Dark Epic Fantasy Quotes

I eyed the sheriff. "So I better be breathing when He finds me." "Who the hell are you talking about?" the sheriff blurted.
I chuckled.
The postman sneered at the sheriff. "She means the Demon King. The Devil. This is a phone from Hell - the real one. ~ H.D. Smith

With his nose in my hair, he inhaled deeply before putting a light kiss on my cheek. "Have you come to play?" he asked then kissed me again.
"No." I cringed when he drew my earlobe into his mouth. "I came to help you. That's all. I swear."
"I'd rather play. ~ H.D. Smith

Envy, however, is a thoroughly doomed state. And the only pity would be to let it introduce hatred to your heart. Hate only what you love. ~ Constantina Maud

Ellysetta Baristani is my shei'tani." His eyes found hers. "My truemate." A murmur of voices rippled through the crowd.
"Please tell the court what a truemate is."
"A truemate is the person who holds the other half of a Fey's soul." His gaze never left hers, and Ellie felt the magic of his voice wrapping her in imperceptible weaves of longing. "It is the most sacred bond known to any Fey, more sacred than that between a king and his subjects, more sacred even than that between a mother and a child. ~ C.L. Wilson

Summer queens are fine and fair, with pretty ribbons and flowers in their hair. Winter queens are cold and hard, with frosted crowns made of icy shards. ~ Jennifer Estep

I know, but still. Hear this now, Mina," he paused. "You are the truest of truths and in some alternate universe where people could be whatever they wanted, you would be Queen. ~ Chelsea Ballinger

He knew a narrow deer path that switchbacked through breaks in the rocks and down the ridge. We soon came to flat ground where a few trees populated the foot of the ridge. Sycamores and white oaks, poplars and lindens quickly multiplied around us. Within only a marq or so the trees drew closer and closer together, their roots entangling and branches mingling. The path was fraught with roots that knotted up in strangled bundles until there was no path at all. We were forced to dismount and lead the horses. ~ Christopher C. Fuchs

And against whom is this censorship directed? By way of answer, think back to the big subcultural debates of 2011 – debates about how gritty fantasy isn't really fantasy; how epic fantasy written from the female gaze isn't really fantasy; how women should stop complaining about sexism in comics because clearly, they just hate comics; how trying to incorporate non-Eurocentric settings into fantasy is just political correctness gone wrong and a betrayal of the genre's origins; how anyone who finds the portrayal of women and relationships in YA novels problematic really just wants to hate on the choices of female authors and readers; how aspiring authors and bloggers shouldn't post negative reviews online, because it could hurt their careers; how there's no homophobia in publishing houses, so the lack of gay YA protagonists can only be because the manuscripts that feature them are bad; how there's nothing problematic about lots of pretty dead girls on YA covers; how there's nothing wrong with SF getting called 'dystopia' when it's marketed to teenage girls, because girls don't read SF. Most these issues relate to fear of change in the genre, and to deeper social problems like sexism and racism; but they are also about criticism, and the freedom of readers, bloggers and authors alike to critique SFF and YA novels without a backlash that declares them heretical for doing so.


It's not enough any more to tiptoe around the issues that matter, refusing to name the wor ~ Foz Meadows

Seek Knowledge, Protect Knowledge, Share Knowledge. ~ Karen Azinger

He sat beside her. "What sort of things did you dream of?"
"Oh, what most young girls do, I imagine. Fey tales. True love." She gave a small, self-conscious laugh. "You. ~ C.L. Wilson

Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil. - Gandalf the Grey, The Return of the King ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

What a thraldom, to be able to dream and only then to be free! ~ Constantina Maud

Our lives are epic, but we don't realize it.

Every situation is a hologram of the whole of life. We are searching for a way in the dark. Yet every life experience is complete and contains all secrets, everything that was and everything that is to come. Can it be that the universe is reflected in a person or in a moment? How come we don't realize it and don't remember the millions of years? And how come no day is free of pain?

There had better be a good reason. Maybe we will find that reason one day. When we get out of this prison. ~ Stephen Muires

I'm like a toy to her, a toy that someone has promised her. Maybe not her favorite, but still hers. ~ Nicole Gulla

Hello, Lady Witch," he said, breaking into a brazen grin. "Sorry to see you're laid up again."
"Occupational hazard," Lily mumbled... ~ Josephine Angelini

She drew a breath and her lips parted in two words that rebounded through his body.
"Kiss me," she said.
So he did the only thing he could do... ~ Sara Raasch

Rain watched as his five best warriors squeezed into the tiny parlor, picked their way through the jungle of wedding gifts as if tiptoeing through a nest of Drogan sand vipers, and settled down with stone-faced stoicism to proceed with the humiliating un-warrior-like task of opening presents ...
Five lethal glances speared him. For the first time in a thousand years, Rain Tairen Soul threw back his head and laughed. ~ C.L. Wilson

If Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker had teamed up to write epic fantasy, something like Split Heirs might have resulted. ~ John DeChancie

It was just as all the Kettral said: You went to Hook to escape your problems and came back with a dozen more. ~ Brian Staveley

What do you fear so much, that you would run so hard from what you want? ~ C.L. Wilson

Owllwin was easiest the most contrary person Cricket had ever known. He was arrogant but humble, cowardly but brave, foolish but wise. He was funny, but sometimes she caught him crying when he was off on his own. It were as if he pushed himself to be a better person in spite of himself, in spite of his own failings, and Cricket secretly admired the fact: not many people were willing to admit they had faults in the first place. ~ Ash Gray

You may have me trapped in this." I tug him off me. "But you aren't the first man to underestimate me, so may I advise you to start treating me with a little more respect… ~ Sara Raasch

Men wish to be worshiped, young one. They forget that worship belongs to the gods alone. ~ Aaron-Michael Hall

What I want to know is when does Lily get off her butt and do some chores?" Tristan said, panting, as he dragged a gnarly stump of bleached wood up the beach. "I feel like I've been stacking wood and stoking fire all damn day while she just sits there."
Rowan gave Tristan a disapproving look. "It's a mechanic's privilege to serve his witch. ~ Josephine Angelini

Fantasy novels reveal "emergency escape routes" from reality. Romance novels dish out a banquet of Eye Candy. Otherworldly passion erupts when the two collide in an epic novel of unforgettable characters and dire circumstances. ~ Sarah J. Pepper

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
- Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

The amassing of knowledge absent the temperance of wisdom can render it nugatory, and ofttimes parlous. ~ Aaron-Michael Hall

We live in the most epic of fantasy worlds. ~ T.L. Rese

What in Helos's name had just happened? The Calbernan had turned unexpectedly and caught her gaze upon him and then…
She dragged in a breath, then another. Ragged. Shaken. She couldn't even begin to describe what had happened. It was as if, with one look, he'd dived into the deepest, most secret parts of her soul, places no one – not even she – had ever been. ~ C.L. Wilson

Jaz caught himself a Myngelle."
"I'm surprised Anadyr let you out into the Plains by yourselves," smiled Corianna, "and you had best return that egg. The Merfolk will not be happy with you."
"Oh ... ! They'll have forgotten about all that by the time I have to journey to the Plains," said Jazdyr, cradling the unhatched egg.
"They don't forget anything, Jaz," said Jaden, "and our Lady Elf is right, you can't be handling that egg. You have to prepare to be a warrior."
"What if I don't want to be a warrior? I can just look after this egg, after it hatches."
"I don't think there's many openings for a zoo keeper in Mordana. ~ John Hennessy

Dolchyme: "It's ... just that ... we don't get many of your kind around here. Stormling folk and all that.
Anadyr: "I'm a Storm Lord, actually."
Dolchyme: "Sheesk - if I'm not in the presence of royalty then. ~ John Hennessy

A man without equals is a dangerous man indeed. He must exercise the most difficult of attributes, restraint. ~ Daniel McHugh

Oh, you misunderstand the sagacity of my decision. It wasn't for my benefit that you atoned. It was for yours. That expiation removed the encumbrance from your heart and mind. The gods blessed us with such wisdom as a means to unburden our spirit when we've fallen short of their expectations. ~ Aaron-Michael Hall

Everything makes so much more sense, when you forget what life forces you to remember. ~ Constantina Maud

Sister Maria Martinez whom I believe I've mentioned before has been giving me cooking classes. Today I learned how to bake mean banana bread. The secret apparently is half a cup of dark rum. ~ Adele Griffin

When someone goes on a long journey, those who stay behind wish them the energy of a wildfire. The power to take things that try to hinder you --- wind, thrashing enemies --- and use them to make you stronger. The power to burn so brightly that all who look will wonder how darkness ever existed in the same world as you." She puts a hand on my shoulder, but her resolve breaks, her eyes glassy. "Scorch this world, Winter queen. ~ Sara Raasch

But for every epic love tale splashed out in lights for the world to see, there were ten million more couples that loved each other in the dark just as beautifully. ~ Seth King

When I dreamed about becoming a fantasy adventurer, I was always a max-level character with epic gear. Look at me. I'm wearing vendor trash. ~ Noelle Alladania Meade

It's just you always…"
"Run," I finish for him…
I gaze up at him. Soft light plays over his striking features – the hard planes of his cheekbones, his strong jaw, the slight hook in his nose. "I'll still run, Griffin. The difference now is that I'll run to you."
He looks at me for a long time, his gray eyes inscrutable. "You'd better."
I arch an eyebrow. "Or you'll spank me? ~ Amanda Bouchet

Like seduction, the Priestess took poisoning to an art form. ~ Karen Azinger