Sanderson Quotes

At first glance, the key and the lock it fits may seem very different," Sazed said. "Different in shape, different in function, different in design. The man who looks at them without knowledge of their true nature might think them opposites, for one is meant to open, and the other to keep closed. Yet, upon closer examination he might see that without one, the other becomes useless. The wise man then sees that both lock and key were created for the same purpose. ~ Brandon Sanderson

That smile forced back the gloom, made the aches and soreness fade. Kaladin's father had described that kind of smile. Those smiles weren't why Lirin had become a surgeon, but they were why he'd remained one. ~ Brandon Sanderson

A pox of unique human diseases--many of which cause an uncomfortable swelling--come upon you! ~ Brandon Sanderson

Some men, as they age, grow kinder. I am not one of those, for I have seen how the cosmere can mistreat the innocent - and that leaves me disinclined toward kindness. Some men, as they age, grow wiser. I am not one of those, for wisdom and I have always been at cross-purposes, and I have yet to learn the tongue in which she speaks. Some men, as they age, grow more cynical. I, fortunately, am not one of those. If I were, the very air would warp around me, sucking in all emotion, leaving only scorn.
Other men...other men, as they age, merely grow stranger. I fear that I am one of those. I am the bones of a foreign species left drying on the plain that was once, long ago, a sea. A curiosity, perhaps a reminder, that all has not always been as it is now. ~ Brandon Sanderson

They're afraid of our ability to hear the stars. [...] And to them it makes us alien. ~ Brandon Sanderson

How can she believe?" Vivenna said. Denth shrugged. "Seems like a good enough religion to me. I mean, you can go and see her gods. Talk to them, watch them shine. It isn't all that tough to understand. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Let them say what they will. I can still fly.
- Earl Sanderson, Jr. ~ George R R Martin

The life of a person is more than the chaos of its passing. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Perhaps that was the advantage to persistently messy hair--he managed to make it go with anything. ~ Brandon Sanderson

The French dine to gratify, we to appease appetite," observed John Sanderson. "We demolish dinner, they eat it." The general misconception back home was that French food was highly seasoned, but not at all, wrote James Fenimore Cooper. The genius in French cookery was "in blending flavors and in arranging compounds in such a manner as to produce ... the lightest and most agreeable food." The charm of a French dinner, like so much in French life, was the "effect. ~ David McCullough

Do not let your assumptions about a culture block your ability to perceive the individual, or you will fail. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Glass broke and metal tools clattered to the ground.
"Have you any idea what all of that is worth?" Shezler growled, lowering his arm and advancing.
"Your soul, apparently," Kelsier whispered. ~ Brandon Sanderson

You're too untrusting, Susebron wrote. I keep telling you. My priests are good people. She regarded him flatly, catching his eyes. Except for removing my tongue, he admitted. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Dalinar took a deep breath, then forced himself to open his arms and pull back. "If you had hoped to
soothe my worries for the day, then this didn't help."
She folded her arms. He could still feel where her safehand had touched him on the back. A tender
touch, reserved for a family member. "I'm not here to soothe you, Dalinar. Quite the opposite."
"Please. I do need time to think."
"I won't let you put me away. I won't ignore that this happened. I won't - "
"Navani," he gently cut her off, "I will not abandon you. I promise."
She eyed him, then a wry smile crept onto her face. "Very well. But you began something today."
"I began it?" he asked, amused, elated, confused, worried, and ashamed at the same time.
"The kiss was yours, Dalinar," she said idly, pulling open the door and entering his antechamber.
"You seduced me to it."
"What? Seduced?" She glanced back at him. "Dalinar, I've never been more open and honest in my
life."
"I know," Dalinar said, smiling. "That was the seductive part." He closed the door softly, then let out
a sigh. Blood of my fathers, he thought, why can't these things ever be simple?
And yet, in direct contrast with his thoughts, he felt as if the entire world had somehow become
more right for having gone wrong. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I'll have more than that." He tapped the windowsill. "I'm going to refound the Knights Radiant. ~ Brandon Sanderson

light makes shadow. Truth makes lies. ~ Brandon Sanderson

No matter how good you were, someone was better. Live by that knowledge, and you would never grow so confident that you became sloppy. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Wayne liked how banks worked. They had style. Many people, they'd keep their money out of sight, hidden under beds and some such. What was the fun of that? But a bank ... a bank was a target. Building a place like this, then stuffing it full of cash, was like climbing atop a hill and daring anyone who approached to try to knock you off. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I want to build you a house with my bare hands and carry you over the threshold. I want too cook for you every evening and bring you tea in bed in the mornings. I want to read with you in front of an open fire, sipping a glass of wine. I want to drive you to the beach and lie next to you in the sun. I may not be a man of means, bit I want to take care of you as best I can. ~ Catherine Sanderson

