I remember the stink of corruption. It had a kind of sweetness to it, a sweetness that'd make you want to hurl.

— Mark Lawrence

It doesn't pay to trust a lettered man in the road, Brothers, their heads are full of other man's ideas.

— Mark Lawrence

It is purity of spirit that will keep corruption from the flesh

— Mark Lawrence

It’s always better to sit on your dignity in private than to stand on it in public.

— Mark Lawrence

It's an irony of our times that men seeking peace must make war.

— Mark Lawrence

It’s often said that cowards make the best torturers. Cowards have good imaginations, imaginations that torment them with all the worst stuff of nightmare, all the horrors that could befall them. This provides an excellent arsenal when it comes to inflicting misery on others. And their final qualification is that they understand the fears of their victim better than the victim does himself.

— Mark Lawrence

It's shame that gets us killed. Shame is the anchor, the heaviest burden to carry from the battlefield. Fortunately shame was an affliction I'd never suffered from.

— Mark Lawrence

It’s the silence that scares me. It’s the blank page on which I can write my own fears.

— Mark Lawrence

It was a defeat, resorting to crude threats in a game of subtlety, but sometimes one must sacrifice a battle to win the war.

— Mark Lawrence

I've been known to be contrary. When something pushes me, I shove back. Even if the one doing the pushing is me. It would have been easy to gut him then and there. Satisfying. But the need was too urgent. I felt pushed.

— Mark Lawrence