Matthew Stover
American fantasy and science fiction novelist.
He had no idea what he should do now. Without destiny to guide him, he was lost in a vast, whistling darkness. Any direction he might choose was purely abitary; it would make no more sense, offer no more hope, than would sitting still. Which offered neither sense nor hope at all.
Fairy tales--simple stories for simple minds, a breath of air to cool brows overheated by the complexities of real life.
"Reasons are for peasants."
When the gods would punish us, they answer our prayers.
He did understand. Finally, fatally, he did. He had thought he was the master of history, that his fractal world-tree had grown according to his will. He had allowed himself to be deceived.
"All true stories end in death."
His destiny had betrayed him, had made him a destroyer on a scale that humbled even Caine. Destiny, he understood with bitter certainty, could not be trusted.