Top quotes by Jim Butcher

You are a drug dealer. To tiny faeries. Shame."Sanya to Dresden" Votes: 10

Star Trek?" I asked herReally?" "What?" she demanded, bending unnaturally black eyebrows togetherThere are two kinds of people in the universe, Molly," I saidStar Trek fans and Star Wars fans. This is shocking." She sniffedThis is the post-nerd-closet world, Harry. It's okay to like both." "Blasphemy and lies," I said." Votes: 10

You want to play head games?" Molly snarled, her blue eyes blazingLet's go." Votes: 10

I'm sure that you psychotic necro-wannabes with delusions of godhood are all about sharing with your fellow maniacs. Votes: 9

That woman, Grimm said quietly, drives me quite insane.Kettle grunted. Why'd you marry her, then? Votes: 7

Molly blinked, then looked at Thomas and said, "Wait a minute.... We're his flunkies.""You, may be," Thomas said, sneeringI'm his thug. I'm way higher than a flunky.""You are high if you think I'm taking any orders from you," Molly said tartly." Votes: 7

If your new boss wanted yo on the island, wouldn't she just have told you to go there?" Thomas asked."Seems like," I saidTaking her orders is pretty much my job now."Molly snorted softly."Maybe I'll grow into it," I saidYou don't know."Thomas snorted softly." Votes: 7

Molly was arrested. Possession." I blinked at himShe was possessed?" Votes: 7

I told you," Molly said, never looking toward meIt's in the past. Leave it there.""You listening to my head, kiddo?"Her mouth twitchedOnly when I want to hear the roar of the ocean." Votes: 7

Apocalypse is a frame of mind." [Nicodemus] said then"A belief. A surrender to inevitability. It is a despair for the future. It is the death of hope. Votes: 6

Everybody should get to make a living with their passion. Votes: 4

It isn't about being fair and equal. It's about the difference between right and wrong. He stared out at the bloody Elinarch. And this was wrong. Votes: 4

Monsters are born of pain, and grief, and loss, and anger. Your heart is full of them.--And?And it makes you vulnerable. Votes: 4

The wacky thing about those bad guys is that you can't count on them to be obvious. They forget to wax their mustaches and goatees, leave their horns at home, send their black hats to the dry cleaner's. They're funny like that. Votes: 4

Lacuna peered at my shirtAer-O-Smith. Arrowsmith. Does the shirt belong to your weapon dealer?""No.""Then why do you wear the shirt of someone else's weapon dealer?" Votes: 4

Bob," I said over my shoulderTell her it's me.""Can't," Bob said in a dreamy toneBoobs." Votes: 4

The cabin door swung open and Molly belly-crawled onto the deck until she could see meWho started shooting at us?""Bad guys!" I cringed as another round hit the side of the boat and peppered me with wooden splintersObviously!" Votes: 4

There were quick footsteps beside me, and then Molly pressed her back to mineYou take that side!" she saidI'll take this one!"DJ Molly C lifted both of her wands and turned the battle chaos to eleven." Votes: 4

You're such a cynic," Molly said."I think cynics are playful and cute." Votes: 4

Molly was committing dinner. . ." Votes: 4

You're one hell of a woman, Molly," I saidThank you." Votes: 4

Here's where I ask why don't you spend your time doing something safer and more boring. Like maybe administering suppositories to rabid gorillas." Votes: 3

They'd paid some madman who thought he was a decorator a lot of money to make the place look hip and unique. Maybe it's my lack of fashion sense talking, but I thought they should have held out for one of these gorillas who has learned to paint. The results would have been of similar quality, and they could have paid in fresh produce." Votes: 3

About thirty feet from the door, Molly abruptly stopped in her tracks and said, "Harry."I paused and looked back at her.Her eyes were wide. She said, "I sense..."I narrowed my eyesSay it. You know you want to say it.""It is not a disturbance in the Force, she said, her voice half-exasperated." Votes: 2

The fire of my tribulations had not simply been pain to be endured. It had been an agent of transformation. After all that I'd been through, I'd changed. Not for the worse, I was pretty sure--at least not yet. But only a moron or a freaking lunatic could have faced the things I had and remained unfazed by them. Votes: 1

And from the perspective of those in need, that extra quarter of a million bucks your material person spent on the prestige addition for his house looks like an awful lot of lifesaving food and medicine that could have existed if the jerk with the big house in the suburbs hadn't blown it all to artificially inflate his sociogeographic penis. Votes: 1

Let's sum up: an unknown number of enemies with unknown capabilities, supported by a gang of madmen, packs of attack animals, and superhumanly intelligent pocket change." Votes: 1

I've gotten into two fights since I've begun studying the martial arts, and each time, I was worried I'd kill the guy. One of my teachers always told me I had good power but bad control. Votes: 0

All power is the same. Magic. Physical strength. Economic strength. Political strength. It all serves a single purpose-it gives its possessor a broader spectrum of choices. It creates alternative courses of action." Votes: 0

An errand is getting a tank of gas or picking up a carton of milk or something. It is not getting chased by flying purple pyromaniac gorillas hurling incendiary poo!" Votes: 0

Love this job," Sanya murmuredJust love it.""I need to challenge more people to duels," Thomas said in agreement."Men are pigs," Murphy said."Amen," said Molly.Lea gave me a prim look and said, "I've not sacrificed a holy virgin in ages." Votes: 0

It turns out that Molly wasn't her mother's daughter in that respect. Charity was like the MacGuyver of the kitchen. She could whip up a five-course meal for twelve from an egg, two spaghetti noodles, some household chemicals, and a stick of chewing gum. Molly ...Molly once burned my egg. My boiled egg. I don't know how." Votes: 0

Thwart," I said. "To prevent someone from accomplishing something by means of visiting gratuitous violence upon his smarmy person." "I'm pretty sure that isn't the definition." Sarissa said. "It is today. Votes: 0

Everyone stopped to blink at that for a second. I mean, come on. Impaled by a guided frozen turkey missile. Even by the standards of the quasi-immortal creatures of the night, that ain't something you see twice. "For my next trick," I panted into the startled silence, "anvils. Votes: 0

How long have you been a Wiccan?' 'A what?' 'A pagan. A witch.' 'I'm not a witch,' I said, glancing out the door. 'I'm a wizard.' Sanya frowned. 'What is the difference?' 'Wizard has a Z' He looked at me blankly. 'No one appreciates me.' I muttered. Votes: 0

The human mind isn't a terribly logical or consistent place. Most people, given the choice to face a hideous or terrifying truth or to conveniently avoid it, choose the convenience and peace of normality. That doesn't make them strong or weak people, or good or bad people. It just makes them people. Votes: 0

I let out a battle cry. Sure, a lot of people might have mistaken it for a sudden yelp of unmanly fear, but trust me. It was a battle cry. Votes: 0

And thrice do I say to thee...bite me. Votes: 0

No rest for the wicked, Bob, and that means that we can't slack off either, or they'll outwork us. Votes: 0

It turns out that Molly wasn't her mother's daughter in that respect. Charity was like the MacGuyver of the kitchen. She could whip up a five-course meal for twelve from an egg, two spaghetti noodles, some household chemicals, and a stick of chewing gum. Molly ... Molly once burned my egg. My boiled egg. I don't know how. Votes: 0

Thomas has the kind of whiter-than-white boyish grin that makes women's panties spontaneously evaporate. Votes: 0

Okay," Kincaid said. "Anyone have any questions?" "Why do they sell hot dogs in packages of ten but hot dog buns in packages of eight? Votes: 0

Sticks and stones and small caliber bullets may break my bones... Words will never, et cetera. Votes: 0

Caring about someone isn't complicated. It isn't easy. But it isn't complicated, either. Kinda like lifting the engine block out of a car. Votes: 0

Chili dogs, funnel cakes, fried bread, majorly greasy pizza, candy apples, ye gods. Evil food smells amazing -- which is either proof that there is a Satan or some equivalent out there, or that the Almighty doesn't actually want everyone to eat organic tofu all the time. I can't decide. Votes: 0

Karrin Murphy led the charge, and Sanya and I tried to keep up. She went through that sea of foes like a little speedboat, her enemies spun and tossed and turned and disoriented in her wake. Sanya and I hacked our way through stunned foes, pushing and chopping with unsophisticated brutality-and that big Russian lunatic just kept laughing the whole time. Votes: 0

There's always, always a choice. My options might really, truly suck, but that doesn't mean there isn't a choice. Votes: 0

Karrin, eh?" Thomas asked. I nodded. "She's real serious about order. A man dying, she can understand. A man coming back. That's different." "Isn't she Catholic?" Thomas asked. "Don't they have a guy? Votes: 0

Molly blinked, then looked at Thomas and said, "Wait a minute.... We're his flunkies." "You, may be," Thomas said, sneering. "I'm his thug. I'm way higher than a flunky." "You are high if you think I'm taking any orders from you," Molly said tartly. Votes: 0

I know it's not thematically in tune with my new job and all, but I find it effective. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day," I say. "But set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Tao of Pratchett. I live by it. Votes: 0

Her flawless pale skin was also spangled with gemstones. I don't know how they'd been attached, but they clung to her and sent little flashes of color glittering around the cavern when she moved. They were concentrated most densely around her ... well ... She'd been, ah, vajazzled. Votes: 0

Have you ever felt despair? Absolute hopelessness? Have you ever stood in the darkness and known, deep in your heart, in your spirit, that it was never, ever going to get better? That something had been lost, forever, and that it wasn't coming back? Votes: 0

If you go to your death rather than do everything you might to prevent what is happening, you are merely committing suicide and trying to make yourself feel better about it. That is the act of a coward. It is beneath contempt. Votes: 0

Mort drove one of those little hybrid cars that, when not running on gasoline, was fueled by idealism. It was made out of crepe paper and duct tape and boasted a computer system that looked like it could have run the NYSE and NORAD, with enough attention left over to play tic-tac-toe. Or possibly Global Thermonuclear War. Votes: 0

Fear is a part of life. It's a warning mechanism. That's all. It tells you when there's danger around. Its job is to help you survive. Not cripple you into being unable to do it. Votes: 0

Put some clothes on, you weird, yellow-eyed, table-dancing, werewolf-training, cryptic, stare-me-right-in-the-eyes-and-don't-even-blink wench. Votes: 0

I slammed the doors open a little harder than I needed to, stalked out to the Blue Beetle, and drove away with all the raging power the ancient four-cylinder engine should muster. Behold the angry wizard puttputt-putting away. Votes: 0

A little humiliation and ego deflation, now and then, is good for apprentices. Mine sighed miserably. Votes: 0

You don't go walking into the proverbial lion's den lightly. You start with a good breakfast. Votes: 0

