Sanderson Quotes & Sayings

While every new fantasy author is hailed as unique, new, and different, Brandon Sanderson's ELANTRIS does indeed provide an absorbing adventure in a unique, different, and well-thought-out fantasy world, with a few nifty twists as well. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

What's wrong with unicorns?" she demanded from behind him, her chalk sounding as it scraped the ground. "They're a noble and - "
"They're a noble and incredibly girly animal," Joel said. "I've got my masculine reputation to think of."
"Oh hush, you," she said. "You'll deal with unicorns - maybe some flower people and a pegasus or two - and you'll like it. Otherwise, you can just go draw your own circle, thank you very much. — Brandon Sanderson

The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time. — Brandon Sanderson

I could have traveled quickly. But all men have the same ultimate destination. — Brandon Sanderson

Oh, I'm just a happy person. — Brandon Sanderson

But even a ninety-year-old blind priest would stop and stare at this woman. If — Brandon Sanderson

What you did tonight was clever," Wit said. "You turned an attack into a promise. The wisest of men know that to render an insult powerless, you often need only to embrace it. — Brandon Sanderson

There's no profit in peace. — Brandon Sanderson

He picked up the candelabra, pocketed the doily underneath, then put the candelabra back in place with the pocket watch hanging from it. — Brandon Sanderson

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

Good men don't need to become legends. They just do what's right anyway. — 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

What better way for such a creature to gain freedom? Men would die in the name of prophecies. — Brandon Sanderson

Men protect things they find important," Galladon said with a shrug. "If you object, you shouldn't have made yourself so irreplaceable.Kolo?"
-Brandon Sanderson
(Elantris) — Brandon Sanderson

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

Incredible cosmic powers do not equate with high IQ. — Brandon Sanderson

But he'd found that imaginary things were often the only items of real substance in people's lives. — Brandon Sanderson

To age truly was to suffer the ultimate treason, that of one's body against oneself. — Brandon Sanderson

The truth is not a downer," Abraham said in his lightly accented voice. "The lies that you pretend to accept are the true downer. — Brandon Sanderson

She took a deep breath and let herself become someone else. An imitation of herself who was calm, even in a situation like this. — Brandon Sanderson

The Survivor said that we should smile," the priest pled. "He taught that we should not let our sorrows drag us down no matter how bad life became. — Brandon Sanderson

Whenever I'm thinkin' my life is miserable, I remember him, and tell myself, 'Well, Wayne. At least you ain't a broke, dickless feller what can't even pick his own nose properly.' And I feels better. — Brandon Sanderson

Exhaustion," Dalinar said, "pain, suffering. This is what victory usually feels — Brandon Sanderson

You'll find God in the same place you're going to find salvation from this mess," Wit said. "Inside the hearts of men. — Brandon Sanderson

AT first Raoden stayed away from the library, because it reminded him of her.
Then he found himself drawn back to it - because it reminded him of her. — Brandon Sanderson

I spent years convincing myself that regular people could fight, and I still think we can. But we need the same weapons our enemies have." Megan — Brandon Sanderson

You're making me get used to sleeping at night," she said. "Plus, I don't sleep in my clothing anymore." "If you did, it would make things a little awkward." "Yes," she said, "but what if we get attacked during the night? I'd have to fight them naked." "I wouldn't mind watching that." She — Brandon Sanderson

The sudden and abrupt removal of my all-consuming goal ... well, it was like I was a donut, and somebody had sucked all the jelly out of me. But I could stuff new jelly in there. It would just get my hands a little sticky in the process. — Brandon Sanderson

Getting older does not tend to make you more normal, — Brandon Sanderson

There will be many challenges ahead, and I'm looking forward to them. — Cael Sanderson

Those dear to me took fright for my safety and, perhaps, my sanity. Kings, they explained, do not walk like beggars for hundreds of miles. My response was that if a beggar could managed the feat, then why not a king? Did they think me less capable than a beggar?
Sometimes I think that I am. The beggar knows much that the king can only guess. And yet who draws up the codes for begging ordinances? Often I wonder what my experience in life
my easy life following the Desolation, and my current level of comfort
has given me of any true experience to use in making laws. If we had to rely on what we knew, kings would only be of use in creating laws regarding the proper heating of tea and the cushioning of thrones. — Brandon Sanderson

