N. K. Jemisin quotes

N. K. Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, acclaimed for her innovative world-building and exploration of social themes. Her groundbreaking Broken Earth trilogy won her three consecutive Hugo Awards. She has inspired a new generation of diverse voices in speculative fiction. Here are 60 of her quotes:

It is blasphemy to separate oneself from the earth and look down on it like a god. It is more than blasphemy, it is dangerous. We can never be gods, after all-but we can become something less than human with frightening ease. (N. K. Jemisin)
I'm tired of being what everyone else has made me,” I said. "I want to be myself.” "Don't be a child.” I looked up, startled and angry, though of course there was nothing to see. "What?” "You are what your creators and experiences have made you, like every other being in this universe. Accept that and be done; I'm tired of your whining. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Funny thing, employment. If you keep doing it, you keep getting paid. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
But love like that doesn't just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there's always a little love left, underneath. Yes. Horrible, isn't it? View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Immortality gets very, very boring. You'd be surprised at how interesting the small mundanities of life can seem after a few millennia. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
There is no greater warrior than a mother protecting her child. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
But perhaps that was just the way of power: no such thing as too much. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Love betrayed has an entirely different sound from hatred outright. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
There is no logic to grief. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
It is important to appreciate beauty, even when it is evil. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
You can't lose faith you never had to begin with.” "Ah. So you never believed in the Bright at all?” "Of course I believed. Even now I believe, in principle. But when I was sixteen, I saw the hypocrisy in all the things the priests had taught me. It's all very well to say the world values reason and compassion and justice, but if nothing in reality reflects those words, they're meaningless. (N. K. Jemisin)
They follow the creed of the Bright: that which disturbs the order of society must be eliminated, regardless of whether it caused the disturbance.” She rolled her eyes. "You'd think they'd get tired of parroting Itempas and start thinking for themselves after two thousand years. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
They live forever, but many of them are even more lonely and miserable than we are. Why do you think they bother with us? We teach them life's value. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
I was beginning to understand, a little. "Is that why you're a usurer?” Madding chuckled. "I prefer the term investor. And my rates are perfectly fair, thank you.” "Drug dealer, then.” "I prefer the term independent apothecary-”. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
I had never been able to truly hate anyone who'd suffered, no matter what evils they'd done in the aftermath. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Otherwise it was quiet-that eerie, not-quite-comforting quiet one finds in small towns before dawn. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
I knew as well as anyone that the priests taught what they wanted us to know, not necessarily what was true. And sometimes even when they told the truth, they got it wrong. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
But though I repeated my plea, and waited on my knees for nearly an hour, there was no answer. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Mother always said that if one must do something unpleasant, one should do it wholeheartedly and not waste effort on regret. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Peace is meaningless without freedom. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Those with power would always find some way to exert it over those who didn't. (N. K. Jemisin)
Fear was like poison to mortals; it killed their rationality. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
This was what I'd asked her to give me. I had no right to complain just because it wasn't what I wanted to hear. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
If they will not love me, fear is an acceptable substitute. View quote
N. K. Jemisin
Magic is merely communication, after all. Communication, and conduits. View quote
N. K. Jemisin