The married thing. Sometimes I look at it and feel like someone from a Dickens novel, standing outside in the cold and staring in at Christmas dinner. Relationships hadn't ever really worked for me. I think it's had something to do with all the demons, ghosts, and human sacrifice. Votes: 0

People love dogs. You can never go wrong adding a dog to the story. Votes: 0

Likest thou jelly within thy doughnut? Votes: 0

He's Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a big leather coat and a .44 revolver in his pocket. Votes: 0

Yeah, but I forgot to take my George Orwell-shaped multivitamins along with my breakfast bowl of Big Brother Os this morning. Votes: 0

In the name of the Pizza Lord. Charge! Votes: 0

Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing yourself when things are bad. That and vodka. Votes: 0

Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don't feel it. (Harry Dresden) Votes: 0

Laughter is good for you. Nine out of ten stand-up comedians recommend laughter in the face of intense stupidity. Votes: 0

We are not going to die." Butters stared up at me, pale, his eyes terrified. "We're not?" No. And do you know why?" He shook his head. "Because Thomas is too pretty to die. And because I'm too stubborn to die." I hauled on the shirt even harder. "And most of all because tomorrow is Oktoberfest, Butters, and polka will never die. Votes: 0

Paranoia is a survival trait when you run in my circles. It gives you something to do in your spare time, coming up with solutions to ridiculous problems that aren't ever going to happen. Except when one of them does, at which point you feel way too vindicated. - Harry Dresden, Changes, Jim Butcher Votes: 0

I don't believe in faeries! Votes: 0

In the action business, when you don't want to say you ran like a mouse, you call it 'taking cover.' It's more heroic. Votes: 0

Harry Dresden. Saving the world, one act of random destruction at a time. Votes: 0

Ack!" I said. Fearless master of the witty dialogue, that's me. Votes: 0

See? This is why I'm not religious. I couldn't possibly keep my mouth shut long enough to get along with everyone else. Votes: 0

I choose my battles, Dresden. Not you." She looked up at me calmly. "Let me put this in terms that will get through your skull: My friend is going to save a child from monsters. I'm going with him. That's what friends do, Harry. Votes: 0

I'd made the vampire cry. Great. I felt like a real superhero. Harry Dresden, breaker of monsters' hearts. Votes: 0

Something like this will test you like nothing else," Mac said. "You're going to find out who you are, Harry. You're going to find out which principles you'll stand by to your death--and which lines you'll cross." He took my empty glass away and said, "You're heading into the badlands. It'll be easy to get lost. Votes: 0

When I finally got tired of arguing with her and decided to write a novel as if I was some kind of formulaic, genre writing drone, just to prove to her how awful it would be, I wrote the first book of the Dresden Files. Votes: 0

There's power in the night. There's terror in the darkness. Despite all our accumulated history, learning, and experience, we remember. We remember times when we were too small to reach the light switch on the wall, and when darkness itself was enough to make us cry out in fear.... Votes: 0

There aren't any magical words, really. Words just hold the magic. Votes: 0

Magic. It can get a guy killed. Votes: 0

I found him in a Dumpster one day when he was a kitten and he promptly adopted me. Despite my struggles, Mister had been an understanding soul, and I eventually came to realize that I was a part of his little family, and by his gracious consent was allowed to remain in his apartment. Cats. Go figure. Votes: 0

If you make some comment even obliquely alluding to menstruation or menopause and its effect on my judgment," Murphy interrupted, "I will break your arm in eleven places. Votes: 0

Murphy had found a spot on the street, which made me wonder if she didn't have some kind of magical talent after all. Only some kind of precognitive ESP could have gotten us a parking space on the street, in the shadow of a building, with both of us in sight of the apartment building's entrance. Votes: 0

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love always forgives, trusts, supports, and endures. Love never fails. When every star in the heavens grows cold, and when silence lies once more on the face of the deep, three things will endure: faith, hope, and love. Votes: 0

When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family. Votes: 0

Rain was coming down in sheets. I could hear it, on the concrete outside and on the old building above me. It creaked and swayed in the spring thunderstorm and the wind, timbers gently flexing, wise enough with age to give a little, rather than put up stubborn resistance until they broke. I could probably stand to learn something from that. Votes: 0

Courage is about learning how to function despite the fear, to put aside your instincts to run or give in completely to the anger born from fear. Courage is about using your brain and your heart when every cell of your body is screaming at your to fight or flee - and then following through on what you believe is the right thing to do. Votes: 0

Hope is a force of nature. Don't let anyone tell you different. Votes: 0

The distinction between good and evil is meaningless if one does not have the freedom to choose between them. Votes: 0

My head was throbbing, and my hands were shaking, but I went down the ladder to my workroom - and started figuring out how to rip someone's heart out of his chest from fifty miles away. Who says I never do anything fun on a Friday night? Votes: 0

Am I going to be able to provide a real home for her, man? An education? A real life? What's her college application going to look like: 'Raised on Spooky Island by wizard with GED, please help'? Votes: 0

Growing up is all about getting hurt. And then getting over it. You hurt. You recover. You move on. Odds are pretty good you're just going to get hurt again. But each time, you learn something. Votes: 0

There's more magic in a baby's first giggle than in any firestorm a wizard can conjure up, and don't let anyone tell you any different. Votes: 0

Kincaid, evidently exhausted himself, drew a gun, took the safety off, placed it on his chest, and went to sleep too. "It's cute," I whispered to Murphy. "He has a teddy Glock. Votes: 0

I'm not a philosopher, Harry," [Michael] said. "But here's something for you to think about, at least. What goes around comes around. And sometimes you get what's coming around." He paused for a moment, frowning faintly, pursing his lips. "And sometimes you are what's coming around. Votes: 0

You know how confusing the whole good-evil concept is for me. Votes: 0

I love watching him think," Maeve told Lily. "You can almost hear that poor little hamster running and running on its wheel. Votes: 0

I died. I died and someone made a clerical error and I am in Heaven. Votes: 0

Many things are not as they seem: The worst things in life never are. Votes: 0

Bring it, Darth Bathrobe! Votes: 0

There is a primal reassurance in being touched, in knowing that someone else, someone close to you, wants to be touching you. There is a bone-deep security that goes with the brush of a human hand, a silent, reflex-level affirmation that someone is near, that someone cares. Votes: 0

You rush a miracle worker, you get lousy miracles! Votes: 0

So. You get handed a holy sword by an archangel, told to go fight the forces of evil, and you somehow remain an atheist. Is that what you're saying? Votes: 0

Life would be unbearably dull if we had answers to all our questions. Votes: 0

Time after time, history demonstrates that when people don't want to believe something, they have enormous skills of ignoring it altogether. Votes: 0

We have now left Reason and Sanity Junction. Next stop, Looneyville. Votes: 0

I ask people impertinent questions. Hopefully turning up pertinent answers. Votes: 0

A pure heart and mind only takes you so far - sooner or later the hormones have their say, too. Votes: 0

Passion has overthrown tyrants and freed prisoners and slaves. Passion has brought justice where there was savagery. Passion has created freedom where there was nothing but fear. Passion has helped souls rise from the ashes of their horrible lives and build something better, stronger, more beautiful. Votes: 0

You don't explain to the janitorial staff how your company is a part of a sinister organization with goals of global infiltration and control. You just tell them to clean the floor. Votes: 0

Smiling always seems to annoy people more than actually insulting them. Or maybe I just have an annoying smile. Votes: 0

I've been a young man. Boobs are near the center of the universe, until you turn twenty-five or so. Which is also when young men's auto insurance rates go down. This is not a coincidence. Votes: 0

This is ridiculous. I look like the Games Workshop version of a Jedi Knight. Votes: 0

It was one of those moments that would have had dramatic music if my life were a movie, but instead I got a radio jingle for some kind of submarine sandwich place blaring over the store's ambient stereo. The movie of my life must be really low-budget. Votes: 0

When I'm in turmoil, when I can't think, when I'm exhausted and afraid and feeling very, very alone, I go for walks. It's just one of those things I do. I walk and I walk and sooner or later something comes to me, something to make me feel less like jumping off a building. Votes: 0

Murphy hung up and I said, to the still-open line, "Hey, if you've got someone watching my place, could you call the cops if anyone tries to steal my Star Wars poster? It's an original." Then I vindictively hung up on the FBI. It made my inner child happy. Votes: 0

My friend is going to save a little girl from monsters. I am going with him. That's what friends do. Votes: 0

Answer my question, Dresden,' Nicodemus growled. 'What is that?' 'A precaution against getting stuck in deep snow,' I said. 'He's training to be a Saint Bernard.' 'Excuse me?' Nicodemus said. I mimed covering one of Mouse's ears with my hand and stage-whispered, 'Don't tell him that they don't actually carry kegs of booze on their collars. Break his little heart. Votes: 0

My faith protects me. My Kevlar helps. Votes: 0

Kids. You gotta love them. I adore children. A little salt, a squeeze of lemon--perfect. Votes: 0

Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar Votes: 0

Life is precious, fragile, fleeting - and Murphy's life was one of my favorites. Votes: 0

When you die, do you want to feel ashamed of what you've done with your life? Feel ashamed of what your life meant? Votes: 0

Because a sound tree doesn't have bad roots, Amara. No enterprise of greatness begins with treachery, with lying to the people who trust and love you Votes: 0

I'm pretty sure lurking in a dark alley to mug me with your apology isn't the usual way to go about saying you're sorry. But I didn't read that Mars-Venus book, so who knows. Votes: 0

in McAnally's pub and grill, there aren't any service people. According to Mac, if you can't get up and walk over to pick up your own order, you don't need to be there at all. Votes: 0

I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that then so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows. Votes: 0

Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others-- even when there's not going to be anyone telling you what a hero you are. Votes: 0

There was a sound like a human yawn, and then the skull turned slightly toward me and asked, "What's up, boss?" "Evil's afoot." "Well, sure," Bob said, "because it refuses to learn the metric system. Otherwise it'd be up to a meter by now. Votes: 0

Of course Evil's afoot. If it had switched to the metric system it'd be up to a meter by now. Votes: 0

...The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the morgue. This, all by itself, is enough to really ruin your day. I was lying on the examining table, and Butters, complete with his surgical gown and his tray of autopsy instruments, stood over me. 'I'm not dead!' I sputtered. 'I'm not dead!' - Harry Dresden, Death Masks, Jim Butcher Votes: 0

So we get a plan," I said. "Any suggestions?" "Blow up the building," Kincaid said without looking up. "That works good for vampires. Then soak what's left in gasoline. Set it on fire. Then blow it all up again." "For future reference, I was sort of hoping for a suggestion that didn't sound like it came from that Bolshevik Muppet with all the dynamite. Votes: 0

She studied my face for a long minute. "Are you going to help my mom?" It was a simple question. But how do you tell a child that things just aren't that simple, that some questions don't have simple answers--or any answer at all? Votes: 0

