk-on part?

Be specially polite to people who annoy you. True feelings are for true friends.

War's just violence, and violence is an admission of failure.

If there’s a hell, I truly believe, it’s getting exactly what you’ve always wanted.

You don’t have to enjoy your work to be good at it. Frankly, I don’t like what I do. It offends me. But I’m the best in the business.