Peter David Quotes & Sayings

They are merely scars, not mortal wounds and you must use them to propel you forward. — Peter David

And to all of you, what it really comes down to is: If you're buying a book with my name on it, I feel I owe it to you to have it be the best book that I can make it. — Peter David

The battered and pathetic thing that represented any claim to conscience I might have had turned away from me in disgust. Oddly, I couldn't blame it. I was disgusted myself. Disgusted at my weakness and my lack of resolution, at my refusal to see justice through in the name of the woman who had borne me. — Peter David

That was when it was all made painfully clear to me. When you are a child, there is joy. There is laughter. And most of all, there is trust. Trust in your fellows. When you are an adult ... then comes suspicion, hatred, and fear. If children ran the world, it would be a place of eternal bliss and cheer. Adults run the world; and there is war, and enmity, and destruction unending. Adults who take charge of things muck them up, and then produce a new generation of children and say, "The children are the hope of the future." And they are right. Children are the hope of the future. But adults are the damnation of the present, and children become adults as surely as adults become worm food.
Adults are the death of hope. — Peter David

My name is Abraham van Helsing. And I've seen more than you can possibly believe exist." "I don't recognize your accent, boy. Where do you come from?" "I'm Dutch." "You sound more German than Dutch." "My mother is German. I'm told I got the accent from her. But I am Dutch. — Peter David

Only in this world of topsy-turvy attitudes could outright stupidity, such as I had displayed, be something that got me high marks. I had an amused glimmering of a notion at that point: If I ever turned out to be a complete and utter fool, I could wind up running the whole kingdom. It was something to consider. — Peter David

Some time later, I sat in the wine cellar, staring at the walls while cradling a wineskin in my lap like a child, murmuring over and over as if lulling the child to sleep, 'I am shat upon. I am shat upon'. — Peter David

Faith is an admirable trait. It's good to have faith in another person. But when faith is used as a substitute for reality, then it becomes a crutch for refusing to deal with that reality. — Peter David

At conventions, one of the standard questions I get is, 'Are you writing any new novels?' To which I used to respond, in my smart-[alec] fashion, 'No, I've decided to write only old novels.' — Peter David

Nicrominus considered that possibility further and came to the realization that the prospect did not bother him particularly. He had led a long life, seen many things, had mates, eaten them, spawned children, eaten them, allowed one of them to live almost on a whim and found the experience to be, on the whole, rather uplifting. There were still things he wished to see and goals he wished to attain. He had no overt desire for death. But if the next few minutes were to result in his being a red and green splotch on the streets of the Spire city, well ... it wasn't as if he hadn't had more than his share of experiences. — Peter David

He smelled meat burning and realized that it was him. — Peter David

What do we think of sex on television? Frankly, I think it's a pain. For one thing, the cable box gets wedged into your back and gets real uncomfortable ... — Peter David

It was tragic enough for the average citizen to know that bloodsucking monsters known as tax collectors already existed; to be informed that there were other inhuman bloodsuckers stalking the night as well, desiring to sink their fangs elsewhere than bank accounts, might simply have been too much for people to bear. — Peter David

Noblest. Bravest. What rot. There was no bravery in buying oneself out of difficulty. — Peter David

I simply wish to offer my fart-helt apologies, sir, for you're just an honest man doin' your job, and I'm a dishonest lad doin' mine, and of the two, you have far more reason to hang your head high than does I. — Peter David

Thus it has always been: Only in death do worthless people have worth. — Peter David

As for jokes, I don't think it's necessarily that what I write is funny. — Peter David

These, of course, are far more enlightened times, when it is only acceptable to believe that not being a Christian is likely to mean one is a criminal only if one is a Muslim (or at least so we've been assured by people who claim to know such things), — Peter David

Why Mr. Dickens, in his biography of that particular moment, preferred to focus on the adventures of the orphan parish child, Oliver Twist, remains a matter of speculation and mystery to all subsequent scribes of those long-departed times: of a London nearly two centuries gone, back when it was a pox-infested, grimy, depressing, fog-bound, class-favoring, sprawling, noxious, odorous, and overall distasteful place in which to live and breathe and sicken and die - as opposed to modern times, wherein the pox has been largely attended to; so that's progress of a sort. — Peter David

Good enough, never is. — Peter David

There are some for whom the good of mankind is their primary concern, and others who basically put their own considerations before everyone else. I was among the latter. — Peter David

I'm not supposed to be here, Xy. — Peter David

Once again I felt light-headed, but this time it wasn't from the scent of lilacs; it was from the scent of my own death. — Peter David

As for Madelyne, she continued to ply her trade. But such a life takes a fast toll on a woman. It is easy to be a remote, untouchable beauty and stay that way for many, many years. And if a stunning tapestry is hung upon a wall, it remains unsullied and a work of art. However, if one drapes it across the floor of a pub and all manner of men tread upon it with their heavy boots, it's going to be worn rather thin, and rather quickly. Such was the case with my mother. — Peter David

When your heart's been cut out, how's it going to feel knowing that you're the one who wielded the knife? — Peter David

YOU SEE THEM SOMETIMES.
They're just out of the corner of your eye, when you're not expecting them, and sometimes if you close your eyes very, very tightly, and open them quickly, there will be a quick flash of them behind your eyelids before they dissipate.
They are the echoes of deja vu, they are the regrets that are fleeting, they are that which you didn't know you missed ...
They are everywhere and nowhere. — Peter David

when it comes to the caprices and manipulations of the gods or God, whichever philosophy you may embrace, we are all of us merely pawns in their games, rather than players. — Peter David

When ... has a mugging case ever heard a defense attorney claim, 'Your Honor, the victim was dressed in an Armani suit and wearing a Rolex. Clearly he was begging to be assaulted.' — Peter David

