A bag of dragons buys a man's silence for a while, but a well-placed quarrel buys it forever.

The ones who look the most suspicious are likely innocent. It's the ones who look innocent I need to beware.

You wear your honor like a suit of armor... You think it keeps you safe, but all it does is weigh you down and make it hard for you to move.

If there are gods, why is the world so full of pain and injustice?' 'Because of men like you.

The only game. The game of thrones.

The distinction between literary and genre fiction is stupid and pernicious. It dates back to a feud between Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry James. James won, and it split literature into two streams. But it's a totally false dichotomy.

Start with short stories. After all, if you were taking up rock climbing, you wouldn't start with Mount Everest. So if you're starting fantasy, don't start with a nine-book series.