He's Black Council," I said. "Or maybe stupid," Ebenezar countered. I thought about it. "Not sure which is scarier." Ebenezar blinked at me, then snorted. "Stupid, Hoss. Every time. Only so many blackhearted villains in the world, and they only get uppity on occasion. Stupid's everywhere, every day. Votes: 0

Never let it be said that Harry Dresden is afraid of a dried, dead bug. Creepy or not, I wasn't going to let it ruin my concentration. So I scooped it up with the corner of the phone book and popped it into the middle drawer of my desk. Out of sight, out of mind. So I have a problem with creepy, dead, poisonous things. So sue me. Votes: 0

Some things just aren't meant to go together. Things like oil and water. Orange juice and toothpaste. Votes: 0

At the moment I was mad enough to chew up nails and spit out paper clips. Votes: 0

I had a vague memory of being that ridiculous at one time. Let he who hath never worn parachute pants cast the first stone. Votes: 0

Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face. Votes: 0

I could buy that she would murder me in a fit of rage, poison me out of flaming jealousy, or bomb my car out of sheer, stubborn pique. But she would never do it and feel nothing. Votes: 0

I stared up at the Erlking, and with my typical pithy brilliance said, "Uh-oh. Votes: 0

I don't know about your true form, but the weight of your ego sure is pushing the crust of the earth toward the breaking point. Votes: 0

You don't take your cat with you to go bird shopping. Not because the cat isn't polite, but because he's a cat. Votes: 0

Screw up my life?" He stared at me for a second and then said, deadpan, "I'm a five-foot-three, thirty-seven-year-old, single, Jewish medical examiner who needs to pick up his lederhosen from the dry cleaners so that he can play in a one-man polka band at Oktoberfest tomorrow." He pushed up his glasses with his forefinger, folded his arms, and said, "Do your worst. Votes: 0

Polka will never die. Votes: 0

I lunged, low and quick, and drove about a foot of cold steel into his danglies. Hey, I don't care what kind of fearie or mortal or hideous creature you are. If you've got danglies, and can loose them, that's the kind of sight that makes you reconsider the possible genitalia-related ramifications of your actions real damned quick. Votes: 0

I kept a straight face while my inner Neanderthal spluttered and then went on a mental rampage through a hypothetical produce section, knocking over shelves and spattering fruit everywhere in sheer frustration, screaming, 'JUST TELL ME WHOSE SKULL TO CRACK WITH MY CLUB, DAMMIT! Votes: 0

Most of the bad guys in the real world don't know that they are bad guys. You don't get a flashing warning sign that you're about to damn yourself. It sneaks up on you when you aren't looking. Votes: 0

Pansy, Murphy sneered.Thomas leered at herYou make my stamen tingle when you talk like that, Sergeant. Votes: 0

For the record, surgeries aren't pretty. there's a hideous sense of intimately inappropriate exposure to another human being, and it feel something like accidentally walking in on a naked parent. Only there's more gore. Bits are exposed that just shouldn't be out in the open, and they're covered in blood. Its embarrassing, disgusting, and unsettling all at the same time. Harry Dresden, Turn Coat. Votes: 0

If I lived through the next day or so, I needed to start keeping track of where these jokers liked to get their bloodthirsty freak on. It might give me an edge someday. Or at least a list of places that could use a nice burning down. I hadn't burned down a building in ages. Votes: 0

I didn't know this before, but as it turns out, Tyrannosaurs can really haul ass. Votes: 0

That was the damnedest thing about these demonic collaborator types. Even though they didn't work out and practice, they still got to run faster than we dedicated roadsters who actually sweated and strained for our ability to haul ass. Jerks. Votes: 0

My laboratory,' I said, experimentally, drawing out each syllable. 'Why is it that saying it like that always makes me want to follow it with 'mwoo-hah-hah-hahhhhh'? ''You were overexposed to Hammer Films as a child?' - Harry Dresden & Bob the Skull, Changes, Jim Butcher Votes: 0

Do you really think you can win?''Yeah. Hell, Ortega is only the third or fourth most disturbing thing I've tangled with today.''But even if you do win, what does it change?''Me getting kiilled now. That way, I get to be killed later tonight instead.'- Susan Rodriguez & Harry Dresden, Death Masks, Jim Butcher Votes: 0

In the void, there is no distinction of east and west."Gwen blinked slightly at that. "I know all of those words, and yet when strung together like that I have no idea what they mean. Votes: 0

Empty night, Harry. Didn't your little adventure in the lake teach you a damned thing?"I scowled some more. "Like what?""Like life is short," he [Thomas] said. "Like you don't know when it's going to end. Like some things, left unsaid, can't ever be said. Votes: 0

Yeah, they look great, but that isn't a fantasy come true, Harry. That's a wood chipper in Playboy bunny clothing. Votes: 0

Insecurity, thy name is teenager. Votes: 0

Death is only frightening from the near side. Votes: 0

Let come the forces of night! We will stand!" "We will get the hell out of here is what we will do," I muttered. Votes: 0

Honest. It's almost always best to go with honest. It means you never have to worry about getting your story straight. Votes: 0

That's so typical. You won't steal a baby, but you're too lazy to conjugate. Votes: 0

I look at things and think about them,' Folly replied. 'And use my intuition, of course, and deduction and induction, as well as any historical or theoretical models that seem to apply. Votes: 0

You beg fate to make your fears into reality, Aleran. But for the moment, they are only fears. They may come. If so, then face them and overcome them. Until then, pay them no mind. You have enough to think on. Votes: 0

Thomas hooked a thumb at Butters. "Check out Dr. Marcus Welby, MD, here.""I'd have gone with Doogie Howser, maybe," I said."Split the difference at McCoy?" Thomas asked?"Perfect. Votes: 0

You," Madeline said, her voice hollow and wheezing, "are like a bad case of herpes, wizard. You're inconvenient, embarassing, no real threat, and you simply will not go away. Votes: 0

I hate what you represent."... "Power without conviction." Isana replied, her tone lifeless, matter of fact. "Ambition without conscience. Decent folk suffer at the hands of those like you. Votes: 0

Then this," Grimm said, "is what I believe professional inquisitors refer to as a clue.""In my considered judgment as an occasional inquisitor for the Spirearch," Benedict said, "I believe you may be correct. Votes: 0

God save me from idealists. Votes: 0

The man once wrote: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. Tolkien had that one mostly right.I stepped forward, let the door bang closed, and snarled, "Fuck subtle. Votes: 0

I am blind and limited. I would be a fool think myself wise. And so, not knowing what the universe means, I can only try to be responsible with the knowledge, the strength, and the time given to me. I must be true to my heart. Votes: 0

Love is another kind of power, which shouldn't surprise you. Magic comes from emotions, among other things. And when two people are together, in that intimacy, when they really, selflessly love each other it changes them both. It lingers on in the energy of their lives, even when they are apart. Votes: 0

I wouldn't burden any decent system of faith by participating in it... I'm not agnostic. Just nonpartisan. Theological Switzerland, that's me. Votes: 0

Oh, I forgot to mention it: My brother is the kind of man whom women stalk. In cooperative packs. Votes: 0

A technicality I'm prepared to hide wildly behind. Votes: 0

I know how you feel," I said. "You run into something you totally don't get, and it's scary as hell. But once you learn something about it, it gets easier to handle. Knowledge counters fear. It always has. Votes: 0

Knowledge is the ultimate weapon. It always has been. Votes: 0

Regardless of what I think about Islam or Wicca or any other religion, the fact is that it's a group of people. Every faith has its ceremonies. And since it's made up of people, every faith also has its assholes. Votes: 0

Sheep can befriend a hungry wolf only for briefly. Votes: 0

BLARGLE SLORG NOTH HARGHLE FTHAGN! You know. The usual. Votes: 0

Id me didn't have to be concerned with long-term consequences. He was my instinctive, primitive self, driven by my most primal impulses. I wondered, briefly, if 'id' and 'idiot' came from the same root. Votes: 0

One can have only as much preparation as he has foresight. Votes: 0

The human mind is not a terribly logical or consistent place. Votes: 0

Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don't feel it. Votes: 0

There're things we keep hidden from one another. Things we hide from ourselves. Things that are kept hidden from us. And things no one knows. You always learn the damnedest things at the worst possible times. Votes: 0

I'm dealing with a lot of scary things. I think you have to react to them. And you either laugh at them or you go insane. Votes: 0

Life is too short, Harry. And there's nowhere near enough joy in it. If you find it, grab it. Before it's gone. Votes: 0

Life, Tavi reflected, seldom makes a gift of what one expects or plans for. Votes: 0

You're in America now," I said. "Our idea of diplomacy is showing up with a gun in one hand and a sandwich in the other and asking which you'd prefer. Votes: 0

Last year in the U.S. alone more than nine hundred thousand people were reported missing and not found... That's out of three hundred million, total population. That breaks down to about one person in three hundred and twenty-five vanishing. Every year.... Maybe it's a coincidence, but it's almost the same loss ratio experienced by herd animals on the African savannah to large predators. Votes: 0

The cold rain came down in buckets. I was shaking, shivering, and naked, and more soap was getting into my eyes. But hey. At least I was clean. Votes: 0

I checked my gear, my pockets, my shoelaces, and realized that I had crossed the line between making sure I was ready and trying to postpone the inevitable. Votes: 0

Sullen monosyllabism, a sure sign of sleep deprivation. Votes: 0

Are you always a smartass?' Nope. Sometimes I'm asleep. Votes: 0

I like dogs. They give Mister something to snack on. Votes: 0

Somewhere out there was a village I'd deprived of it's idiot. Votes: 0

What is the point of having free will if one cannot occasionally spit in the eye of destiny? Votes: 0

Over the course of many encounters and many years, I have successfully developed a standard operating procedure for dealing with big, nasty monsters. Run away. Votes: 0

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but Chinese throwing stars get you a dozen stitches. Votes: 0

Now I feel like James Bond. Suave and intelligent, breaking all the codes while looking fabulous. Votes: 0

Life is full of toil, sacrifice, and pain, and from the time we stop growing, we know that we've begun dying. We watch helplessly as year by year, our bodies age and fail, while our survival instincts compel us to keep on going-which means living with the terrifying knowledge that ultimately death is inescapable. Votes: 0

Tavi grinned. "Are you with me?" "The plan is insane," Ehren said. "YOU are insane." He looked around the inside of the tent. "I'll need some pants. Votes: 0

Bob wasn't precisely a friend to me but... I was used to him. In a way he was family, the mouthy, annoying, irritable cousin who was always insulting you but who was definitely at Thanksgiving dinner. I had never considered the possibility that one day he might be something else. Votes: 0

I'm so pretty, it's hard for me to think of myself as intelligent. Votes: 0

Vanity, thy name is vampire. Votes: 0

Jobs are a part of life. Maybe you've heard of the concept. It's called work? See, what happens is that you suffer through doing annoying and humiliating things until you get paid not enough money. Like those Japanese game shows, only without all the glory. Votes: 0

I'm amazing and studly, but I have limits. Votes: 0

Pansy," Murphy sneered. Thomas leered at her. "You make my stamen tingle when you talk like that, Sergeant. Votes: 0

Ease off the martyr throttle. Votes: 0

Keep it up, wise guy. I'm always going to be taller than you once you're lying unconscious on the ground. Votes: 0

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of trauma, I will fear no concussion. Votes: 0

I brought the Beetle to life with a roar. Well. Not really a roar. A Volkswagen Bug doesn't roar. But it sort of growled... Votes: 0

As far as the Council is concerned, the U.S. Wardens are a bunch of mushrooms." "Eh?" "Kept in the dark and fed on bullshit. Votes: 0

I've always felt that the best whips and chains are in the mind. With a little creativity, the physical ones are hardly necessary. Votes: 0

Pain does two things: It teaches you, tells you that you're alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed. It leaves you wiser, sometimes. Sometimes it leaves you stronger. Either way, pain leaves its mark, and everything important that will ever happen to you in life is going to involve it in one degree or another. Votes: 0

My main source for faith-based stuff is mostly the Bible, and a childhood with a much, much higher-than-median exposure to theological thought. Votes: 0

Evil isn't the real threat to the world. Stupid is just as destructive as Evil, maybe more so, and it's a hell of a lot more common. What we really need is a crusade against Stupid. That might actually make a difference. Votes: 0

We've both got into the blue beetle. He got into the red door, I got into the white one. Votes: 0

Fear is bred from ignorance. So knowledge is a weapon against it, and reason is the tool of knowledge. Votes: 0

Laughter, like love, has power to survive the worst things life has to offer. And to do it with style. Votes: 0

But there were some things I believed in. Some things I had faith in. And faith isn't about perfect attendance to services, or how much money you put on the little plate. It isn't about going skyclad to the Holy Rites, or meditating each day upon the divine. Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others - even when there's not going to be anyone telling you what a hero you are. Votes: 0

A man's magic demonstrates what sort of person he is, what is held most deeply inside of him. There is no truer gauge of a man's character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power. I was not a murderer. I was not like Victor Sells. I was Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. I was a wizard. Wizards control their power. They don't let it control them. And wizards don't use magic to kill people. They use it to discover, to protect, to mend, to help. Not to destroy. Votes: 0

The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault. Votes: 0

Sleep is God. Go worship. Votes: 0

The movie of my life must be really low budget. Votes: 0

HARRY DRESDEN"”WIZARD Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment Votes: 0

Rest. Heal. Sleep. I shall most likely kill you on the morrow." "You? A Princess Bride quote?" I croaked. "What is that?" she asked. Votes: 0

Many women have earned titles, Your Grace. It doesn't seem to have been a factor in whether or not they actually received them. Votes: 0

You never get a straight answer from captains. You should know that by now. Votes: 0

There is the world that should be and the world that is. We live in one and must create the other. Votes: 0

And I knew that there was some dark corner of me that would enjoy using magic for killing"”and then long for more. That was black magic, and it was easy to use. Easy and fun. Like Legos Votes: 0

Fire isn't always an element of destruction. Classical alchemical doctrine teaches that it also has dominion over another province: change. Votes: 0

All things pass in time. We are far less significant than we imagine ourselves to be. All that we are, all that we have wrought, is but a shadow, no matter how durable it may seem. One day, when the last man has breathed his last breath, the sun will shine, the mountains will stand, the rain will fall, the streams will whisper"”and they will not miss him. Votes: 0

The impossible we do immediately. The unimaginable takes a little while. Votes: 0

Heroism doesn't pay very well. I try to be cold-blooded and money-oriented, but I keep screwing it up. Votes: 0

I felt my face stretch in a victorious smile. The potion had worked. I was inside. I had to suppress an urge to break into a soft shoe routine. Sometimes being able to use magic was so cool. Votes: 0

Mister Dresden," he said. "And Miss Rodriguez, I believe. I didn't realize you were an art collector." "I am the foremost collector of velvet Elvii in the city of Chicago," I said at once. "Elvii?" Marcone inquired. "The plural could be Elvises, I guess," I said. "But if I say that too often, I start muttering to myself and calling things 'my precious,' so I usually go with the Latin plural. Votes: 0

My hair had grown out long and shaggy"”not in that sexy-young-rock-star kind of way but in that time-to-take-Rover-to-the-groomer kind of way. Votes: 0

If your opponent has you by fifty pounds, winning a fight against him is a dubious proposition, at best. If your opponent has you by eight thousand and fifty pounds, you've left the realm of combat and enrolled yourself in Road-kill 101. Or possibly in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Votes: 0

Every soul is special. They're all beautiful. They're all far more significant than anyone on this rock realizes. I think when people are at their best, they're acting in accordance with their soul. The ones who have gone bad don't have bad souls. They've just given up on keeping in touch with them. Votes: 0

Whenever you've got a choice, do good, kiddo. It isn't always fun or easy, but in the long run it makes your life better. Votes: 0

Survival was not enough. One had to live. Votes: 0

I don't have anything against God. Far from it. But I don't understand Him. And I don't trust a lot of the people that go around claiming that they're working in His best interests. Faeries and vampires and whatnot -- those I can fathom. Even demons. Sometimes, even the Fallen. I can understand why they do what they do. But I don't understand God. I don't understand how he could see the way people treat one another, and not chalk up the whole human race as a bad idea Votes: 0

Ah. Medieval-style ransom." Toot looked confused. "He did run some, but I stopped him, my lord. Like, just now. In front of you. Right over there." There were several conspicuous sounds behind me, the loudest from my apprentice, and I turned to eye everyone else. They were all either covering smiles or holding them back"” poorly. "Hey, peanut gallery," I said. "This isn't as easy as I'm making it look." "You're doing fine," Karrin said, her eyes twinkling. I sighed. "Come on, Toot," I said, and walked over to Hook. Votes: 0

Everything was perfectly healthy and normal here in Denial Land. Votes: 0

There are old swordsmen and bold swordsmen. But few old, bold swordsmen. Votes: 0

Maybe my values are outdated, but I come from an old school of thought. I think that men ought to treat women like something other than just shorter, weaker men with breasts. Try and convict me if I'm a bad person for thinking so. I enjoy treating a woman like a lady, opening doors for her, paying for shared meals, giving flowers"“all that sort of thing. Votes: 0

Loneliness is a hard thing to handle. I feel it, sometimes. When I do, I want it to end. Sometimes, when you're near someone, when you touch them on some level that is deeper than the uselessly structured formality of casual civilized interaction, there's a sense of satisfaction in it. Or at least, there is for me. It doesn't have to be someone particularly nice. You don't have to like them. You don't even have to want to work with them. You might even want to punch them in the nose. Sometimes just making that connection is its own experience, its own reward. Votes: 0

My magic. That was at the heart of me. It was a manifestation of what I believed, what I lived. It came from my desire to see to it that someone stood between the darkness and the people it would devour. Votes: 0

Anyway, my office is small - one room, but on the corner, with a couple of windows. The sign on the door reads, simply, HARRY DRESDEN, WIZARD. Just inside the door is a table, covered with pamphlets with titles like: Magic and You, and Why Witches Don't Sink Any Faster Than Anyone Else - a Wizard's Perspective. I wrote most of them. I think it's important for we practitioners of the Art to keep up a good public image. Anything to avoid another Inquisition. Votes: 0

Doroga thumped a finger against his skull. Head got nothing to do with the heart. Your heart wants what it wants. Head got to learn that it can only kill the heart or else get out of the way Votes: 0

We all must die. There is no better way to do so than in the pursuit of something you love. Votes: 0

Son. Everyone dies alone. That's what it is. It's a door. It's one person wide. When you go through it, you do it alone. But it doesn't mean you've got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me, you aren't alone on the other side. Votes: 0

Jump into an open grave? What kind of idiot are you?" Butters replied. "I might as well put on a red shirt and volunteer for the away team. There's snow and ice and slippery mud down there. That's like asking for an ironically broken neck. Votes: 0

You're such a cynic," Molly said. "I think cynics are playful and cute. Votes: 0

I would hit you on the head with a rock and drag you away from this. But it would only shatter the rock. Votes: 0

Nearly everyone underestimates how powerful the touch of another person's hand can be. The need to be touched is something so primal, so fundamentally a part of our existence as human beings that its true impact upon us can be difficult to put into words. That power doesn't necessarily have anything to do with sex, either. From the time we are infants, we learn to associate the touch of a human hand with safety, with comfort, with love. Votes: 0

Worry is fear in disguise. And fear will eat you from the inside out if you let it. Votes: 0

Sometimes the only way to carry a heavy burden is to share it with another Votes: 0

If I need you I'll give you a signal.' What signal?" I'll imitate the scream of a terrified little girl Votes: 0

I like to stay cozy with my paranoia, not pass her around to my friends and family. Votes: 0

You need a prostate to understand," I said. Votes: 0

So in addition to a feisty new Black Court partner in the war dance between the Council and the Vampire Courts, I also got angry lust bunny movies stars, deadly curses, and a thoroughly embarrassing job as my investigative cover. Oh, and bean curd pizza, which is just wrong. What a mess. I made a mental note: The next time I saw Thomas, I was going to punch him right in the nose. Votes: 0

Paradox is an overrated threat. There is...a quality similar to inertia at work. Once an event has occurred, there is an extremely strong tendency for that event to occur. The larger, more significant, or more energetic the event, the more it tends to remain as it originally happened, despite any interference." I frowned. "There's...a law of conservation of history? Votes: 0

There are bad things in the world. There's no getting away from that. But that doesn't mean nothing can be done about them. You can't abandon life just because it's scary, and just because sometimes you get hurt. Votes: 0

Sometimes I think that's where most of us are. Fighting off the crazy as best we can. Trying to become something better than we were. It's that second bit that's important. Votes: 0

Molly, you are a good person. Don't let anyone take that away from you. Not even yourself. Votes: 0

He had hard, steady eyes, and all the comforting, reassuring charm of a dental drill. - Harry Dresden describing Morgan Votes: 0

My office is in a building in midtown Chicago. It's an older building, and not in the best of shape, especially since there was that problem with the elevator last year. I don't care what anyone says, that wasn't my fault. when a giant scorpion the size of an Irish wolfhound is tearing its way through the roof of your elevator car, you get real willing to take desperate measures. Votes: 0

He gave me a severe look over his spectacles and said, as if he thought the words were deadly venom and might kill me, "You are an untidy person. Votes: 0

