Quotes from Ben Aaronovitch

God bless busybody community matriarchs, and all that sail in them.

culminating in one of those formless red brick shopping centres which artfully combines a complete lack of aesthetic quality with a total disregard for the utilitarian function for which it is built.

My father believes that everything is music," I said. "And when you pass on you become part of the tune." One improvisation amongst the millions and millions of melodies that create the symphony of everything. My dad basically believes that your life is your one chance at a solo—so it better be a good one. Mind you, he also thinks that Miles Davis was the Second Coming and most of the world's woes are due to humanity's failure to recognise him as such.

There's nothing like having your girlfriend talk in geological time to make you feel insignificant.

Because who is more oppressed," exclaimed Leslie. "Those that seek nothing but entitlements for themselves or those that claim for everything, social security, housing benefit, disability and pay for nothing." One

It's an iron rule of mine that I never argue correlation versus causation in the middle of the night, especially when I had an alternative option.

I walked away with the cheerful step of a police officer who's just made a tricky ethical question somebody else's problem.

John Radcliffe, Royal physician to William and Mary, was famous in his own time for reading very little and writing almost nothing. So it stands to reason that one of the most famous libraries in Oxford was his creation.

Libertarians and criminals complain about the surveillance state when they see a camera. Police officers complain about it when they don't.

We walk quickly to the footbridge across the railway line. There's a dog waste bin here, and in the heat the slope up to the stairs stinks of shit and wee. Indigo lists the dogs whose markers she can smell. Not what their owners call them, unless there are really three dogs called George H-19, George H-15, George H-26. "All gun dogs are designated George," says Indigo. "The H stands for Heath and the numbers are allocated sequentially.

A romantic," said Nightingale. "The most dangerous people on earth.

Through the mist the sun was a wavering disc kissing the shadowy arches of Waterloo Bridge.

She came skipping down the central path, bringing with her the warmth of the sun. The yellow silk glowed, driving back the mist and with her came the smell of salt and the crash of gunpowder and the crack of canvas under strain.

Relax," I said. "This is just first contact—we're only going to exchange names and check he's the right orientation." "And what do you think the right orientation is?" asked Victor. "The one that's facing in your direction," I said.

gave us the traditional look of weary outrage that you always get from someone who thinks they don't have time for this shit—

The rest of the band faded down to almost nothing while my dad did his best Bill Evans impression — except hopefully without the untreated hepatitis.

The main purpose of an administrative meeting is to establish collective guilt for whatever fuck-up arises out of its decisions.

We're walking down to the east side of the Model Boating Pond because I reckon there'll be fewer people to notice that I'm carrying a talking fox around my neck.

Welcome to the Folly," he said. "Official home of English magic since 1775." "And your patron saint is Sir Isaac Newton?" I asked. Nightingale grinned. "He was our founder and the first man to systemize the practice of magic." "I was taught that he invented modern science," I said. "He did both," said Nightingale. "That's the nature of genius." Nightingale

Paul makes a noise—it's all he's got left, but I've taught myself to understand him and he wants me to keep reading. I tune out EastEnders and concentrate on Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett. It's his favourite and I could do most of it off by heart, except it makes me cry at the end because now I know what magic can really do and what it can't.

All the things laughed then, because there stood man—naked and bereft of all his gifts. All the things save the fox, who looked up at the man and saw long slim fingers unencumbered by claws, fingers that could grasp and take and reshape things to suit man's own purposes. And saw eyes alive with a dreadful intelligence unencumbered by wisdom. And fox was suddenly afraid.

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam,' I said which means, 'I'll either find a way or make one

floor is bare, there are no cushions or straw, and when I ask Indigo why this is Lucifer interrupts to inform me that since this is the ops room, furniture would be inappropriate. "Also, people used to fight over the cushions," whispers Indigo.

I suppose you're happy now you've got your statue." "It's a very special statue," I said. Only it wasn't really, at least not in and of itself. It depicted the ever-popular "Venus-Aphrodite surprised by a sculptor and struggling to cover her tits with one hand and keep her drape at waist height with the other" so beloved of art connoisseurs in the long weary days before the invention of internet porn.