If she raised you, she's your mother," Siri said. "It doesn't matter who gave birth to you." He ~ Brandon Sanderson

I can't worry about everything at once, Elend thought with determination. I just have to trust. Trust in myself and keep going. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Accept the pain, but don't accept that you deserved it. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Sazed shook his head, walking over to stand beside her. "Belief isn't simply a thing for fair times and bright days, I think. What is belief - what is faith - if you don't continue in it after failure?" Vin frowned. "Anyone can believe in someone, or something, that always succeeds, Mistress. But failure ... ah, now, that is hard to believe in, certainly and truly. Difficult enough to have value, I think. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I'm sorry that your mystical, godlike powers do not instantly work as you would like them to. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Now, no complaining, Waxillium. It will help. I've put the list in this little book," Steris said, producing a palm-sized notebook, "for ease of reference. Each page contains a conversation opener, indexed to the people it will likely work best upon. The numbers below list ways you could segue the conversation into useful areas and perhaps figure out what our targets are up to, and what their connection is to the Bands of Mourning."
"I'm not socially incompetent, Steris," Wax said. "I can make small talk."
"I know that," Steris said, "but I'd rather avoid an incident like the Cett party. ... "
"Which Cett party?"
"The one where you head-butted someone."
He cocked his head. "Oh, right. That smarmy little man with the ridiculous mustache. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Coincidence", he finally said. "Statisticans looking for connections can always find odd coincidences and statistical anomalies, if they try hard enough. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Tradition is the blind witness they use to condemn us, ~ Brandon Sanderson

She assumes," Wax said, "that our detective style isn't normally the punchy-punchy, stabby-stabby type." "To be fair," Wayne said, "it's usually a more shooty-shooty, whacky-whacky type. ~ Brandon Sanderson

And Sanderson?" "Are you kidding? I bet his girlfriend is a dominatrix or something." "Or his boyfriend." "No, he's so not cool enough to be gay." She was very funny. ~ Mary Calmes

He saw it in her eyes. The anguish, the frustration. The terrible nothing that clawed inside and sought to smother her. She knew. It was there, inside. She had been broken.
Then she smiled. Oh, storms. She smiled anyway.
It was the single most beautiful thing he'd seen in his entire life. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Breeze shrugged. Manipulation works so well on a personal level, i don't see why it wouldn't be an equally viable national policy. ~ Brandon Sanderson

After Josh leaves and Kitty goes upstairs to watch TV, I'm tidying up the living room and Peter's sprawled out on the couch watching me. I keep thinking he's about to leave, but then he keeps lingering.
Out of nowhere he says, "Remember back at Halloween how you were Cho Chang and Sanderson was Harry Potter? I bet you that wasn't a coincidence. I bet you a million bucks he got Kitty to find out what your costume was and then he ran out and bought a Harry Potter costume. The kid is into you."
I freeze. "No, he isn't. He loves my sister. He always has and he always will."
Peter waves this off. "Just you wait. As soon as you and I are done, he's gonna pull some cheesy-ass move and, like, profess his love for you with a boom box. I'm telling you, I know how guys think."
I yank away the pillow he's got cushioning his bac and put it on the recliner. "My sister will be home for winter break soon. I bet you a million dollars they get back together."
Peter holds his hand out for me to shake on it, and when I take it, he pulls me onto the couch next to him. Our legs touch. He has a mischievous glint in his eye, and I think maybe he's going to kiss me, and I'm scared, but I'm excited, too. But then I hear Kitty's footsteps coming down the stairs, and the moment's over. ~ Jenny Han

Respect the people you lie to, Tao had taught her. Steal from them long enough, and you will begin to understand them. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Tough, and square-jawed, J.C. is a cold-blooded killer. Or so he claims. I think it means he likes to murder amphibians. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I doubt hell has this much Kool-Aid ~ Brandon Sanderson

Yes," Wyndle said, "you should do just that! Let us pop over to the market and pick up a legendary, all-powerful weapon of myth and lore, worth more than many kingdoms! I hear they sell them in bushels, following spring weather in the east. ~ Brandon Sanderson

