Would you rather die with honor intact or live with it besmirched?

— George R.R. Martin

Yet even so, Jon Snow was not sorry he had come. There were wonders here as well. He had seen sunlight flashing on icy thin waterfalls as they plunged over the lips of sheer stone cliffs, and a mountain meadow full of autumn wildflowers, blue cold snaps and bright scarlet frost fires and stands of piper's grass in russet and gold. He had peered down ravines so deep and black they seemed certain to end in some hell, and he had ridden his Barron over a wind-eaten bridge of natural stone with nothing but sky to either side. Eagles nested in the heights and came down to hunt the valleys, circling effortlessly on great blueberry wings that seemed almost part of the sky.

— George R.R. Martin

Yet the higher a man climbs the further he has to fall.

— George R.R. Martin

You are an honest and honorable man, Lord Edward. Ofttimes I forget that. I have met so few of them in my life.” He glanced around the cell. “When I see what honesty and honor have won you, I understand why.

— George R.R. Martin

You are your mother's trueborn son of Lannister."" Am I?" the dwarf replied, sardonic. "Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me, and he's never been sure."" I don't even know who my mother was," Jon said. "Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are." He favored Jon with a rueful grin. "Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need to be dwarfs." And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune. When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king.

— George R.R. Martin

You can write the most detailed, vivid description of an ax entering a skull, and nobody will say a word in protest. But if you write a similarly detailed description of a penis entering a vagina, you get letters from people saying they'll never read you again. What the hell? Penises entering vaginas bring a lot more joy into the world than axes entering skulls.

— George R.R. Martin

You don't just have people who wake up in the morning and say, "What evil things can I do today, because I'm Mr. Evil?" People do things for what they think are justified reasons. Everybody is the hero of their own story, and you have to keep that in mind. If you read a lot of history, as I do, even the worst and most monstrous people thought they were the good guys. We're all very tangled knots.

— George R.R. Martin

You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you...

— George R.R. Martin

You ought to be blowing me kisses, wench.

— George R.R. Martin

Your brother Jaime keeps losing battles. He gave Santa an angry look, as if it were her fault. He’s been taken by the Stark's, and we’ve lost River run and now her stupid brother is calling himself a king. The dwarf smiled crookedly. “All sorts of people are calling themselves kings these days.

— George R.R. Martin