“People were messy. They were defined not only by what they'd done, but by what they would have done, under different circumstances, molded as much by their regrets as their actions, choices...”

“I mean, most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. Stories are the easiest way to do that.”

“He wondered about himself (whether he was broken, or special, or better, or worse) and about other people (whether they were really all as stupid as they seemed).”

“I am Sunai,” he said. “I am holy fire. And if I have to burn the world to cleanse it, so help me, I will.”