Brightness ... I believe you stray into sarcasm."
"Funny.I thought I'd run straight into it,screaming at the top of my lungs. — Brandon Sanderson

The first step in taking control of a nation, Arteth, is the simplest. You find someone to hate. — Brandon Sanderson

I am mountains that crush. I am waves that crash. I am storms that shatter. I am the end. — Brandon Sanderson

Megan looked at me and blushed. A blush looked really good on her. Of course, so would soup, mud, or elephant earwax. Megan on a bad day outshined anyone else I'd ever known. — Brandon Sanderson

I can't ever come up with any logical reason why she would want to be with me. I just ... have to trust her judgment. — Brandon Sanderson

Besides - only people from Arelon are taken by the Shaod. It an take Teoish people, but only if they're living in Arelon at the time. Oh, and it takes the occasional Dula as well."
"I hadn't noticed. — Brandon Sanderson

Pain lost it's power when other things became more important.Kahar didn't need a potion or an Aon to save him-he just needed something to do.-Brandon sanderson(Elantris) — Brandon Sanderson

Science is defined in the dictionaries as the pursuit of the unknown; yet science today is coming more and more to insist that it not be bothered with this, and it has reached a point where anything that is not already known is frowned upon. — Ivan T. Sanderson

How totally unexpected, he declared, then proceeded to faint from blood loss. — Brandon Sanderson

Once one becomes a man, he can and must make his own decisions. But I do offer warning. Even a good thing can become destructive if taken to excess. — Brandon Sanderson

Why did it seem that the more he demonstrated himself to be an idiot, the more convinced people became that he had some kind of hidden depths? — Brandon Sanderson

Shallan sat down on the plush, white bed, and sank almost down to her neck. What had they made the thing out of? Air and wishes? It felt luxurious. — Brandon Sanderson

It's okay. I'm a rhinoceros astronaut. — Brandon Sanderson

I take two hours off for my family every day. And then I write fourteen hours. — Brandon Sanderson

There aren't any answers to be found. There are no good choices. Submissiveness to a tyrant or chaos and suffering. — Brandon Sanderson

Why do you care?"
"Because someone has to. — Brandon Sanderson

Overcome your guilt, Kaladin. Care, but not too much. Take responsibility, but don't blame yourself.' Protect, save, help - but know when to give up. — Brandon Sanderson

The mists seemed to draw back. Waxillium stood there, wearing a large, dusterlike coat, cut into strips below the waist. A pair of revolvers gleamed in holsters at his hips, and he rested a shotgun on each shoulder. His face was bloodied, but he was smiling. — Brandon Sanderson

An easy life taught one very little. — Brandon Sanderson

Once I was in my last year of law school, I started doing plays, as I said, without taking the bar. And I got hooked. I did a play called 'Marat/Sade', and I never had so much fun in my life. — William Sanderson

But wine was the great assassin of both tradition and propriety, and now the Alethi elite danced with abandon. — Brandon Sanderson

Need. That word had strange effects on men. Some ran when you used it. Others grew nervous. — Brandon Sanderson

Well Ibrox is filling up slowly, but rapidly — James Sanderson

Do not deride someone's faith simply because you do not share it, Lord Cladent, Sazed said quietly. — Brandon Sanderson

Emperor's Soul pg 123:
Attempts to Forge the window to a better version of itself had repeatedly failed; each time, after five minutes or so, the window had reverted to its cracked, gap-sided self.
Then Shai had found a bit of colored glass rammed into one side of the frame. The window, she realized, had once been a stained glass piece, like many in the palace. It had been broken, and whatever had shattered the window had also bent the frame, producing those gaps that let in the frigid breeze.
Rather than repairing it as it had been meant to be, someone had put ordinary glass into the window and left it to crack. A stamp from Shai in the bottom right corner had stored the window, rewriting its history so that a caring master craftsman had discovered the fallen window and remade it. That seal had taken immediately. Even after ll this time, the window had seen itself as something beautiful. — Brandon Sanderson

Let us have gardens, then, and other public places where we may see our friends, and parade our vanities, if you will, before the eyes of the world. Did you ever know anyone who was not delighted with a garden? - John Sanderson — David McCullough

