Mountain of Black Glass Quotes

“Every man is the hero of his own song.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Our lives aren't even about doing real things most of the time. We think and talk about people we've never met, pretend to visit places we've never actually been, to discuss things that are just names as though they were as real as rocks or animals or something. Information Age. Hell it's the Imagination Age. We're living in our own minds.

No, she decided as the plane began its steep descent, really we're living in other people's minds.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Even the most unpleasant inhabitants of the Edwin Meese Gardens housing project had never tried to shove a basilisk into Ramsey’s codpiece.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“I asked that goddess for help, and all we got were these stupid monkeys.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“His virtual home showed none of the ostentation of others in the Brotherhood, no Gothic-fortress-perched-on-impossible-cliffs or Caligulean excesses of decor (usually accompanied by an equally Caligulean want of decorum.)”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“For so long, I have isolated myself—always keeping something back, even from my occasional lovers. Now I am connected. It is a painful, frightening feeling. A couple I once knew from my university days told me, when they had their first child, that they had given a hostage to Fate and would never be comfortable again. I understand now. It hurts to love. It hurts to care.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“couple I once knew from my university days told me, when they had their first child, that they had given a hostage to Fate and would never be comfortable again. I understand now. It hurts to love. It hurts to care.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“suggests a suicide competition between the two artists, to be broadcast live by “artOWNartWONartNOW.” The one with the most artistically interesting suicide would be judged the winner, even though he or she would not be around to collect the prize.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Calliope’s father had used to tell a joke, one she only dimly remembered. It had something to do with a wildly optimistic child who, when given a huge pile of horseshit as a cruel gift, had spent hours digging through it, reasoning, “There has to be a pony in here somewhere!”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Whether our story has an end that is already written or not, we can only trust to our luck and do what is before us. But hope is never an unwelcome companion.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Happily ever after . . .’ is only true if the story stops at that moment. But real stories never do—they end in sadness and infirmity and death, every one.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“It is bad to worry too much without information. We should wait until we see the situation.” “You’re right. It’s just . . . I’m on edge. I keep thinking somebody’s watching us.” “I have the same feeling.” Florimel grinned sourly at Renie’s expression. “It is not surprising, really. I think you and I are much alike—always we worry about everyone else. Always it is our responsibility to make sure others are safe.” She reached out and gave Renie a tentative pat on the arm, a strangely awkward gesture. “Perhaps that’s why we have had conflict. It is hard for two people both accustomed to the same position to sort things out.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Huh?”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“The sirens . . .” He remembered now—Odysseus had sailed near them, making his men first stop their ears with wax while he himself stood tied to the mast so he could hear their fabled melodies without casting himself into the water.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Confusion to our enemies!”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“There are always choices. That is the pattern beneath all things. Universes appear and disappear with each choice—and worlds are destroyed with every breath.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“It’s the same old story— ‘Yes, it’s too bad, but go suffer somewhere else. . . .”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“A couple I once knew from my university days told me, when they had their first child, that they had given a hostage to Fate and would never be comfortable again. I understand now. It hurts to love. It hurts to care.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Rumors have dogged the course of the Anford presidency, his infrequent appearances and moments of public confusion leading to rumors that he is suffering from a brain tumor or degenerative muscular disorder. The White House claims this latest round of tests is merely part of a routine medical checkup, and doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital are, as usual, silent on the state of the president’s health. . . .”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“They had come to her slowly at first, the children—their lives separate and precious, each one a miracle as individual as a snowflake caught on a mittened palm.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“You were not required to study the Grail process, Ms. Dedoblanco, but I would have thought it worth your while.” Wells frowned.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“And here comes The Aeneid, right on schedule,” Martine said. Paul looked at her, but if it was a joke, she wasn’t smiling.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Code Delphi. Hmmm. My choice of a code phrase to mark out these entries begins to seem . . . rather Delphic. In any case”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Order. I must find some order. If the universe has none, or at least none we can discern, well, then it is our job to give it some. I have always believed that.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass

“Strip off the branches and make the logs smooth,” the quail said in the voice of a mischievous girl-child. “Didn’t your mother and father teach you anything?” Paul stared. It was not the strangest thing he had encountered, but it was still a bit surprising. “Who are you?” She made a little chirping sound of amusement. “A quail! What do I look like?” He nodded his head, conceding the point. “And you know how to build a raft?” “Better than you do, it seems. It’s a good thing Calypso herself brought you here, because you didn’t even ask permission from the dryads before you chopped down their trees, and they’ll all have to find new homes now.”
― Tad Williams, Mountain of Black Glass