“A strange, pale figure emerged—Pendergast?—and she felt herself suddenly in his arms, lifted bodily as if she were a child again, her head cradled against his chest. She felt his shoulders began to convulse, faintly, regularly, almost as if he was weeping. But that was, of course, impossible, as Pendergast would never cry.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“Carroting, you must understand, was a process by which animal fur is bathed in a solution of mercury nitrate, in order to render the hairs more supple, thus producing a superior felt.” At this last word, he threw a significant glance in my direction. “Felt,” I repeated. “You mean, for the making of hats?” “Precisely. The solution is of an orange colour, hence the term carroting. However, this process had rather severe side effects on those who worked with it, which is why its use today is much reduced. When mercury vapours are inhaled over a long enough period of time—particularly, for our purposes, in the close quarters of a hat-making operation—toxic and irreversible effects almost inevitably follow. One develops tremors of the hands; blackened teeth; slurred speech. In severe cases, dementia or outright insanity can occur. Hence the term mad as a hatter.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“An accident is only a puzzle piece that hasn’t yet found its place in the picture. A good detective collects all ‘accidents,’ no matter how insignificant.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“the shudder of fear is as sensual as the shudder of pleasure, if not more so.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“Fire is often the weapon of choice for the insane.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“It is all about how human beings construct a narrative out of random events, baseless assumptions, and simple-minded prejudices.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“She felt his shoulders began to convulse, faintly, regularly, almost as if he was weeping. But that was, of course, impossible, as Pendergast would never cry.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“I don’t know jack about wine, sorry.” “You should learn. It is one of the true and ancient pleasures that make human existence tolerable.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“as corrie was about to hang up, stacy said, "i hope he shoots at my car. i've got a couple of black talon rounds just itching to explore his inner psyche.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“I am indeed sorry to say this, but I fear your microscopic problems do not interest me.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“Everything he did, he did well, and as a result he was an accomplished asshole indeed.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“I prefer to sleep while the rabble are out and about.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
Douglas Preston
Born place: in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The United States
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“This morning, thanks to a controlled near-death experience, I was lucky enough to meet, at the far end of the blue tunnel, a man named Salvatore Biagini. Last July 8th, Mr. Biagini, a retired construction worker, age seventy, suffered a fatal heart attack while rescuing his beloved schnauzer, Teddy, from an assault by an unrestrained pit bull named Chele, in Queens.
The pit bull, with no previous record of violence against man or beast, jumped a four-foot fence in order to have at Teddy. Mr. Biagini, an unarmed man with a history of heart trouble, grabbed him, allowing the schnauzer to run away. So the pit bull bit Mr. Biagini in several places and then Mr. Biagini's heart quit beating, never to beat again. I asked this heroic pet lover how it felt to have died for a schnauzer named Teddy. Salvador Biagini was philosophical. He said it sure as heck beat dying for absolutely nothing in the Viet Nam War.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, quote from God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian
“What did I want? I wanted a Roc's egg. I wanted a harem loaded with lovely odalisques less than the dust beneath my chariot wheels, the rust that never stained my sword. I wanted raw red gold in nuggets the size of your fist, and feed that lousy claim jumper to the huskies! I wanted to get up feeling brisk and go out and break some lances, then pick a likely wench for my droit du seigneur - I wanted to stand up to the Baron and dare him to touch my wench! I wanted to hear the purple water chuckling against the skin of the Nancy Lee in the cool of the morning watch and not another sound, nor any movement save the slow tilting of the wings of the albatross that had been pacing us the last thousand miles. I wanted the hurtling moons of Barsoom. I wanted Storisende and Poictesme, and Holmes shaking me awake to tell me, "The game's afoot!" I wanted to float down the Mississippi on a raft and elude a mob in company with the Duke of Bilgewater and Lost Dauphin. I wanted Prester John, and Excalibur held by a moon-white arm out of a silent lake. I wanted to sail with Ulysses and with Tros of Samothrace and to eat the lotus in a land that seemed always afternoon. I wanted the feeling of romance and the sense of wonder I had known as a kid. I wanted the world to be the way they had promised me it was going to be, instead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it is. I had had one chance - for ten minutes yesterday afternoon. Helen of Troy, whatever your true name may be - and I had known it and I had let it slip away. Maybe one chance is all you ever get.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, quote from Glory Road
“When she returned to her cabin, Dr.Gabriel was already there examining Sterling's back. Sterling lay on his stomach, on her bunk, his eyes closed. She wondered if he was sleeping. She doubted it. He was probably unconscious. Or perhaps he'd closed his eyes in order to hide what he was feeling.”
― Jade Parker, quote from To Catch a Pirate
“But I was not made for the great light that devours, a dim lamp was all I had been given, and patience without end, to shine it on the empty shadows.”
― Samuel Beckett, quote from Molloy
“Are you gonna arrest a robber?"
"Know any?"
"My friend Everet stoled a candy bar from the store, but his ma found out and made him go pay for it out of his 'lowance, and he couldn't have candy or nothing for a whole month. You could arrest him. He's over there."
He pointed, cheerfully ratting out his pal.
"It sounds like he's paid his debt to society.”
― J.D. Robb, quote from New York to Dallas
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