I find nothing more frightening than a man trying to do what he has decided is important. Very little in the world has ever gone astray - at least on a grand scale - because a person decided to be frivolous — Brandon Sanderson

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

Imager isn't set up yet," Prof said. "So we'll do this the old-fashioned way. Mizzy, you're low man on the team roster. You get scribe duties." She hopped up from her chair and actually seemed excited by the prospect. She took a marker and wrote Reckoner Super Plan for Killing Regalia at the top of the sheet. Each i was dotted with a heart. — Brandon Sanderson

Tobias took the photograph. At least, that's what I saw. Most likely I still had the photograph in my hand, but I couldn't feel it there, now I perceived Tobias holding it. It's strange, the way the mind can change perception. — Brandon Sanderson

Oi," Wayne said, hustling up beside him. "A good plan that one was, eh?"
"It was the same plan you always have," Wax said. "The one where I get to be the decoy."
"Ain't my fault people like to shoot at you, mate," Wayne said as they reached the coach. "You should be happy; you're usin' your talents, like me granners always said a man should do."
"I'd rather not have 'shootability' be my talent."
"Well, you gotta use what you have," Wayne said, leaning against the side of the carriage as Cob the coachman opened the door for Wax. "Same reason I always have bits of rat in my stew. — Brandon Sanderson

Elend Venture," she said, standing up. "There is something I've been meaning to tell you for some time." She paused, blinking away her
tears. "You read too much. Especially in the presence of ladies. — Brandon Sanderson

It would be like finding out that you'd drawn lots for dessert at the Factory and been only one number off, only it didn't matter because Pete already snuck in to steal the dessert, so nobody was going to get any anyway - not even Pete, because it turns out there had never been any dessert to begin with. — Brandon Sanderson

Shallan, weren't you supposed to be reading?"
"I ... had trouble concentrating."
"So you came up on deck," Jasnah said, "to sketch pictures of young men working without their shirts on. You expected this to help your concentration? — Brandon Sanderson

Jasnah sniffed. Your tutors were idiots. Youthful immaturity is one of the cosmere's great catalysts for change, Shallan. — Brandon Sanderson

Combat begins with the legs," Kaladin said as he evaded the attacks. "I don't care how fast you are with a jab, how accurate you are with a thrust. If your opponent can trip you, or make you stumble, you'll lose. Losing means dying. — Brandon Sanderson

Atheism is not a disease, Your Majesty," Jasnah said dryly. "It's not as if I've caught a foot rash. — Brandon Sanderson

Yes, we saw from above," Elhokar said. "Perhaps a few of us could ride ahead. ... " "Your Majesty," Dalinar said. "The point of bringing my troops along would be somewhat undermined if you left them behind." Elhokar rolled his eyes. Dalinar did not yield, his expression as immobile as the rocks around them. — Brandon Sanderson

In places, the drop was just a little ripple - a fall of some five feet or so. But in others, majestic waterfalls plunged fifty feet or more before pounding onto the next stone platform. It looked like a man-made effect, for the various split streams and waterfalls eventually ran back together into the river, which flowed away from the city toward distant Elendel. — Brandon Sanderson

However, if we strike quickly - while Iadon is still ignorant of our intentions - we could get my legion into the palace and take the king hostage. — Brandon Sanderson

Your hallucination...
Yes?
Your hallucination has hallucinations.
Yes. — Brandon Sanderson

A good crewleader is always sure of himself, even when he isn't. Especially when he isn't. — Brandon Sanderson

You talk about hunger and pain as if they are forces which can't be resisted. Anything is acceptable, as long as the hunger made you do it-remove our comforts, and we become animals. — Brandon Sanderson

You are out of control, Rand al'Thor,' she declared.
I do what must be done,' he said, speaking now from the shadows. He sounded exhausted ...
I hate what you just did, Rand,' Nynaeve snarled. 'No, "Hate" isn't strong enough. I loathe what you've done. What has happened to you?'
Test him!' Rand whispered, voice dangerous. 'Before condemning me, let us first determine if my sins have achieved anything beyond my own damnation. — Brandon Sanderson

