George R. R. Martin — Quotes from Author's Books

The best calumnies are spiced with truth.

The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.

There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.

We look at mountains and call them eternal, and so they seem... but in the course of time, mountains rise and fall, rivers change their courses, stars fall from the sky, and great cities sink beneath the sea. Even gods die, we think. Everything changes.

Tears (...) The woman's weapon, my lady mother used to call them. The man's weapon is a sword. And that tells us all you need to know, doesn't it?

"Girl or boy, we fight our battles," he said, "but the gods let us choose our weapons".

You little fool. Tears are not a woman's only weapon. You've got another one between your legs, and you'd best learn to use it. You'll find men use their swords freely enough. Both kinds of swords.

— You’re awful.
— I’m honest. It’s the world that’s awful.

“You're mine," she whispered. "Mine, as I'm yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first, we'll live."