The creature took off with its companions - its pack. "So this is what the Reod did," Hrathen mused to himself. "It made beasts out of gods. ~ Brandon Sanderson

A hero does not choose her trials ~ Brandon Sanderson

People are valuable, Mistress Vin, and so - therefore - are their beliefs. ~ Brandon Sanderson

We're all freaks sometimes, Melody," he replied. "You're just ... well, better at it than most. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I trust you. It's a very strange sensation."
"Yeah, well, I'll try to hold myself back from going skipping across the plateau in joy."
Adolin grinned. "I'd pay to see that."
"Me skipping?"
"You happy," Adolin said, laughing. "You've got a face like a storm! I half think you could frighten off a storm. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Back in my State, I'm very close to being able to control the weather. I'll be all-powerful, once I've figured that out. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Didgeridooing?" Megan asked from over my shoulder.

"Profanity filter on my mobile," I said.

"You use a profanity filter? What is this, kindergarten?"

"Nah," I said. "It's hilarious. Makes people sound really stupid. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Conversations with some people remind me of a broken sword. Sharp as hell, but lacking a point. ~ Brandon Sanderson

How do you always know just what to say?" I ask.
His laugh rumbles through me. "Practice, I guess."
I pull back and give him a quizzical look.
"I spent three years imagining what I would say to you if you were mine," he says, tugging me close.
"I should hope I know what to say now that I've got you. ~ Tera Lynn Childs

Oh, hell," Kelsier said. "There's actually a God?"
"Yes."
Kelsier decked him.
It was a good, clean punch, thrown from the shoulder while he brought his other arm up to block a counter strike. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Wayne: You wanna know why I really came to find you?
Waxilliam: Why?
Wayne: I thought of you happy in a comfy bed, resting and relaxing, spending the rest of your life sipping tea and reading papers while people bring you food and maids rub your toes and stuff.
Waxilliam: And?
Wayne: And I just couldn't leave you to a fate like that ... I'm too good a friend to let a mate of mine die in such a terrible situation.
Waxilliam: Comfortable?
Wayne: No. Boring. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Downtown Newcago spread out before me, its surfaces reflecting starlight. Everything was steel here. Like a cyborg from the future with the skin ripped off. Only, you know, not murderous. Or, well, alive at all.
Man, I thought. I really do suck at metaphors. ~ Brandon Sanderson

You have quite the clever tongue on you!"
"I've never actually had someone's tongue on me," Shallan said, turning a page and not looking up, "clever or not. I'd hazard to consider it an unpleasant experience."
"It ain't so bad," Gaz said. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I kinda like where I am. If I'm recognized all the time, I have to leave better tips in restaurants. ~ William Sanderson

The things that others have always seem better than what you have, ~ Brandon Sanderson

He was right. I was letting myself get distracted, like a rabbit doing math problems instead of looking for foxes. ~ Brandon Sanderson

It was so hard to find warmth in the darkness. But when the night grew cold and the darkness came for you, that was when you needed to light a fire.
And make your own light. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Hello?' M-Bot said. 'Spensa? Are you dead?'
'Maybe.'
'Oooh. Like the cat!'
'...What?'
'I'm not sure, honestly,' M-Bot said. 'But logically, if you're speaking to me then possibility has collapsed in our favor. Hurray! ~ Brandon Sanderson

We fight here because we understand. The end is the same. It is the path that separates men. When we taste that end, we will do so with our heads held high, eyes to the sun." He ~ Brandon Sanderson

Humans have free will. Free will is the ability to make irrational decisions. ~ Brandon Sanderson

And so, Navani painted a prayer onto the stones themselves, sending her attendants for more ink. She paced off the size of the glyph as she continued its border, making it enormous, spreading her ink onto the tan rocks.
Soldiers gathered around, Sadeas stepping from his canopy, watching her paint, her back to the sun as she crawled on the ground and furiously dipped her brushpen into the ink jars. What was a prayer, if not creation? Making something where nothing existed. Creating a wish out of despair, a plea out of anguish. Bowing one's back before the Almighty, and forming humility from the empty pride of a human life.
Something from nothing. True creation.
Her tears mixed with the the ink. She went through four jars. She crawled, holding her safehand to the ground, brushing the stones and smearing ink on her cheeks when she wiped the tears. When she finally finished, she knelt back before a glyph twenty paces long, emblazoned as if in blood. The wet ink reflected sunlight, and she fired it with a candle; the ink was made to burn whether wet or dry. The flames burned across the length of the prayer, killing it and sending its soul to the Almighty. ~ Brandon Sanderson

