“Killing isn't free. It takes something out of you every time you do it. You get their life; they get a piece of your soul. It's always a trade.”
―
Paolo Bacigalupi,
Ship Breaker
“I'm a chess piece. A pawn,' she said. 'I can be sacrificed, but I cannot be captured. To be captured would be the end of the game.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“We are nature. Our every tinkering is nature, our every biological striving. We are what we are, and the world is ours. We are its gods. Your only difficulty is your unwillingness to unleash your potential fully upon it.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl
“Pure data. You don’t believe data—you test data.” He grimaced. “If I could put my finger on the moment we genuinely fucked ourselves, it was the moment we decided that data was something you could use words like believe or disbelieve around.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Water Knife
“Politics is ugly. Never doubt what small men will do for great power.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl
“The more I write stories for young people, and the more young readers I meet, the more I'm struck by how much kids long to see themselves in stories. To see their identities and perspectives—their avatars—on the page. Not as issues to be addressed or as icons for social commentary, but simply as people who get to do cool things in amazing worlds. Yes, all the “issue” books are great and have a place in literature, but it's a different and wildly joyous gift to find yourself on the pages of an entertainment, experiencing the thrills and chills of a world more adventurous than our own.And when you see that as a writer, you quickly realize that you don't want to be the jerk who says to a young reader, “Sorry, kid. You don't get to exist in story; you're too different.” You don't want to be part of our present dystopia that tells kids that if they just stopped being who they are they could have a story written about them, too. That's the role of the bad guy in the dystopian stories, right? Given a choice, I'd rather be the storyteller who says every kid can have a chance to star.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi
“The problem with surviving was that you ended up with the ghosts of everyone you’d ever left behind riding on your shoulders.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Short fiction seems more targeted - hand grenades of ideas, if you will. When they work, they hit, they explode, and you never forget them. Long fiction feels more like atmosphere: it's a lot smokier and less defined.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi
“It’s human nature to tear one another apart. Be glad you come from such a successful line of killers.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“I do not fight battles that cannot be won. Do not confuse that with cowardice.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Your body is full of rage. Every sinew. It is easy to read. You speak volumes with a clenched fist.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Food should come from the place of its origin, and stay there. It shouldn't spend its time crisscrossing the globe for the sake of profit.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl
“If we can’t describe our reality accurately, we can’t see it.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Water Knife
“When you were alone in the rising ocean, you grabbed whatever raft passed by.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“The thought burrowed into her heart as darkness fell. It coiled in her guts as she wedged herself amongst the boughs of a tree to sleep. And in the morning, it woke with her and clung to her back, riding on her shoulders as she climbed down, hungry and exhausted from nightmares.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Crew up, Nailer!" Lucky Girl shouted. "You think I'm going to pull your ass up here like a damn swank?” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“Blood is not destiny.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“Don't tell me about worth," Nita said. "My father commands fleets.""The wealthy measure everything with the weight of their money." Tool leaned close. "Sadna once risked herself and the rest of her crew to help me escape from an oil fire... Your father commands fleets. And thousands of half-men, I am sure. But would he risk himself to save a single one?” ― Paolo Bacigalupi
“Some things, it was better not to think about. It just made you mad and angry.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“I'm a chess piece. A pawn,' she said. 'I can be sacrificed, but I cannot be captured. To be captured would be the end of the game.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“We are nature. Our every tinkering is nature, our every biological striving. We are what we are, and the world is ours. We are its gods. Your only difficulty is your unwillingness to unleash your potential fully upon it.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl
“Pure data. You don’t believe data—you test data.” He grimaced. “If I could put my finger on the moment we genuinely fucked ourselves, it was the moment we decided that data was something you could use words like believe or disbelieve around.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Water Knife
“Politics is ugly. Never doubt what small men will do for great power.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl
“The more I write stories for young people, and the more young readers I meet, the more I'm struck by how much kids long to see themselves in stories. To see their identities and perspectives—their avatars—on the page. Not as issues to be addressed or as icons for social commentary, but simply as people who get to do cool things in amazing worlds. Yes, all the “issue” books are great and have a place in literature, but it's a different and wildly joyous gift to find yourself on the pages of an entertainment, experiencing the thrills and chills of a world more adventurous than our own.And when you see that as a writer, you quickly realize that you don't want to be the jerk who says to a young reader, “Sorry, kid. You don't get to exist in story; you're too different.” You don't want to be part of our present dystopia that tells kids that if they just stopped being who they are they could have a story written about them, too. That's the role of the bad guy in the dystopian stories, right? Given a choice, I'd rather be the storyteller who says every kid can have a chance to star.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi
“The problem with surviving was that you ended up with the ghosts of everyone you’d ever left behind riding on your shoulders.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Short fiction seems more targeted - hand grenades of ideas, if you will. When they work, they hit, they explode, and you never forget them. Long fiction feels more like atmosphere: it's a lot smokier and less defined.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi
“It’s human nature to tear one another apart. Be glad you come from such a successful line of killers.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“I do not fight battles that cannot be won. Do not confuse that with cowardice.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Your body is full of rage. Every sinew. It is easy to read. You speak volumes with a clenched fist.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Food should come from the place of its origin, and stay there. It shouldn't spend its time crisscrossing the globe for the sake of profit.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl
“If we can’t describe our reality accurately, we can’t see it.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Water Knife
“When you were alone in the rising ocean, you grabbed whatever raft passed by.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“The thought burrowed into her heart as darkness fell. It coiled in her guts as she wedged herself amongst the boughs of a tree to sleep. And in the morning, it woke with her and clung to her back, riding on her shoulders as she climbed down, hungry and exhausted from nightmares.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
“Crew up, Nailer!" Lucky Girl shouted. "You think I'm going to pull your ass up here like a damn swank?” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“Blood is not destiny.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker
“Don't tell me about worth," Nita said. "My father commands fleets.""The wealthy measure everything with the weight of their money." Tool leaned close. "Sadna once risked herself and the rest of her crew to help me escape from an oil fire... Your father commands fleets. And thousands of half-men, I am sure. But would he risk himself to save a single one?” ― Paolo Bacigalupi
“Some things, it was better not to think about. It just made you mad and angry.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities
