Quotes from Timothy Zahn

Behind her, she heard Luke open the roof door. Hang on a minute, she called after him.I'll come with you.

Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense. And usually tries to leave a better aftertaste.

luck is often little more than raw talent combined with the ability to make the most of opportunities.

A friend need not be kept either within sight or within reach. A friend must be allowed the freedom to find and follow his own path. If one is fortunate, those paths will for a time join. But if the paths separate, it is comforting to know that a friend still graces the universe with his skills, and his viewpoint, and his presence. For if one is remembered by a friend, one is never truly gone. —

A man, I'd sometimes thought, who would apologize for the inconvenience as he broke your neck.

Vurawn was no more. In his place now stood Thrawn.

Many of those skilled in technological warfare believe that physical training and discipline are unnecessary. With turbolasers, hyperdrives, armor plating and the mental resources to direct them, muscular strength and agility are thought to be merely conceits. They are wrong. The mind and body are linked together in a meshwork of oxygen, nutrients, hormones and neuron health. Physical exercise drives that meshwork, stimulating the brain and freeing one's intellect.

To live in a world fairly dripping with technology and yet have no concept of how or why any of it worked—it seemed incomprehensible.

Someplace nice and quiet and away from the spaceport, I hope, Thalias said. The first thing Yiv will probably assume is that we'll try to steal a ship. Indeed he will, Thrawn agreed. So where are we going? Thrawn leaned forward, giving her a smile around the edge of his dripping hood. To the spaceport, he said. To steal a ship.

A sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

If you can't tell him, can you at least tell me? Wutroow asked. I especially can't tell you, Ar'alani said, giving her a wry smile. Your brain is the one I rely on to make sure mine is functioning properly.

On the contrary," Thrawn corrected coolly. "Not only will they fall for it, they'll be utterly destroyed by it. Watch, Captain. And learn.

Young and enthusiastic, which often came pre-packaged with idealism. That should make them easy to manipulate.

Optimal range would have been nice, but then 'optimal' merely meant 'preferred'.

I am a warrior, Your Majesty," Thrawn said. "A warrior may retreat. He does not flee. He may lie in ambush. He does not hide. He may experience victory or defeat. He does not cease to serve.

Someday, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, you'll overthink and overplan, and it will all come crashing down around you. When that happens, I hope someone is there to lift you back to your feet. You, perhaps? Ar'alani shakes her head. Her expression holds regret, perhaps even pain. I very much fear I will never see you again. The growing chaos in the Ascendancy warns of coming war. If you don't return quickly, there may be nothing left for you to return to.

One whose path has taken a new turn is often initially disoriented. But as time passes, and the path continues steadily in its new direction, there is a tendency to believe that it will remain so forever, with no further turns. Nothing is further from the truth. A path once bent is always susceptible to new changes.

hesitated; swooped again; hesitated again; swooped once more

As weaponry advances, the techniques used against obsolete ordnance may be neglected or lost.

Luke nodded. He'd refused to let them wipe the X-wing's computer every few months, as per standard procedure. The inevitable result was that the computer had effectively molded itself around Artoo's unique personality, so much so that the relationship was almost up to true droid counterpart level. It made for excellent operational speed and efficiency; unfortunately, it also meant that none of the maintenance computers could talk to the X-wing anymore.

On the other hand, I've found that what most people call luck is often little more than raw talent combined with the ability to make the most of opportunities.

But he told me hatred was wrong, that it was one of those things that hurt the hater more than the people he hated. He told me there can be justice without hatred, and punishment without revenge. He said we were all responsible for what we do and what we don't do, and no one should have to pay for someone else's crimes.

If there was one thing she'd learned in this business, it was to never tell a client you couldn't do something.

The choices of one shape the futures of all'?