Quotes from Steven Brust

A cheery receptionist met Donovan as he entered and said something with an upside-down question mark at the beginning.

You're not desperate until you've opened all the doors. T-A-L-T-O-S.

Chalet, who had finished his ale, left the cup where it was, making no effort to procure more, indicating that he was capable of what the natural philosopher calls "learning behaviour," which turn of phrase pleases us so much that we cannot resist making use of it.

There's nothing to tell." I gave her a brief discussion of fertilizer. She seemed unimpressed with my agricultural expertise. "Believe what you like," she said. It was good to have permission, but I resisted telling her so.

I'd fought personal demons and impersonal gods and wandered through buildings that couldn't exist to do impossible things.

Ever heard someone tell you that hard physical labor can be soothing? Can take your mind off your problems? Can leave you feeling better? I'd heard that. In my opinion, hard physical labor gives you blisters, and the only real distraction I got was trying to remember the spells I'd once known for curing them. He was much better than me, by the way; turns out there is even skill involved in digging holes. Who knew?

And all of the late, late-night talks, when you're not stoned, but you're so tired you might as well be, when you just sit there glowing with warmth, and all of those things that you really hope for come out, and you connect with each other on such deep levels that, when you think about it the next day, you wonder if it was real - if the others felt it too.

Oh, c'mon, Boss. Where's your sense of history?" "I like to read about history, not make it." "You see, Boss? It's because of attitudes like yours that there are so few human heroes." "And so many humans.

Somewhere a little girl is trapped in time, and I'm trying to set her free.

There is no painting so large that the artist can hide behind it.

Everyone generalizes from one example. At least, I do.

One of the dangers in trying to solve riddles is a temptation to force answers where they don't belong because things would look neat and pretty that way.

When you don't have the skill you need, you hire someone who does; and when you can't do that, you find a way to fake it. Some days I think that explains most of my career.

No, sarcasm aside, life is always worth living. Even when sometimes it seems like more trouble than it's worth. Oh, who am I kidding? It's when it seems like more trouble than it's worth that I want it the most. I mean, isn't everyone like that?

Gambling isn't fun; winning is fun.

Perhaps my existence was pointless in any grand scheme of things, but it kept me entertained.

Or more like them," said Lucifer. "He won't want to leave himself undefended. After all, one of us could break in and kick him in the knee.

If we do not know what we are doing, then it follows no one else does either; and, if no one knows what we are going to do, well then, why is someone so determined to stop us from doing it?

It is well known…that the military historian is at his best when giving the names of field officers who fell in battle, and at his worst when attempting to explain the reason for the general officer to have made a certain decision at a certain time.

doubt is less easily dispelled than illusion, and with doubt come tentative half-measures—and nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished by tentative half-measures.

Being rich means making everything inconvenient. Remember to attribute that when you quote it. T-A-L-T-O-

as is well known, it is those with the least to say who use the most words, which is why, as the reader has no doubt observed, this historian endeavors, without exception, to limit his use of words to the absolute minimum required to successfully convey the desired thought.

All this time, and the solution was as easy as asking for it. Wasn't that profound?

You wouldn't want her to turn you into a newt." "I'll get better," I said.