Short Story Writers From The United States

"Scholes mentioned and quoted from the “Following the Plot” essay, so the first thing I did was get my hands on a copy of The Afterlife: Essays and Criticism by Penelope Fitzgerald so I could read the essay in full. I guess mostly simply, I took Fitzgerald at her word. In that essay she says letters had arrived that dangled the possibility of an inheritance, and she decided to make the trip to Mexico to see about it. She and were quite desperate at that point, living beyond their means in London, editing a failing literary journal, with two young children and a third on the way. ... Penelope and Desmond stayed together until his death in 1976. Her first novel was written to entertain him as he declined. Despite all the problems, I think they must have loved each other deeply."

"Yasuhiro had studied and thought long about combat, which he knew always deteriorated into chaos whatever the battle plan."

"You may regard this as an outrage of the spirit, but it is that or die, and I decline to offer you the choice."

"The universe comprised strife between forces, and there was no use seeking a benign still center to mirror the unfolding peace of a mother’s love."

"“You are enjoying the present disruptions a good deal less than I. That is because I recently restructured my cerebral architecture—that skill is my raison d’être, I should explain—and have adopted an egocentric consciousness, which certainly changes one’s view of the world!” The creature laughed, a shocking sound. “I’m presently as selfish as any human; probably worse, since I am not used to this heady wine. As any infant.”"

"Data security was a proprietary concern, the obsession of those who saw knowledge as commodity, or who had something to hide."

"You older types are mired in the minds you grew up with, a real handicap in a rapidly changing universe. The future is a game for the young and the hungry—I’m five months old myself, and on the cutting edge."

"Where were you, last night?" "I was in bed... sleeping Beside you... Of course!" "And I was leaping Broomsticks, and burying Jesus, And patting Godiva's horse!"

"Many men do things they regret later. Only a few are granted the opportunity to make amends."

"“You don’t want to be King,” he said, his tone accusatory. Lyam laughed bitterly. “No sane man would.”"

"I see myself as a servant of the gods, though that may be only my vanity speaking."

"He was always complaining of there being so much to learn and so little time to learn it. And that from a man who had lived years beyond numbering."

"I think I know what power can do, and what sort of men seek it."

"The war goes on. Good for the merchants, bad for the rest."

"“There is no place like the sea, gentlemen. Those who live on land all their lives can never truly understand. The sea is basic, sometimes cruel, sometimes gentle, and never predictable. But it is nights like this that make me thankful the gods allowed me to be a sailor.” Arutha said, “And something of a philosopher as well.” Amos chuckled. “Take any deep-water sailor who’s faced death at sea as many times as I have, and scratch him lightly. Underneath you’ll find a philosopher, Highness. No fancy words, I’ll warrant you, but a deep abiding sense of his place in the world.”"

"“It would be a proper occasion for you to make some sort of entrance into court society.” “I’m sorry, Hocho,” Milamber said, “I have little desire to attend any festivals. I have been to one earlier this month, in Ontoset, as part of my studies. The dances are boring, the food tends toward the awful, and the wine is as flat as the speeches. The games are of less interest still. If this is the court society you speak of, then I’ll be fine without it.”"

"The path of power is a path of turns within turns."

"We of the Assembly support the Empire because on this world it is the single most powerful force for order—not because it is noble, or fair, or beautiful, or just. But because of it the majority of humanity can live and work without war in their homelands, can live without famine, plagues, and the other disasters of older times. And with this order around us, we of the Assembly can work unhindered."

"As I thought. That man’s got the heart of a shark, which is to say none, and the courage of a jellyfish, which is also to say none."

"“It seems to me there are several major problems here, problems I can only guess at in terms of impact upon the Empire. “First”—he held up his index finger—“those in power are more concerned with their own grandeur than with the well-being of the Empire. And as they are those who appear to the casual eye to be the Empire, it is an easy thing not to notice.”"

"That you have lived as you have lived for centuries is no license for this cruelty. All here are now judged, and all are found wanting."

"The Empire must change its course, or it is doomed to fall. The rotten, weak heart of this culture cannot support its own weight much longer, and like a ngaggi tree with a rotten core, it will collapse under its own weight."

"What they teach you is useful, but never accept the proposition that just because a solution satisfies a problem, that it must be the only solution."