There should be a rule against your own inner monologue throwing around that much sarcasm. Votes: 0

Man. Being mostly dead is hard on a guy. Votes: 0

Life can be confusing. Good God, and how. Sometimes it seems like the older I get, the more confused I become. That seems ass-backwards. I thought I was supposed to be getting wiser. Instead, I just keep getting hit over the head with my relative insignificance in the greater scheme of the universe. Confusing, life. But it beats the hell out of the alternative. Votes: 0

There is no spoon. I am completely spoonless over here. Votes: 0

And you've got that look on your face again." "I can't help it, "Ehren said. "You're about to walk to breakfast, arn't you, regardless of who is in the way?" "Yes," Tavi said. Ehren sighed. "Let's hear it." Tavi told him the plan. "That's insane," Ehren said. "It could work." "You arn't going to have anyone come along to bail you out this time," Ehren pointed out. Tavi grinned. "Are you with me?" "The plan is insane," Ehren said. "You are insane." He looked around inside the tent. "I'll need some pants. Votes: 0

There is, I think, humor here which does not translate well from English into sanity. Votes: 0

Sometimes I hate having a conscience, and a stupidly thorough sense of honor. Votes: 0

I believe that there's a cloud for every silver lining,' I said. Votes: 0

No one is an unjust villain in his own mind. Even - perhaps even especially those who are the worst of us. Some of the cruelest tyrants in history were motivated by noble ideals, or made choices they would call "hard but necessary" for the good of their nation. We're all the hero of our own story. Votes: 0

Pain is a byproduct of life. That's the truth. Life sometimes sucks. That's true for everyone. But if you don't face the pain and the suck, you don't ever get the other things either. Laughter. Joy. Love. Pain passes, but those things are worth fighting for. Worth dying for. Votes: 0

Do you want your blood to stay where it is sochar-lar?" Tavi lifted both eyebrows at the unfamiliar word, and glanced at Varg. "Monkey," Varg supplied, in Aleran. "And male-child." "He called me monkey boy?" Tavi asked. Votes: 0

Anger is just anger. It isn't good. It isn't bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters. It's like anything else. You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice. Votes: 0

There's nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy. Or more exasperated. Or more . . . secure. Votes: 0

Alone. It's one of those small words that means entirely too much. Like fear. Or trust. Votes: 0

Even in winter, the cold isn't always bitter, and not every day is cruel. Votes: 0

It isn't good to hold on too hard to the past. You can't spend your whole life looking back. Not even when you can't see what lies ahead. All you can do is keep on keeping on, and try to believe that tomorrow will be what it should be"”even if it isn't what you expected. Votes: 0

You can't plan for everything or you never get started in the first place. Votes: 0

Star Trek?" I asked her. "Really?" "What?" she demanded, bending unnaturally black eyebrows together. "There are two kinds of people in the universe, Molly," I said. "Star Trek fans and Star Wars fans. This is shocking." She sniffed. "This is the post-nerd-closet world, Harry. It's okay to like both." "Blasphemy and lies," I said. Votes: 0

Magic comes from what is inside you. It is a part of you. You can't weave together a spell that you don't beleive in. Votes: 0

As a whole, people suck. But a person can be extraordinary Votes: 0

Men plan. Fate Laughs. Guis Alera, First Lord Votes: 0

It bothered me that he was right. Without Sir Stuart's intervention, I'd have been dead again already. That's right--you heard me: dead again already. I mean, come on. How screwed up is your life (after- or otherwise) when you find yourself needing phrases like that? Votes: 0

I put on the boots and kicked some monster ass. Votes: 0

"ŽIt isn't enough to stand up and fight darkness. You've got to stand apart from it, too. You've got to be different from it. Votes: 0

It is the prerogative of wizards to be grumpy. It is not, however, the prerogative of freelance consultants who are late on their rent, so instead of saying something smart, I told the woman on the phone, "Yes, ma'am. How can I help you today? Votes: 0

Growing up is all about getting hurt. And then getting over it. You hurt. You recover. You move on. Odds are pretty good you're just going to get hurt again. But each time, you learn something. Each time you come out of it a little stronger, and at some point you realize there are more flavors of pain than coffee...Pain does two things: it teaches you, tells you that you're alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed...and everything that will ever happen to you in life is going to involve it in one way or another. (pg. 282) Votes: 0

Got to die of something," Giraldi observed. "Might as well put back a few pints while you wait to see what it is. Votes: 0

I put it down to the paranoia of advancing age. It isn't like I'm all that old or anything, especially for a wizard, but age is always advancing and I'm fairly sure it's up to no good. Votes: 0

Being here? With you? I've met my subconscious, and he's not that sick. Votes: 0

I don't want to live in a world where the strong rule and the weak cower. I'd rather make a place where things are a little quieter. Where trolls stay the hell under their bridges and where elves don't come swooping out to snatch children from their cradles. Where vampires respect the limits, and where the faeries mind their p's and q's. My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. When things get strange, when what goes bump in the night flicks on the lights, when no one else can help you, give me a call. I'm in the book. Votes: 0

Have you ever been approached by a grim-looking man, carrying a naked sword with a blade about ten miles long in his hand, in the middle of the night, beneath the stars on the shores of Lake Michigan? If you have, seek professional help. If you have not, then believe you me, it can scare the bejeezus out of you. Votes: 0

I put the ick in magic. Votes: 0

I heard someone walk out of the alley behind me, and my body went tense and tight, despite my weariness. Then a young woman's voice said, in a passable British accent, "The Little People are easily startled, but they'll soon be back. And in greater numbers." I sagged in sudden, exhausted relief. The bad guys hardly ever quote Star Wars. Votes: 0

Here's where I ask why don't you spend your time doing something safer and more boring. Like maybe administering suppositories to rabid gorillas. Votes: 0

I mean it," I said. "You're in danger." "Relax, Harry. I'm not letting anyone lick me, and I'm not looking anyone in the eyes. It's kind of like visiting New York. Votes: 0

...you look like you fell out of a crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down. Votes: 0

So?" Bob said. "Hat up, go kill her. Problem solved." "Bob," I said. "You can't just go around killing people." "I know. That's why you should do it." "No, no. I can't go around killing people, either. Votes: 0

When you do something stupid and die, it's pathetic," I said. "When you do something stupid and survive it, then you get to call it impressive or heroic. Votes: 0

Apocalypse is a frame of mind." [Nicodemus] said then. "A belief. A surrender to inevitability. It is a despair for the future. It is the death of hope. Votes: 0

...It's just one hour. Just one little hour. What could happen in one hour? Votes: 0

I sometimes give myself excellent advice. Occasionally, I even listen to it. Votes: 0

The mad rarely know that they are mad. It's the rest of the world, I think, that seems insane to them. Votes: 0

Keep in mind that this appears in the same book of the Bible that approves the death sentence for a child who curses his parents, owners of oxen who injure someone through the owner's negligence, anybody who works or kindles a fire on Sunday, and anyone who has sex with an animal. Votes: 0

When a young writer comes up to me with an ambitious idea for a 20-book series, I usually tell him to maybe try something smaller to start off with. Votes: 0

My gast was pretty well flabbered. Votes: 0

You're dead, son. Cheer is contraindicated. Votes: 0

Bob, would you be willing to take on Evil Bob?" Bob's eyes darted nervously. "I'd . . . prefer not to. I'd really, really prefer not to. You have no idea. That me was crazy. And buff. He worked out. Votes: 0

There is hinkiness afoot with regard to my, ah, disposition. Votes: 0

Molly was committing dinner. . . Votes: 0

No matter where you go, there you are. (Uriel to Harry Dresden) Votes: 0

Santa is a much bigger and more powerful faery than Toot, and I don't know his true name anyway. You'd never see me trying to nab Saint Nick in a magic circle even if I did. I don't think anyone has stones that big. Votes: 0

But I don't understand God. I don't understand how he could see the way people treat one another, and not chalk up the whole human race as a bad idea. Votes: 0

Science, the largest religion of the twentieth century, had become tarnished by images of exploding space shuttles, crack babies, and a generation of complacent Americans who allowed the television to raise their children. People were looking for something - I think they just didn't know what. And even though they were once again starting to open their eyes to the world of magic and the arcane that had been with them all the while, they still thought I must be some kind of joke. Votes: 0

I once lost five years listening to a Pink Floyd album. Votes: 0

It's not my fault all women like motorcycles, Murph. They're basically huge vibrators. With wheels. Votes: 0

If you can't manage courtesy, try silence. Votes: 0

It would require a singularly stupid man to go hang around in narrow tunnels and cramped spaces alongside a threat like that. "And I, Harry Dresden, am that man," I stated. Votes: 0

Animals do not do what they have done. Animals kill to eat, to defend themselves or their own, and to protect their territory. Not for the joy of it. Not for the lust of it...Only humans do that, wizard. Votes: 0

You can't abandon life just because it's scary, and just because you get hurt. Votes: 0

Maybe," he said in a slow, rural drawl, "you could explain to me why I found you in the middle of an orgy." "Well," I said, "if you're going to be in an orgy, the middle is the best spot, isn't it. Votes: 0

Where is your unit?" Murphy asked. I wiggled my eyebrows at her. "Right where it's always been, dollface. Votes: 0

Whenever it gets too dark, think of the good things you have, the good times you've had. It will help. I promise. Votes: 0

I always considered myself a loner. I mean, not like a poor-me, Byron-esque, I-should-have-brought-a-swimming-buddy loner. I mean the sort of person who doesn't feel too upset about the prospect of a weekend spent seeing no one, and reading good books on the couch. It wasn't like I was a people hater or anything. I enjoyed activities and the company of friends. But they were a side dish. I always thought I would be happy without them. Votes: 0

Mister Dresden is a diplomatically challenged individual. He should be in a shelter for the tactless. Votes: 0

Fading light means more than just the end of another day. Night is when terrible things emerge from their sleep and seek soft flesh and hot blood. Votes: 0

You killed my dog! Get your affairs in order. Votes: 0

Whatever you do, do it for love. If you keep to that, your path will never wander so far from the light that you can never return. Votes: 0

The door burst open. Murphy came through it, her eyes living flames of azure blue, her hair a golden coronet around her. She held a blazing sword in her hand and she shone so bright and beautiful and terrifying in her anger that it was hard to see. The Sight, I realized, dimly. I was seeing her for who she was. Votes: 0

A pair of dolphins swept by us in the water, flicking their heads out to get a look at us as they went. One of them made a chittering sound that wasn't very melodic. The other twitched its tail and splashed a little water our way, all in good fun. They weren't the attractive Flipper kind of dolphins. They were regular dolphins that aren't as pretty and don't get cast on television. Maybe they just refused to sell out and see a plastic surgeon. I held up a fist to them. Represent. Votes: 0

