There are no good men in Ketterdam… The climate doesn’t agree with them.
-- Kaz (Part One: Forsaken: 2. Wylan)

Importance: While this quote is extremely ironic and told to a man who is willing to blackmail someone to protect himself, there is a much deeper meaning to Kaz’s words. In Ketterdam, good people do not last long. Surrounded by corruption, lies, and people willing to kill to get what they want, anyone who is truly good would not last long. This is why Kaz does things that seem cruel to others; if he does not, he and his crew will lose everything. This tempers the reader’s expectations as they know that Kaz will have to do terrible things, but also has morals that others in Ketterdam do not.

Because the law here is profit… Sometimes, the only way to get justice is to take it for yourself.
-- Kaz (Part One: Forsaken: 6: Nina)

Importance: This quote establishes both the problems the...