...human beings need someone friendly to listen to them when they're grieving. So feel free to talk to me. I will be friendly. You have nice shoes."
"Is that the only thing you notice about people?"
"I've always wanted shoes. They're the sole piece of clothing that makes any sense, assuming ideal environmental conditions. They don't play into your strange and nonsensical taboos about not letting anyone see your - "
"Is this really the only thing you can think of to comfort someone who is grieving?"
"It was number one on my list." Great.
"The list has seven million entries. Do you want to hear number two?"
"Is it silence?"
"That didn't even make the list."
"Move it to number two."
"All right, I . . . Oh. ~ Brandon Sanderson

The study's small ventilation window bumped open, and Vin squeezed through, pulling in a puff of mist behind her. She closed the window, then surveyed the room.

"More?" she asked incredulously. "You found more books?"

"Of course," Elend said.

"How many of those things have people written?" she asked with exasperation. ~ Brandon Sanderson

So, when people try to give you some book with a shiny round award on the cover, be kind and gracious, but tell them you don't read "fantasy," because you prefer stories that are real. Then come back here and continue your research on the cult of evil Librarians who secretly rule the world. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and - if you're not careful - those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it in a book. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I didn't say Tvlakv isn't a bastard. He's just a likable bastard." He hesitated, then grimaced. "Those are the worst kind. When you kill them, you end up feeling guilty for it. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Your insult has offended me. If we were at the Peaks, we would have to duel in traditional alil'tiki'i fashion."
"Which is what?" Teft asked. "With spears?"
Rock laughed. "No, no. We upon the Peaks are not barbarians like you down here."
"How then?" Kaladin asked, genuinely curious.
"Well," Rock said, "is involving much mudbeer and singing."
"How's that a duel?"
"He who can still sing after the most drinks is winner. Plus, soon' everyone is so drunk that they forget what argument was about."
Teft laughed. "Beats knives at dawn, I suppose. ~ Brandon Sanderson

A river is easier to channel than to stop. ~ Brandon Sanderson

A little fear, a little history, those things don't mean anything. Only what we do means anything. ~ Brandon Sanderson

The measure of a person is not how much they have lived. It's in how they make use of what life has shown them. ~ Brandon Sanderson

All people are musicians" Wit countered. "The question is whether or not they share their songs. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Surround yourself with people too afraid to speak, and you left yourself to only your own ideas. That could be disastrous. It was important to have men who would question you and see flaws in your plans, so long as you could control them. It was all about control. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Be slow to trust a man with clothing that was too new. You didn't get to wear new, clean clothing by doing honest work. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Bobby would drive to the net injured, he would drive to the net hurt. He played that way every night. He told Bobby that he was the one who made him famous. ~ Derek Sanderson

In fact, the entire nature of this State seemed to highlight that political power was just an illusion provided to engage and excite us ~ Brandon Sanderson

He'd drafted a law requiring that all people of less than average intellect be required to commit suicide for the good of the city. It had seemed reasonable. ~ Brandon Sanderson

If you perpetuate the dreams of the past, you stifle your own dreams of the future. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I don't know what to say," Joel said. "I figure that if you are there, you'll be angry if I claim to believe when I don't. The truth is, I'm not sure I don't believe, either. You might be there. I hope you are, I guess. ~ Brandon Sanderson

If nobody asked questions, then we would never learn anything. ~ Brandon Sanderson

The sensation - it's not sorrow, but something deeper - of being broken. Of being crushed so often, and so hatefully, that emotion becomes something you can only wish for. If only you could cry, because then you'd feel something. Instead, you feel nothing. Just ... haze and smoke inside. Like you're already dead. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Where were you this morning?" Peter demands.
I cross my arms and try to stand tall. It's hard, because I'm so short and he really is tall. "You're one to talk."
Peter huffs, "At least I texted you! I've called you like seventeen times. Why is your phone off?"
"You know we're not allowed to have our phones on at school!"
He huffs, "Lara Jean, I waited in front of your house for twenty minutes."
Yikes. "Well, I'm sorry."
"How'd you get to school? Sanderson?"
"Yes."
Peter exhales. "Listen, if you were pissed I couldn't come over last night, you should've just called and said so instead of the shit you pulled this morning."
In a small voice I say, "Well, what about that shit you pulled last night?"
A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "Did you just say 'shit'? It sounds really funny coming out of your mouth. ~ Jenny Han

