John Scalzi

Author

1969-05-10

Books by John Scalzi

Redshirts
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Old Man’s War
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The Last Colony
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Quotes by John Scalzi

If your social consciousness seems stuck in 1975, 2014 is gonna be a rough ride.
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I'm more interested in becoming a commercial writer, and unfortunately, commentary on my writing from a bunch of other unpublished writers is of little utility in that regard. Being a better writer is something of a moot point, since if you're not a commercial writer to some extent, very few people will know whether your writing is any good or not.
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Making peace is often a simple thing, but simple isn't the same thing as easy.
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You can't afford anthropomorphic biases when some of the aliens most like us would rather make human hamburgers than peace.
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That's what I'd ask you to do: Hope for peace. Because I know that I would love to be able to lay down my weapon and get to being a colonist. Just like you are. Just like I want to be.
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I'll say it: I want to see an ugly woman as a spokeswoman for a women's network. Ugly men are out there all the time – look at Larry King, for God's sake. He looks like someone's talking underwear. Why not give America a spokeswoman who ain't much to look at but is competent as Hell? If accomplishments actually count for women, this ought to be a no-brainer.
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Damn real live people, getting in the way of peaceful ideals.
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Fear is a scavenger who feeds on the future; on what may be and what is possible, extending down the line of our lives.
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Fear sits and smiles and is predatory, immobile and silent and serene; an observer who conserves his energy and is content to wait.
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In general there should be gay characters in YA because a) surprise, there are gay folks everywhere and b) in my opinion as a father, there's not a damn thing wrong with my child encountering gay folks in her literature, because see point a).
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For as much as I hate the cemetery, I've been grateful it's here, too. I miss my wife. It's easier to miss her at a cemetery, where she's never been anything but dead, than to miss her in all the places where she was alive.
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The failure mode of clever is —asshole.
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In general there should be gay characters in YA because a) surprise, there are gay folks everywhere and b) in my opinion as a father, there's not a damn thing wrong with my child encountering gay folks in her literature, because see point a).
Read quote
Damn real live people, getting in the way of peaceful ideals.
Read quote
You can't afford anthropomorphic biases when some of the aliens most like us would rather make human hamburgers than peace.
Read quote
If your social consciousness seems stuck in 1975, 2014 is gonna be a rough ride.
Read quote
I'm more interested in becoming a commercial writer, and unfortunately, commentary on my writing from a bunch of other unpublished writers is of little utility in that regard. Being a better writer is something of a moot point, since if you're not a commercial writer to some extent, very few people will know whether your writing is any good or not.
Read quote
Making peace is often a simple thing, but simple isn't the same thing as easy.
Read quote
For as much as I hate the cemetery, I've been grateful it's here, too. I miss my wife. It's easier to miss her at a cemetery, where she's never been anything but dead, than to miss her in all the places where she was alive.
Read quote
I'll say it: I want to see an ugly woman as a spokeswoman for a women's network. Ugly men are out there all the time – look at Larry King, for God's sake. He looks like someone's talking underwear. Why not give America a spokeswoman who ain't much to look at but is competent as Hell? If accomplishments actually count for women, this ought to be a no-brainer.
Read quote