177 quotes found
Novelist · English · 1961
English novelist (born 1961)
“After all, reading is arguably a far more creative and imaginative process than writing; when the reader creates emotion in their head, or the colors of the sky during the setting sun, or the smell...”
“Without unscrambled eggs, there was no time travel, no more depredation of the Now, and we could look to a brighter future of long-term thought--and more reading.”
“History has rewritten itself so many times I'm not really sure how it was to begin with -- it's a bit like trying to guess the original color of a wall when it's been repainted eight times.”
“7. 3. 12. 31. 208: Reckless disrespect of the lightless hours will not be tolerated.”
“People dont change just because you know more about them.”
“Love and magic are like oil and water--they just don't mix.”
“I don't need you to agree with me," she said quietly." I'll go away happy with a little bit of doubt. Doubt is good. It's an emotion we can build on. Perhaps if we feed it with curiosity it will bl...”
“How about this,' I said. 'We modify our plans with regard to ongoing facts as they become known to us, then remodify them as the situation unfolds. 'You mean make it all up as we go along?' asked P...”
“Magic is the fifth fundamental force and is even more mysterious than gravity, which is really saying something.”
“But that was what research and development were like. Full of semi-triumphs and perplexing unforeseen consequences like the whole violent hiccuping thing when conjuring up fire - or the propensity ...”
“I liked him, but since his particular field of interest was Remote Suggestion--the skill of projecting thoughts into people's heads from a distance--I didn't know whether I actually liked him or he...”
“magic swirls about us like an invisible fog of energy that can be tapped by those gifted enough, using a variety of techniques that center on layered spelling, mumbled incantations, and a burst of ...”
“Books" - Snell smiled - "are a kind of magic.”
“Individual words, sounds, squiggles on paper with no meanings other than those with which our imagination can clothe them.”
“Sometimes, a word succeeds beyond the wildest dreams of its creators, like a virus sent into the world to infect common speech.”
“Though his death would not fill me with any sense of sadness, I would probably feel the loss. Even enemies are part of one.”
“Take no heed of her.... She reads a lot of books.”
“Books may look like nothing more than words on a page, but they are actually an infinitely complex imaginotransference technology that translates odd, inky squiggles into pictures inside your head.”
“Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.”
“Vanity's contribution to Fiction in general was an abundance of cheap labour and the occasional blockbuster, which was accepted into Fiction with an apologetic 'gosh, don't know how that happened'.”
