“Everything in Australia is trying to kill you, haven't you heard? Half of the ten deadliest snakes in the world live in Queensland. And then there are the poisonous spiders and the jellyfish. Not to mention the crocs and the great white sharks. Another point in favor of New Zealand. Very benign place, En Zed.”

“[Australia] is the home of the largest living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef, and of the largest monolith, Ayers Rock (or Uluru to use its now-official, more respectful Aboriginal name). It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world's ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures - the funnel web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick, and stonefish - are the most lethal of their type in the world. This is a country where even the fluffiest of caterpillars can lay you out with a toxic nip, where seashells will not just sting you but actually sometimes go for you. ... If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback. It's a tough place.”

“Not all poison was bitter. Some of the deadliest poisons in the world tasted sweet; they were that much more dangerous because of it.”

“Great,' I said. 'Visit exotic Australia. Get bitten by an exotic snake. Die exotically.”

“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.”

“I held out the painting of the cat and the snake.“It’s a cat and a snake,” Thoth said.Thank you, god of wisdom. You placed it for us to find, didn’t you? You’re trying to give us some sort of clue.”“Who, me?”Just kill him, Horus said.Shut up, I said.At least kill the guitar.”