A few lessons, and you think you're through? We've barely begun. You are still a fool, Elend Venture- you just don't look like one anymore. ~ Brandon Sanderson

My first western was 'Death Hunt' with Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin; that was where I learned to ride. The movie was based on a true story about a guy that eluded the Mounties in Canada. We were in Canada for six weeks riding horses. ~ William Sanderson

They're all Allomancers," Waxillium guessed. "More than that," Wayne said. "They're all relatives." "It's only been three hundred years since the Originators, Wayne. We're all relatives." "Does that mean you'll take responsibility for me?" "No. ~ Brandon Sanderson

So, Wax," Wayne butted in. "Where did you say that bloke was who had my hat?"
"I told you that he got away after I shot him."
"I was hoping he'd dropped my hat, you know. Getting shot makes people drop stuff."
Waxillium sighed. "He still had it on when he left, I'm afraid."
Wayne started cursing.
"Wayne," Marasi said. "It's only a hat."
"Only a hat?" he asked, aghast.
"Wayne's a little attached to that hat," Waxillium said. "He thinks it's lucky."
"It is lucky. I ain't never died while wearing that hat. ~ Brandon Sanderson

It's just another war. If they weren't fighting one another, they'd find others to attack. It's what we do. Vengeance, honor, riches, religion - the reasons all just produce the same result. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I need something, Wax. A place to look. You always did the thinking."
"Yes, having a brain helps with that, surprisingly. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Don't complain. Change. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Their black eyes were like shards of obsidian. ~ Brandon Sanderson

I'm always truthful as well. So full of truth, in fact, that sometimes it squeezes the lies right out my lips. There isn't a place for them inside, you see. ~ Brandon Sanderson

He was a man.Just a man. Yet, you always knew he'd succeed. He made you be what he wanted you to be. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Using a fetching face to make men do as you wish is no different from a man using muscle to force a woman to his will. Both are base, and both will fail a person as they age. ~ Brandon Sanderson

A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them. ~ Brandon Sanderson

If something had been done one way for such a long time, he figured there was probably a good reason. Behind him stood the shadowed cubbies of a cobbler's ~ Brandon Sanderson

Captain," said one of the guardsmen. "I was here when it happened, watching him on the balcony. It fell right out. Barely a sound. I was standing here, looking out at the Plains and thinking to myself, and next I knew His Majesty was hanging right there, holding on for his life and cursing like a caravan worker." The guard blushed. "Sir. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Sarene laughed wryly. You love me, Father - no parent wants to admit that is daughter is unattractive. The truth of the matter is, no man wants an intelligent wife. ~ Brandon Sanderson

How did a man like you ever end up at a table of negotiation?" "I was trained by a surly Mistborn, a sarcastic Terrisman, and a group of disrespectful thieves," Elend said, sighing. "Plus, on top of that, I was a fairly insufferable person to begin with. But, kindly continue with your insult - I didn't mean to interrupt. ~ Brandon Sanderson

If we stop helping people because we're afraid, or ambivalent or whatever, then we lose. Let them do evil. I'll stop them. ~ Brandon Sanderson

What does the fish remind you of?" "Other fish." "And what do the other fish remind you of?" "Other fish." Major Sanderson sat back disappointedly. "Do you like fish?" "Not especially. ~ Joseph Heller

That had never made sense to Kaladin. The Almighty was supposed to be able to see all and know all. So why did he need a prayer to be burned before he would do anything? Why did he need people to fight for him in the first place? ~ Brandon Sanderson

You cannot keep all men confined all the time," Abraham said, "not without creating a strong prison. So instead you allow some measure of freedom for those who really, really want it. That way, they do not become rebels. If you do it right. ~ Brandon Sanderson

She hadn't spent as much time with Dockson as she had with Kelsier and Sazed - or even Ham and Breeze. He seemed like a kind man, however. Very stable, and very clever. While most of the others contributed some kind of Allomantic power to the crew, Dockson was valuable because of his simple ability to organize. ~ Brandon Sanderson

When this is done, Jerkface, I will hold your tarnished and melted pin up as my trophy as your smoldering ship marks your pyre, and the final resting place of your crushed and broken corpse!"
- Spensa, pg. 64 ~ Brandon Sanderson