David Gemmell - The King Beyond the Gate (1985)

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I am not a hero; I am a soldier. When the battle is lost, I retreat and regroup; when the war is over, I lay down my sword. No last dashing charge; no futile last stand!

David Gemmell
... a man can overcome his background, even as he can overcome a skilled opponent.

David Gemmell
I am a stranger. You do not need to lie to me or pretend. Only with friends do you need masks..

David Gemmell
And now I am going to tell you a great truth, and if you are wise, you will take it to your heart. All men are stupid. They are full of fear and insecurity—it makes them weak. Always the other man seems stronger, more confident, more capable. It is a lie of the worst kind, for we lie to ourselves... How do you know? You do not! You listened to the voice of your inadequacy, and because you believed, you are in my power. If I draw my sword, you are dead!

David Gemmell
"We don't seem to be overflowing with luck." "You make your own. I put no faith in gods, Lake. Never have. If they exist, they care very little—if at all—about ordinary mortals. I put my faith in me, and do you know why? Because I have never lost!"

David Gemmell
"You are getting too old for this." "A man is as old as he feels, woman!" "And how old do you feel?" "About ninety."

David Gemmell
What do you mean, why? Is it not obvious? What is life but a betrayal? We start out young, full of hope. The sun is good; the world awaits us. But every passing year shows how small you are, how insignificant against the power of the seasons. Then you age. Your strength fails, and the world laughs at you through the jeers of younger men. And you die. Alone. Unfulfilled. But sometimes... sometimes there will come a man who is not insignificant. He can change the world, rob the seasons of their power. He is the sun.

David Gemmell
Too many people go through life without pausing to enjoy what they have.

David Gemmell
I remember a tutor who told me that all the world's hunters have eyes that faced front: lions, hawks, wolves, men... He said man was no different from the tiger. We are nature's killers, and we have great appetites for it... Listen, Rayvan, the beast is in all of us. We do our best in life, but often we are mean, or petty, or needlessly cruel. We don't mean to be, but that's the way we are.

David Gemmell
"We irritated him, he told me. Why did he get himself killed for us?" "Because he was a hero. And that is what heroes do. You understand?"

David Gemmell
It is not hard to change when your biggest problem is whether the weeds prosper in a vegetable patch.

David Gemmell
"How do you do it? How do you stay so strong?" "I fake it."

David Gemmell