Quotes from Behemoth

Scott Westerfeld ·  481 pages

Rating: (33.5K votes)


“Alek was right behind her now, his body pressing close as he adjusted her sword arm. She hadn't realized this fencing business would be so touchy.

He grasped her waist, sending a crackle across her skin.

If Alek moved his hands any higher, he might notice what was hidden beneath her careful tailoring.

“Always keep sideways to your opponent,” he said, gently turning her. “That way, your chest presents the smallest possible target.”

“Aye, the smallest possible target,” Deryn sighed. Her secret was safe, it seemed.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“She smiled, turning toward Alek. "You don't know what a friend you have in Dylan.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“I go where the lizards tell me.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“Lilt pulled away. "I saw what he was doing, so I cleared a path for him. I helped him do it..." She shook her head, tears tracking the dust off her face, and turned to stare at the fallen tower. "Have we all gone mad to want this?”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth



“The world rests upon a turtle, which itself stands on the back of an elephant!”
Alek tried not to laugh. “Then what does the elephant stand on, madam?”
“Don’t try to be clever, young man.” She narrowed her eyes. “It’s elephants all the way down!”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“You’d best ask the lady boffin, sir,” Newkirk said. “Midshipmen aren’t allowed to have opinions.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“Dr. Barlow, it is, of course, customary to check with the caption before, uh, giving away his ship."
-Deryn Sharp”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“Alek: "Am I that obvious?"
Deryn: "No. Im just dead clever.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“So my foolhardiness has produced the correct strategy, Count?”
“Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth



“But it wasn’t any of those reasons that had set her on this course, Deryn knew. Alek was here in the city and needed help. Perhaps it was daft to risk everything for some barking prince, a boy who didn't even know she was a girl. But it was no more daft than Alek walking across a glacier to assist a wounded enemy airship, was it?”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“But it won't be much of a battle, will it?" Alek asked. "What can an airship do to a pair of ironclads?"
"My guess is, we'll stay absolutely still for an hour.  Just so we don't fall into any bad habits.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“The Germans were still hunting Alek, trying to finish the job they’d started on his parents. Someone had to be on his side.
And, as Deryn had gradually admitted to herself these last few days, she didn’t mind if that someone wound up being her.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“Aya, that's the barking strangest thing about battle - that it's real”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth


“A country with two kings will always falter.”
― Scott Westerfeld, quote from Behemoth



Video

About the author

Scott Westerfeld
Born place: in Dallas, Texas, The United States
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“This is why we work together," he said. "We're different, but harmonious".”
― Olivia Cunning, quote from Wicked Beat


“There's no such thing as im-POSSIBLE, Hiccup, only im-PROBABLE. The only thing that limits us are the limits to our imagination”
― Cressida Cowell, quote from How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse


“Perfect days are for people with small, realizable dreams. Or maybe for all of us, they just happen in retrospect; they’re only now perfect because they contain something irrevocably and irretrievably lost.”
― Julie Buxbaum, quote from Tell Me Three Things