"“Second, there must never be a time when the need for stability overrules the need for growth.” “But we have always grown!” objected Hochopepa. “Not true,” countered Milamber. “You have always expanded, and that seems like growth if you don’t investigate closely. But while your armies have been bringing new lands into your borders, what has happened to your art, your music, your literature, your research? Even the vaunted Assembly does little more than refine that which is already known.”"

"Aye, and it’s a brave dwarf who loots a dragon’s lair."

"All creatures fear change, even the gods."

"I am!—he cries, and a million philosophies cry out in wonder."

"There is only one thing I know of that a woman hates more than a man she doesn’t like paying her too much attention—and that’s lack of attention from a man she does like."

"“There are many ways to love someone. Sometimes we want to love so much, we’re not too choosy about who we love. Other times we make love such a pure and noble thing, no poor human can ever meet our vision. But for the most part, love is a recognition, an opportunity to say, ‘There is something about you I cherish.’ It doesn’t entail marriage, or even physical love. There’s love of parents, love of city or nation, love of life, and love of people. All different, all love.”"

"Love is like a lot of things, it is always best done with the head. Save mindless efforts for mindless things."

"But when you’ve seen as many different lands as I have, you learn that the more things look different, the more they are the same."

"Among man’s strange undertakings, war stood clearly forth as the strangest."

"“We have an old saying: ‘In the High Council, there is no brother.’”"

"When the boy had finished, the King said, “That is a wonderful tale. It is better than the versions that have reached our court, for while it is not half so heroic, it is twice as impressive for being true.”"

"Pug questioned him with a look. “I don’t understand.” The traveler shook his head. “I don’t expect you to, Pug. Let us say that things are occurring that can be understood only by examination after the fact, with a distance of time separating the participants from the participating.”"

"One time is much like another to death. She comes when she will. So why give over your mind to worry?"

"“I’m not one to advise you in such matters, I fear, as I’ve had scant experience with women, of any age, let alone such young and headstrong ones.” Looking Pug in the eyes, he said, “But this much I do know, it is almost impossible in the heat of the moment to understand long-term consequences.”"

"“I don’t know what to say.” “Then say nothing, Pug. It makes you seem wise when everyone is babbling.”"

"“Our host is the sort who sees which way the wind blows before making up his mind; he waits word from the merchant before deciding if we’re prisoners or guests.” The magician chuckled. “You’ll find as you grow older that minor functionaries are the same the world over.”"

"No disrespect to you, Tully. But don’t try to teach an old thief to steal. I know your order chops logic with the best of them, and that half your brother clerics fall into laughing fits when they hear those deadly serious young acolytes debate theological issues set aside a century ago."

"But legends are common enough. Turn up any rock on the beach and you’ll find one. I for one prefer to look for real answers to our shortcomings, not blame them on ancient superstitions."

"Well, knowing your own part in this is a good sign that you’re becoming a man. Most boys would have tried to justify their actions by shifting blame or by claiming some moral imperative to fight."

"There may be a more superstitious breed on Midkemia than sailors, but who they are I could not tell you."

"A scientist looks for a description of the universe in terms of a model that allows him to understand how things work, allows him to predict how things are going to work, and allows him to put together devices that work according to his predictions."

"One reason for the astonishing growth of science and technology in this century has been, of course, war; but another, and perhaps a more important one, is simply that science has created the conditions—in western society at least—under which it best flourishes: these are affluence, leisure, and a high regard for education."

"Is goodness just for Sundays and is love just for Christmas? Must the living fragrance of human love be packed away with the tree ornaments once Christmas day is past?"

"The mirror’s Magic—that mirror—the one he gave me—because it tells me the sweetest lies about myself! I’ve looked into it time and time again since then—by daylight—by lamplight—by moon and starshine—and each time that dear little mirror says: Jewel Luchak, you’re the prettiest girl in twelve green counties! Mayra smiled and thought silently to herself: Couldn't it be, my child, that the Magic's not in the mirror at all? Couldn't it be that it's having someone love you is making you prettier all the time?"

"Hate, my gentle lady, said Captain Anschutz, is only Love that has lost its way home in the dark."

"Christmastide and a good heart’s breath against a cold pane are enough to bring lost faces back in evergreen eternity."

"It was as if, within that still winter night's vastness a strange soft-feathered bird of passage had come to beat its hopeless wings against the windows of her heart."