Quotes from Genevieve Cogman

They are unchanging, because they have utterly become themselves and will never be otherwise.

A or Alpha worlds were aspected towards technology, with little to no magic. Beta worlds had magic as the norm -- with any technology being pretty unimportant. Gamma worlds had both.

And then they were inside, and out of the wind, and surrounded by comforting walls and walls of books. The rich, delightful smell of old paper, leather, and ink permeated the place, washing away the pettier odours of blood and oil and smog.

She was a Librarian, and the deepest, most fundamental part of her life involved a love of books. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to shut the rest of the world out and have nothing to worry about except the next page of whatever she was reading.

students in jeans and duffel coats to people in evening wear. Hot dog stands made no class distinctions

Irene shuffled up a huge staircase of gilt and stucco, just behind a group of young scholars loudly discussing Petrarch. She walked past marble pillars and windows that looked out onto the piazza below. Here and there people sat at desks, carefully turning the pages of manuscripts, or unrolling scrolls and making notes. It comforted her. This is a place built to store books, by people who wanted to preserve books, and used by people who want to read those books. I am not alone.

We are the Library," Coppelia pointed out. "What we don't know, we research.

Tell the brat whatever you think will work. Just keep her within bounds, and then with luck we can all avoid unnecessary harshness. Also, hurry up and get over that pneumonia. We don't have time for sickbed drama. The letters from the Cardinal and from Ao Guang about the missing worlds are disturbing—we're still understaffed, and there's too much to do.

Well, the gentleman was a vampire," Vale agreed, "so it would fit certain scheming aspects of his character—even though one should probably not speak ill of the undead.

The faint odour of rotting cheese suggested that sandwiches had been lost in the trackless wastes of paper and never found again.

Then we can discuss matters—" And at that moment the alligators burst into the room.

He imagined the fervid hum of the city above them, the constant buzz and surge of business and activity, and Irene drifting through it like a single butterfly with a pack of wolves on her tail. The image lacked poetic balance, and he frowned. 'What chases butterflies?' he asked. Evariste glanced at him sidelong. 'What the hell does that have to do with anything?' he asked. Kai looked back in disdain. 'Poetic metaphor,' he said.

Be careful. Be diplomatic. Try not to blow anything up.

The definition of elitist, as I understand it, is that those who are superior should hold power. I'm a reasonable person. Show me humans who are as competent or intelligent as dragons, and I'll bring them into government as well.

leader's authority is limited to giving her followers orders that they will actually obey.

stacks of reference books spread outward from the corners of the room and toward the center like infectious diseases.

a leader's authority is limited to giving her followers orders that they will actually obey.

She occasionally daydreamed about being the sort of character in a story who could faint and leave everyone else to sort things out.

There are no limits to self-sacrifice when we're doing our jobs,' Irene said wearily.

She'd always loved the Holmes stories. And the Watson stories. And even the Moriarty stories.)

Vale!" The creature's echoing voice boomed down the street. "Prepare to face your doom!" "Ah," Vale said cheerfully, "it's for me.

We stand for preservation. We are not rulers. We are Librarians.

Irene generally disliked debating philosophy or being told that answers were true 'from a certain point of view'.

Irene bit the inside of her cheek hard before she could make any comments about putting a girdle round the world in forty minutes.