Megan Whalen Turner Quotes

A thief never makes a noise by accident.

What a strange world it is, where prisoners are left their weapons and the written word is a mortal danger.

Discretion prevented me from saying that I thought she was a fiend from the underworld and that mountain lions couldn't force me to enter her service.

What kind of man refers to himself as safely dead?

The prison keeper choose an inopportune time to look around the doorway into the cell. He and the king locked gazes, and the king's eyes narrowed while the prison keeper's widened.

The queen!" someone shouted in alarm, and the King erupted like a wild animal caught in a snare.

You are treasure beyond any price.

That one,"-he nodded toward the closed door-" will rule more than just Attolia before he is done. He is an Annux, a king of kings.

Rae Carson's heroine is a perfect blend of the ordinary and the extraordinary. I loved her.

It made Costis wonder for the first time just how much the stoic man really wants to hide when he unsuccessfully pretends not to be in pain.

We are taught to treat a practice sword with all the respect of a real weapon, so no thoughtless mistakes are made" "Oh... In Eddis, we learn to keep tack of the weapon we have in our hand.

As a ten-year-old boy, the Thief of Eddis could stop a grown man in his tracks with a single look. Where had that look gone?

I'm dying of boredom. Or maybe just dying.

Were you lying?" "I never lie," he said piously. "About what?" "The sand, the snake." For a young man who never lied, he seemed surprisingly unoffended by the question.

You learn something new everyday." "What are you learning?" Sophos asked. "To keep my mouth shut, I hope.

And the Earth had no name. The gods know themselves and have no need of names. It is man who names all things, even gods.

The Thieves of Eddis don't have breaking points. We have flash points instead, like gunpowder.

This is the stupidest plan I have ever in my career participated in," Xenophon said. "I love stupid plans," said Eugenides.

I wanted Ambiades to understand that I considered myself a hierarchy of one.

It was a race between the tortoise and the hare, but the tortoise had just enough head start, and he had the magus to drag him along.

I thought that being king meant I didn't have to kill people myself. I see know that was another misconception.

Where are my guards, Teleus?" He was still speaking softly. Three men dead and he wasn't even breathing hard, Costis noted.

I would very much like to strangle someone. Why don't you go away until I decide it isn't you?

I think a good book is a good book forever. I don't think they get less good because times change.

One of us might be assassinated and then my heir will be king. Don't give up hope just because chances are slim." "For the assassination or the heir, your majesty?

One cannot toss ambassadors back like bad fish," said Eugenides. "You treat them with care, or you'll find you've committed an act of war.

So Sophos thinks you're going to marry me." "While I think you'll marry Sophos." "I might. We'll see what he's like when he grows up.

In the afternoon, the king and queen sat to hear the business of their kingdom. At least, the queen sat to hear the business; Costis was still not sure what the king was doing.

Let the gods into your life and you rapidly lose faith in the natural laws.

Because you do not believe?" "Oh, no," said Attolia bitterly. "Because I believe and do not choose to worship.

The queen had passed him, so close he'd felt the stir of air, and he guessed that if she had turned her head, only a little, and met his eyes, he might have died right there.

I can't leave her there all alone, surrounded by stone walls... She's too precious to give up.

Costis bowed stiffly. “I am here to make sure that you stay in bed, Your Majesty, because if this offends you and you order me summarily executed, it is no loss. Politically speaking.

Staring at the wall opposite him he presented the queen with a view of his ear and awaited her orders.

All of my own impulses to balance and move seemed to conflict with those of the guards, and I was jerked and jostled down the portico, just as graceful as a sick cat.

[I had a]...Second bowl of oatmeal. It was a little bit gloppy.

The younger one looked to be completely useless.

His forehead was covered by wrinkles brought on by a lot of sun and too much frowning.

Being six feet off the ground does give one a sense of superiority.

I am not sure I trust you.""You can trust me with your life, My King.""But not with my wine, obviously. Give it back.

I think a good book is a good book forever.I don't think they get less good because times change.

The Attolians liked to point out with a snicker that there was no sign anywhere of the king's hand at work.

Oh, Lady, " said the woodcutter, "my hurt is overwhelming because it is someone else's pain that makes me cry.

... I wanted Ambiades to understand that I considered myself a hierarchy of one.

That was the message. For me, alone among mortals, the gods send their messenger to tell me to stop whining. That’ll teach me to go hide in a temple.

Were you lying?""I never lie, " he said piously. "About what?""The sand, the snake."For a young man who never lied, he seemed surprisingly unoffended by the question.

I am a master of foolhardy plans.