“Se levanta y hace la cama, luego recoge del suelo unos libros de bolsillo (novelas policíacas) y los pone en la librería. Tiene ropa que lavar antes de irse, ropa que guardar, medias que emparejar y meter en los cajones. Envuelve la basura en papel de periódico y baja tres pisos para dejarla en el cubo de la basura. Saca los calcetines de Cal de detrás de la cama y los sacude, dejándolos sobre la mesa de la cocina. Hay trapos que lavar, hollín en el alféizar de las ventanas, cacerolas en remojo por fregar, hay que poner un plato bajo el radiador por si funciona durante la semana (se sale). Oh. Aj. Que se queden las ventanas como están, aunque a Cal no le gusta verlas sucias. Esa espantosa tarea de restregar el retrete, pasarle el plumero a los muebles. Ropa para planchar. Siempre se caen cosas cuando recoges otras. Se agacha una y otra vez. La harina y el azúcar se derraman sobre los estantes que hay encima de la pila y tiene que pasar un paño; hay manchas y salpicaduras, hojas de rábano podridas, incrustaciones de hielo dentro de la vieja nevera (hay que mantener la puerta abierta con una silla, para que se descongele). Pedazos de papel, caramelos, cigarrillos y ceniza por toda la habitación. Tiene que quitarle el polvo a todo. Decide limpiar las ventanas a pesar de todo, porque quedan más bonitas. Estarán asquerosas después de una semana. Por supuesto, nadie la ayuda. Nada tiene la altura adecuada. Añade los calcetines de Cal a la ropa de ambos que tiene que llevar a la lavandería de autoservicio, hace un montón separado con la ropa de él que tiene que coser, y pone la mesa para sí misma. Raspa los restos de comida del plato del gato, y le pone agua limpia y leche. «Mr. Frosty» no parece andar por allí. Debajo de la pila encuentra un paño de cocina, lo recoge y lo cuelga sobre la pila, se recuerda a sí misma que tiene que limpiar allí abajo más tarde, y se sirve cereales, té, tostadas y zumo de naranja. (El zumo de naranja es un paquete del gobierno de naranja y pomelo en polvo y sabe a demonios.) Se levanta de un salto para buscar la fregona debajo de la pila, y el cubo, que también debe estar por allí. Es hora de fregar el suelo del cuarto de baño y el cuadrado de linóleo que hay delante de la pila y la cocina. Primero termina el té, deja la mitad del zumo de naranja y pomelo (haciendo una mueca) y algo del cereal. La leche vuelve a la nevera —no, espera un momento, tírala—, se sienta un minuto a escribir una lista de comestibles para comprarlos en el camino del autobús a casa, cuando vuelva dentro de una semana. Llena el cubo, encuentra el jabón, lo deja, friega sólo con agua. Lo guarda todo. Lava los platos del desayuno. Coge una novela policíaca y la hojea, sentada en el sofá. Se levanta, limpia la mesa, recoge la sal que ha caído en la alfombra y la barre. ¿Eso es todo? No, hay que arreglar la ropa de Cal y la suya. Oh, déjalo. Tiene que hacer la maleta y preparar la comida de Cal y la suya (aunque él no se marcha con ella). Eso significa volver a sacar las cosas de la nevera y volver a limpiar la mesa, dejar pisadas en el linóleo otra vez. Bueno, no importa. Lava el plato y el cuchillo. Ya está. Decide ir por la caja de costura para arreglar la ropa de él, cambia de opinión. Coge la novela policíaca. Cal dirá: «No has cosido mi ropa.» Va a coger la caja de costura del fondo del armario, pisando maletas, cajas, la tabla de plancha, su abrigo y ropa de invierno. Pequeñas manos salen de la espalda de Jeannine y recogen lo que ella tira. Se sienta en el sofá y arregla el desgarrón de la chaqueta de verano de él, cortando el hilo con los dientes. Vas a estropearte el esmalte. Botones. Zurce tres calcetines. (Los otros están bien.) Se frota los riñones. Cose el forro de una falda que está descosido. Limpia zapatos. Hace una pausa y mira sin ver. Luego reacciona y con aire de extraordinaria energía saca la maleta mediana del armario y empieza a meter su ropa para”
― Joanna Russ, quote from The Female Man


“I imagined more than office jobs. - Gretchen Vitamvas”
― quote from Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure


Interesting books

The War of Mists
(453)
The War of Mists
by Robert Fanney
The Sea of Trolls
(13.4K)
The Sea of Trolls
by Nancy Farmer
Penitence
(1.1K)
Penitence
by Jennifer Laurens
I, Jedi
(10.5K)
I, Jedi
by Michael A. Stackpole
The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
(111.6K)
The Happiness Projec...
by Gretchen Rubin
Fish & Chips
(10.9K)
Fish & Chips
by Abigail Roux

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.