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Alwyn Hamilton Books

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“And so, as he became a man, he began to search for a name of his own. Eventually his quest took him far from the shores where he was born...he began to fight in the name of another man. Some might say that the boy's quest had failed. For he would forever be nameless in his own land. A pale girl he had once loved would think of him sometimes, on a bright spring day in her cold stone castle. But she would never speak his name. A family in a small, dark cottage would mourn their lost son when the war ended and he did not come home. But none of them would ever know how his end came, and as years passed they would wonder out loud about his fate less and less until they stopped altogether. And when they were gone, too, his name would never be spoken again in the land of his birth. No mothers would tell their sons and daughters his story as they held their children on their knees in front of the fireplace. No singers would compose odes to his deeds. And the queen of the kingdom across the sea would never know that a boy from her island met his end alone in the dark, fighting another ruler's war. But not so in the desert. In the desert, the boy would never be nameless again.”

SadThe Sam Sort Of Humor
Book:Hero at the Fall
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“You're right." He cut me off. "I never understood this country. I never understood why he chose to leave everything else behind and stay for this. Not until I met you." I felt like he'd pushed me, like I was falling and I needed him to reel those words back in to keep me standing straight. "You /are/ this country, Amani." He spoke more quietly now. "More alive than anything ought to be in this place. All fire and gunpowder, with one finger always on the trigger.”

AmaniJinRebel Of The Sands
Book:Rebel of the Sands
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“The truth is I had no idea what I was doing when it came to you, Amani. I tried to leave you in Dustwalk because I didn't want to drag you into my brother's war. I came back for you because I didn't want to see you die at the hands of my other brother. But either way, I was bound to wind up doing one or the other. Just depended on which one." His hand came up like he was going to reach for me but dropped to his side instead. "I was glad in Sazi when I saw you'd gone because it meant you'd escaped on your own path, and I was glad when you took the compass because it gave me a reason to go after you. And yes, I lied to keep you out of Izman because I was afraid someone would know what you were and you'd get snapped up and sold to the Sultan. And I steered you toward Dassama figuring there was a chance I might be able to deliver you to the sea and get you out of this country before it killed you.”

AmaniJinRebel Of The Sands
Book:Rebel of the Sands
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“I'm not good at losing people, Amani, and you know I don't give a damn about this country." The rest of him was still now, something solid to hang on to. But his fingers were sliding into my hair, making me shiver. "I give a damn about you and you are this place. I thought I had to do without you if you were so determined to leave the world. But then you were gone and I would have torn the desert apart looking for you.”

AmaniJinTraitor To The Throne
Book:Traitor to the Throne
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“Once there was a boy from the sea who fell in love with a girl from the desert. The boy knew she was dangerous...she was all fire and gunpowder, and her finger was always on a trigger. He guessed he was in trouble when those same fingers danced across the stories inked into his skin without seeming to understand how much power she had in her. Or how much power she could have over him. ... He knew it when she drove him across the desert for fear that losing her would tear him in half. He knew it when he did lose her, and he would have torn the whole world apart looking for her.”

LoveAmaniJin
Book:Hero at the Fall
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“What do you think happens?" I said instead. "When we die?" Jin didn't believe in gods. He didn't believe in heavens or hells or worlds after. Just in this world. Just in now. ... "I think they burn us and we become dust and ash." He ran a finger across the edge of my lips. "And I think that the dust that was me will spend until the end of time trying to get as close as possible to the dust that was you out in that vast desert." ...”

LoveAmaniJin
Book:Hero at the Fall
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“Commander Rahim!" She wrenched forward to meet him though one of our rebels still held her. "Let me go!" She turned, and with all the force in her tiny body, she slammed her heel down on his instep, forcing him to let her go with a violent string of curses far from fit for a little girl's ears. ... "I like her," Shazad said. "Here's hoping she's on our side." ... "I taught her that," Rahim said, with a hint of pride in his voice.”

ShazadRahim
Book:Hero at the Fall
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“If the throne changes hands, we will be invaded. My son is an idealist. Idealists make great leaders, but they never make good rulers. So I'll tell you what I believe, Amani. I believe that if my son's rebellion were ever to succeed, or even gain enough of a foothold to cast doubt upon my rule, we would be torn to shreds by foreign powers. It would destroy Miraji, just like my father would have destroyed it before us. - The Sultan”

WarIdealistRulerSultan
Book:Traitor to the Throne
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“So how does a woman know how to fight man to man?" another boy sniggered, loud enough so that he was heard. Shazad's eyebrows went up. I stepped back. ... "I'll tell you what," Shazad turned toward him. "Why don't you come and face me? Anyone who can land a blow can take over this training." A small audience was gathering by now. Everyone who'd ever seen Shazad fight knew exactly where this was going. The rebels were elbowing one another slyly as the boy stepped forward, looking all too confident. ... "Doesn't seem like a fair fight to me," the boy said, too lightly. The boy was at least twice Shazad's weight, broad where she was slim--slimmer still, after her time in Eremot. ... "It's not even close to a fair fight," Jin commented from the sidelines. We'd all formed a circle now, watching. ... "Oh, my friend," Sam clapped the boy on his back. "I'm sorry for your loss." "My loss?" The young idiot said. "Of your dignity." He gave him a rueful smile before stepping back to stand next to me.”

ShazadThe Sam Sort Of Humor
Book:Hero at the Fall
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“Shazad embraced me last. "Bring each other home safe," she said finally, before letting me go and looking at Sam. His mouth pulled up at the side, and I recognized the prelude to a joke--some gallows humor before we all headed off to try our hardest to stay alive to see another dawn like the one rising behind us now. But before he could say anything, Shazad grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him toward her abruptly, kissing him squarely on the mouth. And suddenly everyone else was looking at their feet. Or at the sky. Or just about anything that wasn't Sam and Shazad. That was one way to shut him up. Finally the two of them broke apart. "Well," Sam said, looking flushed and unbearably pleased with himself as he riffled his hands through his hair. "That's one hell of a motivation to come back alive.”

LoveShazadThe Sam Sort Of Humor
Book:Hero at the Fall
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