I can't be under arrest now... I don't have time. Votes: 0

but all the things Science had promised us hadn't come to pass. Disease was still a problem. Starvation was still a problem. Violence and crime and war were still problems. In spite of the advance of technology, things just hadn't changed the way everyone had hoped and thought they would. Votes: 0

Here there be monster." Bob whispered, half hysterically. "Run! Run already! Votes: 0

You're a cop. I need a doughnut. Votes: 0

My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I'm a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I'm the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under "Wizards." Believe it or not, I'm the only one there. My ad looks like this: HARRY DRESDEN "” WIZARD Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment You'd be surprised how many people call just to ask me if I'm serious. Votes: 0

We're all so damned fragile. Votes: 0

Magic is a kind of energy. It is given shape by human thoughts and emotions, by imagination. Thoughts define that shape"”and words help to define those thoughts. That's why wizards usually use words to help them with their spells. Words provide a sort of insulation as the energy of magic burns through a spell caster's mind. Votes: 0

Chocolate fends off all kinds of nasty stuff. And if you get hungry while warding off evil, you have a snack. It's multipurpose equipment. Votes: 0

I do not need the written code of a spiritual belief to act like a decent human being. Votes: 0

He's being held prisoner on a ceramic-lined cookie sheet in the oven," Thomas said. "I figured he couldn't jigger his way out of a bunch of steel, and it would give him something to think about before we start asking questions." "That's an awful thing to do to one of the Little Folk, man," I said. "I'm planning to start making a pie in front of him." "Nice." "Thank you. Votes: 0

Go back," he said. "Can't. Stand aside?" "Can't." "So it's like that?" I said. Fix exhaled. Then he nodded. "Yeah." And for the first time in a decade the Winter Knight and Summer Knight went to war. Votes: 0

I like to think of it less as embezzling and more as an involuntary goodwill contribution. Votes: 0

It doesn't make you a monster to want, she said, her voice very gentle. It's what you do with it that matters. Votes: 0

Isana laughed. "And you, lady? Are you a woman of conscience or of ambition?" The lady smiled. "That's a question rarely asked here at court." "And why is that?" "Because a woman of conscience would tell you that she is a person of conscience. A woman of ambition would tell you that she is a person of conscience"”only much more convincingly. Votes: 0

Love this job," Sanya murmured. "Just love it." "I need to challenge more people to duels," Thomas said in agreement. "Men are pigs," Murphy said. "Amen," said Molly. Lea gave me a prim look and said, "I've not sacrificed a holy virgin in ages. Votes: 0

It was never too late to learn something. The past is unalterable in any event. The future is the only thing we can change. Learning the lessons of the past is the only way to shape the present and the future. Votes: 0

I may have had good reasons. I may have had the best of intentions. But intentions aren't enough, no matter how good they are. Intentions can lead you to a place where you're able to make a choice. It's the choice that counts. Votes: 0

The last time I was at a supernatural shindig, I got poisoned and then everything there tried to kill me. So I burned the whole place to the ground. Votes: 0

Lies. Mab cannot change who you are. Votes: 0

Knight takes Knight," I called into the cloudy night air. "Check. Votes: 0

Pretty please. With sugar. Votes: 0

It always shocked me how you could understand so many things and be such a complete idiot about so many others. Votes: 0

Karrin smiled faintly and shook her head. "He always said you knew ghosts. You're sure it was really him?" Mort eyed her. "Me and everyone else, yeah." Karrin scowled and stared into the middle distance. Mort frowned and then his expression softened. "You didn't want it to be his ghost. Did you?" Murphy shook her head slowly, but said nothing. "You needed everyone to be wrong about it. Because if it really was his ghost," Mort said, "it means that he really is dead." Murphy's face...just crumpled. Her eyes overflowed and she bowed her head. Her body shook in silence. Votes: 0

Because even if they are doing something immoral, I'd be an idiot to start criticizing them for it if I wasn't perfect myself. Smoking is self-destructive. Drinking is self-destructive. Losing your temper and yelling at people is wrong. Lying is wrong. Cheating is wrong. Stealing is wrong. But people do that stuff all the time. Soon as I figure out how to be a perfect human being, then I'm qualified to go lecture other people about how they live their lives. Votes: 0

A bunch of people are gonna be mad at me, I've got some kind of medical issue that's going to kill me in a while if I don't deal with it, oh, and the island's blowing up tomorrow and taking a whole lot of the country with it if I don't fix it." Thomas gave me a steady look. "So," he said. "Same old, same old. Votes: 0

Wait. You work for me?" "I prefer to think of it as managing your incompetence. Votes: 0

Pain is to be endured. It ends or it does not. Votes: 0

People always equate beauty with good, but it just ain't so. Votes: 0

I followed him through the halls of the enormous church until we got to the staff's kitchen. He went to the fridge, opened it, and came out with a bottle of bourbon. He poured some into a coffee cup, drank it down, and poured some more. He offered me the bottle. No, thanks. Aren't you supposed to drink vodka? Aren't you supposed to wear a pointy hat and ride on a flying broomstick? Touche, I said. Votes: 0

Harry," she said quietly, "I know you must be angry." I burn things to ash and smash holes in buildings when I'm angry," I said. "I'm a couple of steps past that point right now. Votes: 0

For the record, surgeries aren't pretty. there's a hideous sense of intimately inappropriate exposure to another human being, and it feel something like accidentally walking in on a naked parent. Only there's more gore. Bits are exposed that just shouldn't be out in the open, and they're covered in blood. Its embarrassing, disgusting, and unsettling all at the same time." Harry Dresden, Turn Coat. Votes: 0

Nobody can be bad at everything. There's no such thing as a perfect screwup. Votes: 0

Honey, I liked the Harry Potter movies, too, but that doesn't mean I ran out and got a Dark Mark tattooed onto my left forearm like you did. Votes: 0

Any time I'm not shooting my mouth off to a clichéd, two-bit creature of the night like you, it's because I'm up to something. Votes: 0

Here had lived someone else who knew that the only thing waiting at home was a sense of loneliness. Sometimes it is comforting. Most often, it isn't. Votes: 0

Thank God for wisecracks. Votes: 0

I think that men ought to treat women like something other than weaker men with breasts. Votes: 0

Where instinct fails, intellect must venture. Votes: 0

Ignorance is more than bliss, it's freaking orgasmic ecstacy! Votes: 0

There's a fine line between audacity and idiocy. Votes: 0

I guess maybe you don't get to be the Merlin of the White Council by saving up frequent-flier miles Votes: 0

Murphy watched me thoughtfully for several empty seconds. Then she said, very gently, "You're a good man, Harry." I swallowed and bowed my head, made humble by the tone of her voice and the expression on her face, more than the words themselves. Not always rational," she said, smiling. "But you're the best kind of crazy. Votes: 0

Just remember that you're on my list, Marcone. Soon as I get done with all the other evils in this town, you won't be the lesser of them anymore." Marcone stared at me with half-lidded eyes and said, "Eek. Votes: 0

I've always admired your ability to be unilaterally irritating. Votes: 0

Just like credit card companies, or those student loan people. Now there's evil for you. Votes: 0

If you can't stop the bad thoughts from coming to visit, at least you can make fun of them while they're hanging around. Votes: 0

Like "love," "hope" is one of those ridiculously disproportional words that by all rights should be a lot longer. Votes: 0

You know the law, Dresden." "He who kills the cheer springs for beer," chanted the rest of the table. Votes: 0

Molly was arrested. Possession." I blinked at him. "She was possessed? Votes: 0

Punctuality is for people with nothing better to do Votes: 0

The characters within a book were, from a certain point of view, identical on some fundamental level "’ there weren't any images of them, no physical tangibility whatsoever. They were pictures in the reader's head, constructs of imagination and ideas, given shape by the writer's work and skill and the reader's imagination. Parents, of a sort. Votes: 0

Susan hardly had begun to slow down when Tera appeared from between a couple of buildings and loped over to the car. I leaned forward, opened the door, and she got into the backseat. I threw her the extra clothes I had picked up, and she began to dress without comment. It worked," I said. "We did it." Of course it worked," Tera said. "Men are foolish. They will stare at anything female and naked. Votes: 0

Wizards and computers get along about as well as flamethrowers and libraries. Votes: 0

All right. Tell me what I'm looking at." From the improvised Rolling Stones T-shirt bag tied to my sash, Bob the Skull said, in his most caustic voice, "A giant pair of cartoon lips." I muttered a curse and fumbled with the shirt until one of the skull's glowing orange eye sockets was visible. A big goofy magic nerd!" Bob said. Votes: 0

Uh, the Council," I said. "Big shock, they aren't helping." Murphy looked like she might be asleep, but she snorted. "So we're on our own." Yeah." Good. It's more familiar. Votes: 0

They say you can know a man by his enemies, Dresden." He smiled, and laughter lurked beneath his next words, never quite surfacing. "You defy beings that should cow you into silence. You resist forces that are inevitable for no more reason than that you believe they should be resisted. You bow your head to neither demons nor angels, and you put yourself in harm's way to defend those who cannot defend themselves." He nodded slowly. "I think I like you. Votes: 0

I love being a wizard. Every day is like Disneyland. Votes: 0

Gruff," I said, "I find myself largely clueless about why mortal women do what they do. It will take a wiser man than me to understand what's in a fae woman's mind. Votes: 0

That's the problem with you nearly immortal types," I said. "You couldn't spot a pop culture reference if it skittered up and implanted an embryo down your esophagus. Votes: 0

Do you have a little white dress? I've had this deep-seated nurse fantasy about you, Murphy. Votes: 0

I was seducing shepherdesses when you weren't a twinkle in your great-grandcestor's eyes. I think I know what I'm doing. Votes: 0

I parked in front of the Field Museum under a NO PARKING sign. There were a couple of actual spots I could have used, but the drive was even closer. Besides, I found it aesthetically satisfying to defy municipal code. Votes: 0

I mean, we're all going to die. We know that on an intellectual level. We figure it out when we're still fairly young, and it scares us so badly that we convince ourselves we're immortal for more than a decade afterwards. Votes: 0

This is what it look like when it WORKS? Votes: 0

Give it to 'em!" Take 'em down!" First Aleran!" Kick their furry--" Assault formation! Votes: 0

Crows," Maximus breathed. "Was that who I think it was?" "Phrygiar Navaris," Tavi said, nodding. "What was she doing here?" Max asked. "Getting humiliated, mostly. Especially there at the end. Votes: 0

If I stay, they'll kill me... If I go, at least everything that wants me dead won't be taking it personally. Votes: 0

No story that juicy was going to stay secret for long. Votes: 0

I've never lost a duel to the death. Not one. Votes: 0

If you shoot, I will kill her before I die." Yes," Kitai said in a patient tone. "Which is why I have not shot you. Yet. Votes: 0

