Kenneth Oppel

“Traveling at night toward the stars, I thought yet again how very far away they were, and how you could travel your whole lifetime and never reach even the closest one. But even if you knew you couldn’t have something, it didn’t stop you wanting it. I wondered if Kate was to be my star, and I’d spend my life gazing upon her but never reaching her.”

“Here's all I know: that the world is uncontrollable. Chaos reigns. That anything and everything might be possible. I won't subscribe to any rational system again. Nothing will bind me.”

“You see, when medicine works, it is blessed science, and when it fails, it is witchcraft. - Polidori”

“Why do you need to fly so much?” she asked.“If I don’t, it’ll catch up with me.” The words just came out.“What will?”I took my hands from my face, panting. I stared out at the storm.“Unhappiness.”

“I believe there is something on this earth that you desire more than anything, and it isn't me.”

“I'm just trying to spare you hurt. Her love for Konrad is like the foundation of the earth." "The earth sometimes shifts.”

“If you were closer, I'd slap you," she said. "Let me help," I replied, and stepped closer. She promptly slapped me, which surprised me only a little. We glared at each other in the near dark, and then she looked away. "I'm sorry I slapped you," she said. "That's all right. I quite enjoyed it.”

“You're like something drawn with the sun's fire, and I can take only little glimpses of you.”

“There is a passion in you that scares me.”

“Behind us I saw the water, still welling up from the tunnel, curving round in a frothing serpentine torrent to plunge down the other descending passage. For a moment we all sat there and watched, numb and exhausted.”

“It was as though, in one moment, he had become a stranger. And I a stranger to myself.”

“Beyond the lake, over the mountains, the clouds were illuminated from within by a brilliant stutter of lightning, and in that split second Elizabeth and I were etched against the sky.”

“What do you make of him?" I asked Elizabeth. "Apart from the fact he's clearly insane?""What can he learn from Konrad's blood?" I said. "Except that he needs it in his body to live!""There is something ghoulish about it.""He's like a vampyre,”

“We all knew no respectable physician would remove my fingers just for the asking, and we had no time anyway.”

“No, indeed, 'pig' is very expressive. And an excellent description of a fellow who flirts with his brother's beloved.”

“If she can bite a vulture, she can jump a crack.~Victor Frankenstein”

“The preface? Why would he waste time with the preface? Skip the preface and move on to the meat of the thing!”

“If my heart were a compass, you'd be North.”

“We did it!" I said, feeling limp with relief. "It actually worked!"Dr. Turgenev rubbed his forehead. "I had very big doubts.""Big doubts?" I said weakly.The Russian scientist shrugged. "I am pessimist," he said.”

“Let me get you all some punch,” I said.“You're leaving us?” said Isabel, sounding panicky.“I'll be right back,” I promised. “If anyone comes near you, just scream and run.”

“I had no idea there'd be so many Sherpas aboard!" exclaimed Miss Simpkins."I'm not a Sherpa," Nadira said. "I'm a gypsy.""Oh, my goodness!" said the chaperone.”

“I stared at Kate in disbelief. "I know, I know," she said, walking toward me, hands raised as if to calm a dangerous beast. "She's not coming," I said."She's coming.""She can't.""She's coming.”

“Nadira gave Kate a long hard look. "Mr. Slater has the ship. Mr. Cruse has the coordinates. I have the key. What exactly do you have?"For the first time Kate looked flustered.”

“I could not help staring back, for they made quite a contrast: Kate's pale skin and elegant purple suit, Nadira's dusky skin and exotic fiery sari."Do we clash?" Nadira said dryly."We certainly do," said Kate. "Would you like me to move?""Don't trouble yourself.”

“I raised my hands, trying to shush her."Don't shush me," she said, eyes blazing. "I hate being shushed.”

“You've no fear of heights," puffed the girl."None," I said."I've heard that about you.”

“This way," she said, veering toward the roof's edge. "Can you jump?""Oh, I can jump!""Then jump!”

“I prefer the word aviatrix. It has more zing to it.""It's very zingy," I agreed.”

“Everyone watched, wondering if this could be the same lunatic who'd nearly berthed his ornithopter in the restaurant. I swallowed, for it seemed he was headed straight for my table. He pulled off his helmet and a mass of dark auburn hair spilled out. Off came the goggles, and I was looking at the beaming face of Kate de Vries.”

“You flatter me shamelessly. I like it. Good.”

“IMBECILE!" the chef shouted. "Next time why don't you just put your whole HAND in the food, hey? Yes, your whole hand, or maybe your FACE! I arrange the food on plates with care, are you understanding what I am telling you? It is part of the art form of cooking, yes? A lovely plate of food is a thing of beauty! And then you, NUMBSKULL, come along and put your fat greasy FINGERS all over my plate, and SHAKE the plate, and move my food all around the plate until it looks like pigs' vomit!""Chef Vlad!" I cried out in delight.”

“You two were in a cave together?’ said Miss Simpkins in horror.‘Yes,’ said Kate, ‘and it was very, very dark.”

“I turned around and headed back to the stairwell, planning to go downstairs and buy a chocolate bar from the vending machine. Maybe it would fall on me and end my misery.”

“The world should have been in Technicolour, but seemed more like black and white.”

“You can't eat [literature], that's the problem," he said. "I've tried, it's very dry, and not at all nutritious.”

“I felt like I was seeing Shannon through a new lens, undistracted by Jennifer's nuclear glow. I could see how pretty she really was, how kind her eyes were.”

“Honestly," she sighed, "I don't know what kind of life we'll have together, with me always flying off in one direction and you in the other." I smiled. "It's a good thing the world's round," I said.”

“I know you pretty well.""Better than anyone I think."I smiled. Her compliment was like a gift itself, only more precious than anything that could be bought.”

“Marry me." I said.She lowered her teacup, shaking slightly, to the saucer. "Aren't you going to get down on one knee?"I got down on one knee and took her hand."Will you marry me, Kate?"You can't propose properly without a ring." She said.I reached into my pocket and took out James Sanderson's ring, which I'd picked up off the floor of the Starclimber when we'd crash landed."That's a nice looking ring." said Kate with a grin."Cost a fortune." I said. "And now, for the third time. Kate de Vries, will you marry me?"She leaned forward and took my face in her hands and kissed me."Yes," "Yes, and yes and yes. But it will probably be terrible.""Probably," I agreed."Honestly," she sighed, "I don't know what kind of life we'll have together, with me always flying off in one direction and you in the other."I smiled. "It's a good thing the world's round," I said.”

“I poo poo the chit.'The attendant looked stunned. 'You cannot poo-poo the chit!'I do.' Kate said solemnly. 'I do poo-poo.'We'll walk.”

“Bloody Hell!”

“Individuality: ten. Cautiousness: three. Combativeness: nine." She looked over and gave me a wink. "Well, what did you expect from a pirate's daughter? Hope: eight. Amativeness. What's that?"Kate acutally blushed. "I think it has something to do with your attractiveness to the opposite sex.""Ten," said Nadira, smiling modestly. (Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel)”

“But chance runs like a river through all our lives, and being prepared for surprise is the best we can do.”

“It's the way you look whenever she mentions her fiance. My cat looks like that before he hacks up a hairball.”

“His speech failed to rouse an enthusiastic cheer, but no one dared contradict him.”