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C.S. Friedman Quotes

Connecting to the outernet was less of a shock this time, as the monitor gave him a sense of distance from it, but it was still annoying. How did these people live with such a system, stalked by adver...

C.S. Friedman

Connecting to the outernet was less of a shock this time, as the monitor gave him a sense of distance from it, but it was still annoying. How did these people live with such a system, stalked by adver...

Tags: communication, cyberpunk, internet, marketing

It struck Hsing suddenly that Masada didn't even understand the nature of his own genius. To him the patterns of thought and motive that he sensed in the virus were self-explanatory, and those who cou...

C.S. Friedman

It struck Hsing suddenly that Masada didn't even understand the nature of his own genius. To him the patterns of thought and motive that he sensed in the virus were self-explanatory, and those who cou...

About Author
Celia S. Friedman (born January 12, 1957) is an American speculative fiction author who often writes as "C. S. Friedman." Originally a costume designer, Friedman began her publishing career in 1986. She quit costuming in 1996 to write full-time. As of 2022, she has published fourteen novels, numerous short stories—several of which were included in her 2021 collection, The Dreaming Kind, and a sourcebook for White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game.
Friedman was nominated for the John W. Campbell award for Best New Writer in 1988 (now called the Astounding Award, and her novel This Alien Shore was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1998.
In August 2022, Deadline reported that Bohemia Group, a global management firm, was shopping a potential television series based on The Coldfire Trilogy, which was a finalist for NPR's Science Fiction and Fantasy Vote in 2011.

Those who support the concept of a direct interface network don’t take into account the price they would have to pay for it, in privacy and safety and a thousand other areas of concern. Do you really...

C.S. Friedman

Those who support the concept of a direct interface network don’t take into account the price they would have to pay for it, in privacy and safety and a thousand other areas of concern. Do you really...

My identity is without root.

C.S. Friedman

My identity is without root.

Tags: scifi

I dreamed of a beast in human form, that hunted men for pleasure. When they brought it down—at last, after many deaths—they cut it open. Only to find a wormlike thing coiled in a bed of slime at the c...

C.S. Friedman

I dreamed of a beast in human form, that hunted men for pleasure. When they brought it down—at last, after many deaths—they cut it open. Only to find a wormlike thing coiled in a bed of slime at the c...

In a world where data is coin of the realm, and transmissions are guarded by no better sentinels than man-made codes and corruptible devices, there is no such thing as a secret.

C.S. Friedman

In a world where data is coin of the realm, and transmissions are guarded by no better sentinels than man-made codes and corruptible devices, there is no such thing as a secret.

Fear would come in time, no doubt, but that did not mean she had to issue it a formal invitation.

C.S. Friedman

Fear would come in time, no doubt, but that did not mean she had to issue it a formal invitation.

I stood balanced on the brink of madness. Insanity and longevity are a truly terrifying combination; if I gave in now, I might pay the price for centuries to come.

C.S. Friedman

I stood balanced on the brink of madness. Insanity and longevity are a truly terrifying combination; if I gave in now, I might pay the price for centuries to come.

We share need, not-human. Yours is straightforward. … Mine is less so, but you will serve it. Come.

C.S. Friedman

We share need, not-human. Yours is straightforward. … Mine is less so, but you will serve it. Come.

Tags: great, scifi, understatements

Each new technology will bring with it new forms of crime, demanding innovative security. That is the dynamic which drives our modern progress: not dreams, not ideals, but the simple desire on the par...

C.S. Friedman

Each new technology will bring with it new forms of crime, demanding innovative security. That is the dynamic which drives our modern progress: not dreams, not ideals, but the simple desire on the par...

Anger of any kind is a dangerous emotion, it eats at the nerves and eventually makes you careless

C.S. Friedman

Anger of any kind is a dangerous emotion, it eats at the nerves and eventually makes you careless

Look, she told me. A good kreda is very hard to find. I invested a lot of time and memory in you. I had no intention of giving all that up, just because you were going to be in a bad mood for a decade...

C.S. Friedman

Look, she told me. A good kreda is very hard to find. I invested a lot of time and memory in you. I had no intention of giving all that up, just because you were going to be in a bad mood for a decade...

The more complex our security becomes, the more complex our enemy’s efforts must be.The more we seek to shut him out, the better he must learn to become at breaking in.Each new level of security that...

C.S. Friedman

The more complex our security becomes, the more complex our enemy’s efforts must be.The more we seek to shut him out, the better he must learn to become at breaking in.Each new level of security that...

Advertising: the ultimate predator. He longed for the simplicity of the Gueran network, which simply did what it was supposed to and no more. When had these people lost touch with the fact that the pu...

C.S. Friedman

Advertising: the ultimate predator. He longed for the simplicity of the Gueran network, which simply did what it was supposed to and no more. When had these people lost touch with the fact that the pu...

Was there ever a generation that didn’t enjoy shocking its elders in public? Was there ever a world where adults didn’t shake their heads in frustration, annoyed by the antics of the young, but unable...

C.S. Friedman

Was there ever a generation that didn’t enjoy shocking its elders in public? Was there ever a world where adults didn’t shake their heads in frustration, annoyed by the antics of the young, but unable...

At any given time there were more than a billion transmissions buzzing through that darkness, chronicling everything from a grandchild’s first words to the kind of secrets that could unseat government...

C.S. Friedman

At any given time there were more than a billion transmissions buzzing through that darkness, chronicling everything from a grandchild’s first words to the kind of secrets that could unseat government...

The manner in which a man lies can sometimes reveal more of his nature than the truth. C. J. AMBERLEIGH, The Art of Inquisition

C.S. Friedman

The manner in which a man lies can sometimes reveal more of his nature than the truth. C. J. AMBERLEIGH, The Art of Inquisition

Morality is the constant of human existence.

C.S. Friedman

Morality is the constant of human existence.

There is no such thing as redemption, my friend. There is right, there is wrong, and there are a million shades of color between the two. Once you've done wrong, it is always with you. You just have t...

C.S. Friedman

There is no such thing as redemption, my friend. There is right, there is wrong, and there are a million shades of color between the two. Once you've done wrong, it is always with you. You just have t...

An uninspired ruler works to develop those relationships which will be most to his advantage. A great ruler determines the most desirable relationships and assumes them into being.

C.S. Friedman

An uninspired ruler works to develop those relationships which will be most to his advantage. A great ruler determines the most desirable relationships and assumes them into being.