An inferior sense of smell," Marcus said, as if absolutely nothing of significance had happened, "is distinct from being told that one smells unpleasant. Votes: 0

I didn't want to believe that killing was deep inside of me. I didn't want to think about the part of me that took a dark joy in gathering all the power it could and using it as I saw fit, everything else be damned. There was power to be had in hatred, too, in anger and in lust, in selfishness and in pride. And I knew that there was some dark corner of me that would enjoy using magic for killing"”and then long for more. That was black magic, and it was easy to use. Easy and fun. Like Legos. Votes: 0

You're playing the creepy vibe a little hard," I said. "Might as well go for broke, put on a black top hat and pipe in some organ music. Votes: 0

I've had a tense couple of days. And I've got to tell you, burning someone's face off sounds like a great way to relax. Votes: 0

But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything. Votes: 0

Being a wizard gives you more power than most, but it doesn't change your heart. We're all human. We're all of us equally naked before the jaws of pain. Votes: 0

Don't call me a dinosaur. It isn't fair to the dinosaurs. What did a dinosaur ever do to you? Votes: 0

Rule number one of the wizarding business. Never let them see you sweat. People expect us to know things. It can be a big advantage. Don't screw it up by looking like you're as confused as everyone else. Bad for the image. Votes: 0

A succubus on the set. Strike that, the health-conscious kid sister made it two"¦ succubuses. Succubusees? Succubi? Stupid Latin correspondence course. Votes: 0

All of those faeries and duels and mad queens and so on, and no one quoted old Billy Shakespeare. Not even once. Votes: 0

I still can't believe," Michael said, sotto voce, "that you came to the Vampires' Masquerade Ball dressed as a vampire. Votes: 0

It's all right to be afraid. You just don't let it stop you from doing your job. Votes: 0

We're always disappointed when we find out someone else has human limits, the same as we do. It's stupid for us to feel that way, and we really ought to know better, but that doesn't seem to slow us down. Votes: 0

You need to know where to go,' Sanya said. 'Yes,' 'And you are going to consult four large pizzas for guidance.' 'Yes,' I said. ...'There is, I think, humour here which does not translate well from English into sanity.' 'That's pretty rich coming from the agnostic Knight of the Cross with a holy Sword who takes his orders from an archangel.' I said. - Harry Dresden & Sanya, Changes, Jim Butcher Votes: 0

... They paid some madman who thought he was a decorator a lot of money to make the place look hip and unique. May be it's my lack of fashion sense talking, but I thought they should have held out for one of those gorillas who has learned to paint. The results would have been of similar quality, and they could have paid in fresh produce. - Harry Dresden, Small Favor, Jim Butcher Votes: 0

Right,' Thomas said. 'Where are we headed?' 'To where they treat me like royalty,' I said. 'We're going to Burger King?' I rubbed the heel of my hand against my forehead and spelled fratricide in a subvocal mutter, but I had to spell out temporary insanity and justifiable homicide, too, before I calmed down enough to speak politely. 'Just take a left and drive. Please.' 'Well,' Thomas said, grinning, 'since you said 'please' - Thomas Raith & Harry Dresden, Small Favor, Jim Butcher Votes: 0

Isana felt her throat tighten. "We failed." Serai lifted her chin and patted Isana's arm firmly. "We have not yet succeeded. There is a difference. Votes: 0

People have far more power than they realize, if they would only choose to use it. Votes: 0

Billy squinted at me. "Why are you letting them go?" "Because they're real." "How do you know?" "The one I was holding crapped on my hand. Votes: 0

I felt like I had just double-tapped Santa. Votes: 0

Its amazing waht you can get used to if your daily allowance of bizarre is high enough.'......Harry Dresden Votes: 0

Lady Placida smiled. "History seldom takes note of serendipity when it records events. And from what I have heard, I suspect an argument could be made that you very much did earn the title." "Many women have earned titles, Your Grace. It doesn't seem to have been a factor in whether or not they actually received them." Lady Placida laughed. "True enough. But perhaps that is beginning to change." She offered her hands. "It is a distinct pleasure to meet you, Steadholder. Votes: 0

Oh," the girl said, shaking her head. "Don't be so simple. People adore monsters. They fill their songs and stories with them. They define themselves in relation to them. You know what a monster is, young shade? Power. Power and choice. Monsters make choices. Monsters shape the world. Monsters force us to become stronger, smarter, better. They sift the weak from the strong and provide a forge for the steeling of souls. Even as we curse monsters, we admire them. Seek to become them, in some ways." Her eyes became distant. "There are far, far worse things to be than a monster. Votes: 0

Seedy wasn't a fair description for the place, because seeds imply eventual regrowth and renewal. Votes: 0

The best thing about my faerie godmother is that the creepy just keeps on coming. Votes: 0

My brief flash of relief and confidence melted away. Good thing it did, too. I'm sure the world would come to an end if I were allowed to feel a sense of relief and well-being for any length of time. Votes: 0

God isn't about making good things happen to you, or bad things happen to you. He's all about you making choices--exercising the gift of free will. God wants you to have good things and a good life, but He won't gift wrap them for you. You have to choose the actions that lead you to that life. Votes: 0

We're all of us equally naked before the jaws of pain. Votes: 0

Thomas was an annoying wiseass who tended to make everyone he met want to kill him, and when I have that much in common with someone, I can't help but like him a little. Votes: 0

Wait. You don't understand. I just wanted it to stop. Wanted the hurting to stop." I smoothed a bloodied lock of hair from her eyes and felt very tired as I said, "The only people who never hurt are dead." The light died out of her eyes, her breath slowing. She whispered, barely audible, "I don't understand." I answered, "I don't either." A tear slid from her eye and mixed with the blood. Then she died. Votes: 0

I checked the icebox. The faeries usually brought some sort of food to stock the icebox and the pantry when they cleaned, but they could have mighty odd ideas about what constituted a healthy diet. One time I'd opened the pantry and found nothing but boxes and boxes and boxes of Fruit Loops. I had a near-miss with diabetes, and Thomas, who was never quite sure where the food had come from, declared that I had clearly been driven Fruit Loopy. Votes: 0

Discretion is the better part of not getting exsanguinated. Votes: 0

Children are a precious gift, but they belong to no one but themselves. They are only lent us a little while. Votes: 0

Body or mind, heart or soul, we're all human, and we're supposed to feel pain. You cut yourself off from it at your own risk. Votes: 0

It rained toads the day the White Council came to town. Votes: 0

The vampire's true appearance was grotesque--but it wasn't as bad as some of the things I had seen in my day. Some demons were a lot worse, and some of the Elder Things could rip your mind apart just by letting you look at them Votes: 0

Age is always advancing and I'm fairly sure it's up to no good. Votes: 0

Well. We'll just have to hope that this wasn't a loup-garou, I guess." "If it was a louper, you'd know," Bob said wisely. "In the middle of this town, you'd have a dozen people dead every time the full moon came around. What's going on?" "A dozen people are dying every time the full moon comes around. Votes: 0

So there I was being strangled by a ranting, half-naked madman in the middle of the woods, with a she-werewolf dangling from a rope snare somewhere nearby. Votes: 0

The past was gone. Nothing could change what had already been. Looking back at it, letting its wounds fester, indulging in regret was just a different, slower way to die. The living moved forward. Votes: 0

Oh, I get it," I said. "You're Evil Harry, lurking inside Good Harry. Right? And you only come out at night? Votes: 0

Tavi looked wildly around the courtyard, and when his gaze flicked toward them, his face lit witha ferocious smile. "Uncle Bernard! Uncle Bernard!" he shouted, pointing at Doroga. "He followed me home! Can we keep him? Votes: 0

Your face looks like a sack of purple potatoes Votes: 0

Living was a dangerous past-time, and often quite painful"”but there was also such joy in living, such beauty, things that one would otherwise never see, never experience, never know. The risk of pain and loss was a part of living. Votes: 0

The One created us all to be free. To learn. To find common cause with others and to grow stronger and wiser. But the ancient enemy perverts that union of strengths. With the enemy, there is no choice, no freedom. They take. They force a joining of all things, until nothing else remains. --Doroga Votes: 0

You are a drug dealer. To tiny faeries. Shame." Sanya to Dresden Votes: 0

I've done smarter things in my life. Once, for example, I threw myself out of a moving car in order to take on a truckload of lycanthropes singlehandedly." ~Harry Dresden Votes: 0

I can't believe I'm about to say this," I said. "So think real careful about where this is coming from. Have you people ever considered *talking* when you've got a problem? Votes: 0

Hello Angel,'Michael rumbled, and leaned over to give the woman a kiss on the cheek. She accepted it with all the loving tolerance of a Komodo dragon. 'Don't you hello angel me. Do you know what I had to go through to find a baby-sitter, get all the way out here, get the money together and then get the sword back for you? Votes: 0

Maybe the Merlin was right. Maybe its better to look stupid but strong, than it is to look smart but weak, I don't know. I'm not sure I want to believe that the world stage bears that strong a resemblance to high school. Votes: 0

Night wasn't so much falling as sharpening its claws. Votes: 0

He gave me an inscrutable look that said maybe he would and maybe he wouldn't. Mister was a cat, and cats generally considered it the obligation of the universe to provide shelter, sustenance, and amusement as required. I think Mister considered it beneath his dignity to plan for the future. Votes: 0

Murphy nodded, frowning at the road ahead of her. "The reason treachery is so reveiled," she said in a careful tone of voice, "is because it usually comes from someone you didn't think could possibly do such a thing. Votes: 0

You don't have to run faster than the bear to get away. You just have to run faster than the guy next to you. Votes: 0

the Female Once-Over--a process by which one woman creates a detailed profile of another woman based upon about a million subtle details of clothing, jewelry, makeup, and body type, and then decides how much of a social threat she might be. Men have a parallel process, but it's binary: Does he have beer? If yes, will he share with me? Votes: 0

For the sake of one soul. For one loved one. For one life." I called power into my blasting rod, and its tip glowed incandescent white. "The way I see it, there's nothing else worth fighting a war for" -Harry Dresden Votes: 0

...as nervous as a bird in a coal mine. Votes: 0

I just stood there staring, because while I've seen a lot of weird things, I hadn't ever seen that. Votes: 0

The only good thing about having your back to the wall is that it makes it really easy to choose which way you're going to go. Votes: 0

I admit," Morgan said with another withering look, "it's no donut. Votes: 0

If I was on the road to Hell, at least I was going in style. Votes: 0

Discussing a problem with yourself is almost never a good way to secure a divergent viewpoint. Votes: 0

A bolt of warmth, fierce with joy and pride and gratitude, flashed through me like sudden lightning. I don't care about whose DNA has recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching-they are your family. And they were my heroes. Votes: 0

