David Gemmell
Societies need heroes. So we travel to places where the revisionists cannot dismantle the great.Collection: Travel
This is the real magic of fantasy fiction: it can feed souls and change lives.
Our modern world, though infinitely more complex than that of ancient Greece, is also far more superficial. Where the Greeks offered simple psychological training, we live in an age of style and spin in which perceptions of good and evil slither and shift with the political view of the moment.
Many fantasy novels - 'Lord of the Rings', for instance, or 'Lavondyss' by Robert Holdstock - are beautifully written. Geoff Ryman's 'The Child Garden' is exquisite and utterly beguiling. Mervyn Peake's 'Gormenghast' trilogy is an astonishing piece of multi-faceted storytelling. So quality of writing does not condemn the genre.
If you look at any ancient civilization, they've all used fantasy stories to train the young.
Nothing of real worth can ever be bought. Love, friendship, honour, valour, respect. All these things have to be earned.Collection: Respect
Do not speak badly of yourself, for the warrior that is inside you hears your words and is lessened by them.Collection: Warrior
Love is a mystery. We embrace it where we can. Mostly we do not choose whom we love. It just happens. A voice speaks to us, in ways the ears cannot hear. We recognize a beauty the eye does not see. We experience a change in our hearts that no voice can describe.Collection: Heart
May all your dreams but one come true, for what is life without a dream?Collection: Dream
A warrior feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks knowledge, he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in his strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul.Collection: Meaningful
Man is capable of greatness, love, nobility, compassion. Yet never forget that his capacity for evil is infinite. It is a sad truth, boy, that if you sit now and think of the worst tortures that could ever be inflicted on another human being, they will already have been practiced somewhere. If there is one sound that follows the march of humanity, it is the scream.Collection: Boys
There's no shame in fear. But understand this - the coward is ruled by fear, while the hero rides it like a wild stallion.Collection: Fear
Some people have a gift for stupidity, an almost mystic ability to withstand any form of logic.Collection: People
Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the persuit of evil.Collection: Strong
A man's strength is ultimately born of his knowledge of his own weakness.Collection: Men
I make little distinction between those who commit evil and those who stand by and do nothing.Collection: Fear
I am a stranger. You do not need to lie to me or pretend. Only with friends do you need masks.Collection: Lying
We make choices everyday, some of them good, some of them bad. And - if we are strong enough - we live with the consequences.Collection: Strong
I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is, of course, I love you. But by far the most deadly is, if only. For these two words can strip a man's strength, his courage and his confidence. They become the father of regret and anguish and pain.Collection: Pain
We all have scars [...] Better by far for them to be worn on the outside.Collection: Scar
Steal a loaf of bread and they hang you, steal a land and they'll make you king.Collection: Kings
Every little bit of good I may do, let me do it now for I may not come this way again.Collection: May
Fear is an aid to the warrior. It is a small fire burning. It heats the muscles, making us stronger. Panic comes when the fire is out of control, consuming all courage and pride.Collection: Warrior
Trust your instincts, and make judgements on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.Collection: Heart
Heroes are people who face down their fears. It is that simple. A child afraid of the dark who one day blows out the candle; a women terrified of the pain of childbirth who says, 'It is time to become a mother'. Heroism does not always live on the battlefield.Collection: Mother
Evil lives in a pit. If you want to fight it, you must climb down into the slime to do so. White cloaks show the dirt more thank black, and silver tarnishes.Collection: Fighting
Be at peace, my friend. One thing I have learnt about Death is that his bark is worse than his bite.Collection: Bark
[H]e who fears to lose will never win.Collection: Winning
Not one of the creatures of blood can escape death. We all face it, and succumb to it. It follows us like a dark shadow. Yet if we live in terror of it, then we do not live at all. Yes we are born alone, and yes we will die alone. But in between, Tae, we live. We know joy.Collection: Dark
I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. But these are virtues to be cherished, for without them we are no more than beasts roaming the land.Collection: Loyalty
Every man has his own reason for every deed. Usually it is selfish.Collection: Selfish
Evil will never be countered while good men do nothing.Collection: Men
Win or lose, we achieve nothing in the world that we understand [...]' 'But then the world does not matter.' 'Indeed it does not [...] It is good to understand that.Collection: Winning
[F]ear is a great ally.Collection: Allies
No need for confusion, my dear Mulgrave... Beautiful wine and sour vinegar come from exactly the same source. Curiously if one leaves a bottle of wine open for long enough it will become vinegar. Happily in this house wine never survives long enough to go bad.Collection: Beautiful
The purpose of debates is to explore issues, not end them.Collection: Issues
A man with wife and daughters has no place losing his temper.Collection: Daughter
Makes no sense to me,' said Huntsekker. 'You don't know who is at your door, but you know the thoughts of a man twenty miles away.' 'Life is a mystery,' said Powdermill, with a gold-toothed grin. 'It is that, right enough,' agreed Huntsekker.Collection: Men
In real war an officer may have only one chance at succeeding. Consider each problem.Collection: Real
A man must know his limitations.Collection: Men
You know how it is. Boy meets girl, girl wants boy dead. An everyday story, really.Collection: Girl
None of us can choose the manner of our passing.Collection: Passing
It is a merchant's nature to quibble over coins. It is how we become rich and buy satin shirts. The problems of who governs this area is one for another day.Collection: Coins
Death haunts everyone and never fails.Collection: Failing
The point is [...] that you never know whether you've lost until you've lost. Anything can happen.Collection: Lost
Never be glad that another man has died. Not ever. [...] It never ends. Never... ever... be glad to kill.Collection: Men
It is not hard to change when your biggest problem is whether the weeds prosper in a vegetable patch.Collection: Weed
One day the enemy will cross the Great Green. They will bring war and tragedy to these eastern lands. Such is the nature of vile men. Yet we cannot live in dread of them. We cannot hide behind these high walls, our hearts trembling. For that is not life. We must accept the needs and the duties of each day, and face them one at a time.Collection: Wall
Your face may be gone, but you know who you are.Collection: Gone
Love is for fools. It is a surging of blood in the loins ... there is no mystery, and no magic. Find someone else, my boy.Collection: Boys