If we cannot defeat the assassin, then we must remove his reason for attacking. If we can capture or eliminate his employers, then perhaps we can invalidate whatever contract binds him. Last we knew, he was employed by the Parshendi."
"Great," Ruthar said dryly. "All we have to do is win the war, which we've only been trying to do for five years. — Brandon Sanderson

The only consistent hobby I've had is studying Spanish and French because of some delusion of grandeur to work around the world. I love sports but usually I'm looking for the next job. — William Sanderson

What is madness?" she asked, sitting with one leg up against her chest, vaporous skirt flickering around her calves and vanishing into mist. "It's when men don't think right," Kaladin said, glad for the conversation to distract him. "Men never seem to think right." "Madness is worse than normal," Kaladin said with a smile. "It really just depends on the people around you. How different are you from them? The person that stands out is mad, I guess. — Brandon Sanderson

People are mostly very nice, and I always say hello. I'm laid back, so I don't mind. I think if people watch the show and want to say hi, you've got to be nice. — Nikki Sanderson

Moved on ... " he said. "Rusted nuts! You can do that?"
"Certainly."
"Huh. You think ... I should ... you know ... Ranette ... "
"Wayne, if ever someone should have taken a hint, it was you. Yes. Move on. Really."
"Oh, I took the hint," he said, taking a swig of sherry. "Just can't remember which jacket I left it in." He looked down at the jug. "You sure?"
"She has a girlfriend, Wayne."
"'S only a phase," he mumbled. "One what lasted fifteen years. ... — Brandon Sanderson

Kaladin hoped for something else. Hoped. Yes, he'd discovered that he could still hope. A spear in his hands. An enemy to face. He could live like that. — Brandon Sanderson

You're an excellent judge of character, Sarene - except your own. Often our own opinions of ourselves are the most unrealistic. — Brandon Sanderson

You're young," Teft said. "I'm old."
"That makes you wiser, presumably?"
"Damnation no. The only thing it proves is that I've more experience staying alive than you. — Brandon Sanderson

Being given it so easily seemed to devalue the years she had spent relishing her brief moments of solitude. — Brandon Sanderson

Truth is individual."
"What? No it's not. Truth is ... it's Truth. Reality."
"Your truth is what you see," Pattern said, sounding confused. "What else could it be? That is the truth that you spoke to me, the truth that brings power. — Brandon Sanderson

I was a little busy being shot at." "Busy? Aw, mate. It doesn't take any effort at all to get shot at. — Brandon Sanderson

Are you that afraid of being wrong? One would assume you'd be accustomed to it by now."
He grunted. "Be careful, girl. You wouldn't want to accidentally insult a man."
"The last thing I'd want to do is accidentally insult you, Vathah," Shallan said. "To think that I
couldn't manage it on purpose if I wanted! — Brandon Sanderson

He ate my horse. — Brandon Sanderson

Someone once said that Sci Fi was the modern Western. What's my favorite? Well, anything that needs a misfit. I don't have a real favorite. My dream is to play something different. — William Sanderson

Were those still tears in his eyes? Would that they could hide his crimes. — Brandon Sanderson

Souness gave Fleck a second chance and he grabbed it with both feet. — James Sanderson

A man better appreciates love when he has been forced for so long to go without. — Brandon Sanderson

We're going to kill them, aren't we?" William Ann asked.
"Yes."
"How much are they worth?"
"Sometimes, child, it's not about what a man is worth. — Brandon Sanderson

Do not be so hard on the child. She is a product of her upbringing, just as you are. If you judge her worth based on frivolities, then you are doing the same as those who judge you based on your simple clothing. — Brandon Sanderson

Have you no thoughts on the matter?" Blushweaver finally asked.
"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."
Blushweaver sighed. "You avoid thinking, you avoid me, you avoid effort ... is there anything you don't
avoid?"
"Breakfast. — Brandon Sanderson

Deathpoint collapsed, a bullet wound in his forehead. Dead. — Brandon Sanderson

The only time you seem honest is when you're insulting someone!"
"The only honest things I can say to you are insults. — Brandon Sanderson

A bribe is just a promise, turned on its head. — Brandon Sanderson

A leader did not slump. A leader was in control. Even when he least felt like he controlled anything. Especially then. — Brandon Sanderson

What is it we value? Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly ... timeliness. I fear you may be too late, my confused, unfortunate, friend. — Brandon Sanderson