As in 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'?" The skull howled with laughter. "You just got your ass handed to you by a nursery tale?""I wouldn't say they handed me my ass," I said.Bob was nearly strangling on his laughter, and given that he had no lungs it seemed gratuitous somehow. "That's because you can't see yourself," he choked out. "Your nose is all swollen up and you've got two black eyes. You look like a raccoon. Holding a dislocated ass. Votes: 0

I don't have a muse. I have a mortgage. Votes: 0

Not gonna bind ya or break ya, old spirit. Just gonna kick your ass up between your ears. Votes: 0

Me and polite have never been on close terms. Votes: 0

Tequila?" I asked him, skeptically. "Are you sure on that one? I thought the base for a love potion was supposed to be champagne." "Champagne, tequila, what's the difference, so long as it'll lower her inhibitions?" Bob said. "Uh. I'm thinking it's going to get us a, um, sleazier result. Votes: 0

Let's sum up: an unknown number of enemies with unknown capabilities, supported by a gang of madmen, packs of attack animals, and superhumanly intelligent pocket change. Votes: 0

Hers was a beauty so pure that it was nearly painful to behold--Athena heading out on a Friday night. Votes: 0

In my judgment, my buildings are less likely to burn to the ground during one of your visits if you are disoriented from being treated like a sultan. Votes: 0

The next time you interfere with me, more than smoke will interfere with you. Votes: 0

Harry," Bob drawled, his eye lights flickering smugly, "what you know about women, I could juggle. Votes: 0

When I started, I was pretty sure I was going to be writing some goofy little wizard novels that might make me some part-time money and would hopefully lead to something I could do better. Votes: 0

Even a broken clock gets it right occasionally. Votes: 0

The U.S. isn't a perfect place, but it's better than most people have managed to come up with. And all my stuff is there. Votes: 0

Love is another kind of power, which shouldn't surprise you. Magic comes from emotions, among other things. Votes: 0

Then you know that Sam was the true hero of the tale,' Sayna said. 'That he faced far greater and more terrible foes than he ever should have had to face, and did so with courage. That he went alone into a black and terrible land, stormed a dark fortress, and resisted the most terrible temptation of his world for the sake of the friend he loved. That in the end, it was his actions and his actions alone that made it possible for light to overcome darkness. Votes: 0

My brother the vampire, whose kiss was a slow death sentence, had a stable and loving relationship with a girl who was crazy about him. By contrast, I could barely talk to a woman, at least about anything pertaining to a relationship. Given that my only long-term girlfriends had faked their own death, died, and broken free of enslaving enchantments to end the relationship, the empirical evidence seemed to indicate that he knew something I didn't. Keep your life tonight, Harry. Complicate it tomorrow. Votes: 0

Souls, I said. I mean, you always wonder if they're real. Even if you believe in them, you still have to wonder: Is my existence just this body? Is there really something more? Do I really have a soul?Uriel's smile blossomed again. You've got it backward, Harry, he said. You are a soul. You have a body. Votes: 0

Better safe than exsanguinated. Votes: 0

On the whole, we're a murderous race. According to Genesis, it took as few as four people to make the planet too crowded to stand, and the first murder was a fratricide. Genesis says that in a fit of jealous rage, the very first child born to mortal parents, Cain, snapped and popped the first metaphorical cap in another human being. The attack was a bloody, brutal, violent, reprehensible killing. Cain's brother Abel probably never saw it coming. As I opened the door to my apartment, I was filled with a sense of empathic sympathy and intuitive understanding. For freaking Cain. Votes: 0

Don't mess with a wizard when he's wizarding! Votes: 0

We're ostriches and the whole world is sand. Votes: 0

I had to smile at the man. I mean, you have to smile at idiots and children. Votes: 0

Those who deal in magic learn to see the world in a slightly differnt light than everybody else.you gain a perspective you had considered before. A way of thinking that would never have occurred to you with out exposure to the things a wizard sees and hears.When you look in to some ones eyes you see them in that other light and for just a second they see you in the same way. Votes: 0

Nay, but prithee, with sprinkles 'pon it instead," I said solemnly, "and frosting of white. Votes: 0

Demonreach only wants Harry to see what's going on." "Why doesn't it just marry him?" Thomas muttered under his breath. "It sort of did," I said. "My brother the... geosexual? Votes: 0

He seemed to be at that most dangerous of ages, where strength, skill, and confidence met naïveté and idealism; when young men skilled at the crafts of violence could be manipulated into employing those skills with brutal efficiency--and without questions. Votes: 0

Knowledge is your weapon...Kill them with it. Votes: 0

Maybe they'd use biological or chemical weapons instead. Maybe they'd crash the world economy. Maybe they'd turn every program on television into one of those reality shows." "That's mostly done already, Harry." "Oh. Well. I've got to believe that the world is worth saving anyway. Votes: 0

Hospital waits are bad ones. The fact that they happen to pretty much all of us, sooner or later, doesn't make them any less hideous. Votes: 0

Life is easier when you can write off others as monsters, demon, as horrible threats that must be hated and feared the thing is you can't do that without becoming them, just a little. Votes: 0

But I am dead certain--ba-dump-bump-ching--that I'm the first guy to lead an army of spirits in an assault from the spirit-world side...and had them start off screaming, "BOO! Votes: 0

I grunted. It's something I picked up over a fifteen-year career in law enforcement. Men have managed to create a complex and utterly impenetrable secret language consisting of monosyllabic sounds and partial words"”and they are apparently too thick to realize it exists. Maybe they really are from Mars. I'd been able to learn a few Martian phrases over time, and one of the useful ones was the grunt that meant "I acknowledge that I've heard what you said; please continue. Votes: 0

Marcone's scum, but he's his own scum" -Harry Dresden Votes: 0

Mab turned back to me and eyed me up and down. She quirked one eyebrow, very slightly, somehow conveying layers of disapproval toward multiple aspects of my appearance, conduct, and situation, and said, 'Finally.' 'There's been a lot on my mind,' I replied. 'It seems unlikely that your cares will lighten,' Queen Mab replied. 'Improve your mind.' Votes: 0

Just because you start out as one thing, it doesn't mean you can't grow into something else. Votes: 0

All right, you primitive screwheads. Listen up. I'm Harry Dresden. I'm the new Winter Knight. Votes: 0

For me chivalry isn't dead; it's an involuntary reflex. Votes: 0

[Mouse is] with us. The dog is a handicap-assist animal." The kid lifted his eyebrows. "My mouth is partially paralyzed," I said. "It makes it hard for me to rea. He's here to help me with the big words. Tell me if I'm supposed to push or pull on doors, that kind of thing. Votes: 0

Could a man's heart, his soul, perish and yet leave him walking and talking as if alive? Votes: 0

Dresden. Am I interrupting something?" "Well, I was going to settle down with a porn video and a bottle of baby oil, but I really don't have enough for two. Votes: 0

He wasn't evil as much as magnificently innocent of any kind of morality. Votes: 0

I got the sneaking suspicion that the vampire was a couple of Peeps short of an Easter basket. Votes: 0

There is no truer gauge of a man's character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power. Votes: 0

I've often wished that I had some suave and socially acceptable hobby that I could fall back on in times like this. You know, play the violin (or was it the viola) like Sherlock Holmes, or maybe twiddle away on the pipe organ like the Disney version of Captain Nemo. But I don't. I'm sort of the arcane equivalent of a classic computer geek. I do magic, in one form or another, and that's pretty much it. I really need to get a life, one of these days Votes: 0

Unicorns," I said. "Very dangerous. You go first. Votes: 0

You must be Warden Ramirez." This is the part where I got nervous. Ramirez loved women. Ramirez never shut up about women. Well, he never shut up about anything in general, but he'd go on and on about various conquests and feats of sexual athleticism and"” "A virgin?" Lara blurted. Lara blurted. She turned her head to me, grey eyes several shades paler than they had been, and very wide. "Really, Harry, I'm not sure what to say. Is he a present? Votes: 0

You suck. You suck diseased moose wang, Marcone. Votes: 0

Bigots see something they expect and then they stop thinking about what is in front of them. It's probably how they got to be bigots in the first place. Votes: 0

Thank God for imminent doomsday. Votes: 0

Black Court vampires. I just shortened it some." Ebenezar tsked. "Blampires. That's the problem with you young people. Shortening all the words. Votes: 0

I'd been in hairier situations than this one. Actually, it's sort of depressing, thinking how many times I'd been in them. But if experience had taught me anything, it was this: No matter how screwed up things are, they can get a whole lot worse. Votes: 0

Not that I was worried about anyone stealing my car. I once had a car thief offer to get me something better for a sweetheart rate. Votes: 0

...the Stone Table [was] a place that served as the OK Corral for the Faerie Courts when they decided to engage in diplomacy by means of murdering anyone on the other team. Votes: 0

Erlking," I told her. "Big-time bad guy. Wants to eat me." "Why?" she asked. "Well. I met him," I said. Votes: 0

Troubleshooters?" Michael asked. "When there's trouble," I told him, "they shoot it. Votes: 0

Molly was committing dinner by that time, aided and abetted by Sanya, who seemed to take some kind of grim Russian delight in watching train wrecks in progress. Votes: 0

There are things you can't walk away from. Not if you want to live with yourself afterward. Votes: 0

Sometimes I forget how much I like riding the bike." Most chicks do," I said. "Roar of the engine and so on." Murphy's blue eyes glittered with annoyance and anticipation. "Pig. You really enjoy dropping all women together in the same demographic, don't you?" It's not my fault all women like motorcycles, Murph. They're basically huge vibrators. With wheels. Votes: 0

Sometimes it isn't easy to be sane, smart, and responsible. Sometimes it sucks. Sucks wang. Camel wang. But that doesn't turn wrong into right or stupid into smart. Votes: 0

You think this is going to work? This peaceful summit thing?" "Sure," I said. After a second, I added, "Probably." "Probably?" "Maybe," I said. "We're down to maybe now?" I shrugged. "We'll see. Votes: 0

You predicted quick victory. Now it's going to get hopelessly complicated. Jesus, don't you know any better than that by now? Votes: 0

All power is the same. Magic. Physical strength. Economic strength. Political strength. It all serves a single purpose-it gives its possessor a broader spectrum of choices. It creates alternative courses of action. Votes: 0

I'm brilliant as well as skilled," he said modestly. "It's a great burden, all of that on top of my angelic good looks. But I try to soldier on as best I can. Votes: 0

There are some people who will never understand what loyalty means. They could tell you what it was, of course, but they will never know.They will never see it from the inside. They couldn't imagine a world where something like that was real. Votes: 0

Dammit, Dresden, if you want to know about me, wait for the autobiography like everyone else. Votes: 0