The measure of a gen'leman is how he treats ladies. They can call themselves what they wants, but if what they says don't match up with how they behaves, well, what they do says far more of who they are than what they says they are does, if you gets my drift. — Peter David

In retrospect, I would have to recommend against epiphanies. They are difficult on an emotional level, and they also sometimes move you to foolish and inopportune acts, which was what happened in my case. — Peter David

And then there is the matter of Fagin, routinely referred to as "the Jew." I needn't remind you that this was back in the day when the mere act of not being a Christian was to make one suspect, if not an outright potential criminal. These, of course, are far more enlightened times, when it is only acceptable to believe that not being a Christian is likely to mean one is a criminal only if one is a Muslim (or at least so we've been assured by people who claim to know such things), and therefore we shall refer to Fagin merely by his surname. — Peter David

Truth usually makes no sense. If your desire is for everything to make perfect sense, then you should take refuge in fiction. In fiction, all threads tie together in a neat bow and everything moves smoothly from one point to the next to the next. In real life, though ... nothing makes sense. Bad things happen to good people. The pious die young while the wicked live until old age. War, famine, pestilence, death all occur randomly and senselessly and leave us more often than not scratching our heads and hurling the question 'why?' into a void that provides no answers. — Peter David

To the brave crew and passengers of the Kobayshi Maru ... sucks to be you. — Peter David

Not that he wanted to say that. It would make it sound as if he wanted to blame her..
Women were very complicated creatures. He suddenly realised he was running through his head a list of everything he considered preferable to women. It was a long and most impressive imaginary document. — Peter David

Maybe science is just magic with delusions of lack of grandeur. — Peter David

I resisted the temptation to turn around and stick out my tongue in derision at Beliquose. After all, there was no telling when or if we should meet again, and I certainly did not need him saying, 'Ah yes, Poe, the fellow whose trespasses i could have forgiven in their entirety ... except for the tongue thing. Yes, for that, you must surely die. — Peter David

Youth believes itself immortal. There is a cure for such an attitude, but unfortunately it is a cure from which one never recovers. — Peter David

If we can't alter the tide of events, at least we can be nearby with towels to mop up. — Peter David

Unfortunately, the world does not always act in a manner consistent with one's plans for it. — Peter David

What is that thing? Vampires. Or, as it was spelled at the time, vampyres. Yes, we know: It is difficult to accept, a strain to wrap your head around. Go and take the time to do so. Watch some television programs, or read some books in which vampyres are heroic and charming and sparkle in the daylight, and then return here and brace yourself for a return to a time that vampyres were things that went bump in the night. — Peter David

No. It happened. But if it simplifies your life to disbelieve it, then do so. — Peter David

I remember so many things [. . .] The problem is, only half of them are true . . . and the half which is true keeps changing places with the half which is false. — Peter David

Remember what we wrote? 'And just as I cannot imagine how I survived the past without you ... I cannot imagine a future without you.' Remember? Well, I'm the future without her, buddy boy, and I can tell you right now that it's not something you're going to relish. — Peter David

A moment later the scowling face of Admiral Jellico appeared on the screen. He looked as ill-humored as ever. Privately, Calhoun felt that somebody should send an away team into Jellico's ass, to determine just what had crawled up there and died years ago. — Peter David

What the hell kind of person was capable of sounding erudite while losing blood out of his face by the pint? — Peter David

Why (he wondered rhetorically) do people who have a position that's being attacked constantly state that they have a right to say it, as if the right itself-rather than the statement-has been challenged? — Peter David

Well, there are times when we know where people are, yes? This would not be one of those times. — Peter David

The biggest evildoers in the world, the ones who do what's not right, are the ones who have all the power, and that's what makes it right. It's right not 'cause you say so, or I say, or even if the Lord on high says so. It's right 'cause them what's got the money and the power, they say it's right, and that makes it right even if it's dead wrong. Dead wrong. — Peter David

The jailer voiced a roar that was intended to be on par with that of an infuriated lion, and indeed sounded like that to him in his own head (but to an observer or listener was much more akin to a consumptive mallard) and sped - which is to say moved with slightly less slowness than he typically did - to the cell that he had just absented. — Peter David

We're all of us dying ... from the moment we're born — Peter David

Lack of movement is a formidable force to overcome. — Peter David

It seemed to me that, no matter what endeavor I was involved in, I was to be something of a sham. — Peter David

Opposites can attract, as in magnetism. Or explode, as in matter and antimatter. — Peter David

Right, wrong - those are words thrown around by those what is in power in order to sit on the backs of those what ain't. — Peter David

he was literally holding his face together. — Peter David

My name is Tragic Solitude 000. I am the Keeper of the Ark. — Peter David

It matters not how it seems. All that matters is what is, and I will simply have to deal with whatever that happens to be. — Peter David

There was more barley than beef in his stew. — Peter David

All part of the service. — Peter David

I guess it really had been brave . . . because it was so bugger-all stupid, and if there was one thing I'd come to realize, ti was that bravery and bugger-all stupidity went hand in hand. — Peter David

And at the end of every single day, I stood on the edge of a cliff and stared at the drop and kept trying to find the inner strength to jump off it. Every. Damned. Day. I wrestled with the question of whether to keep on living my lousy existence or simply putting an end to it. For three months. And every day I discovered that ending my life was not an acceptable solution. — Peter David

All people are, at heart, egocentric. We exist at the center of our own little universes. We believe that we are living out our lives as best we can, and that we have our own sphere of influence which exists of both friends and enemies. They in turn have their own friends and enemies with whom they interact. That is a given. But we, each of us, tend to put ourselves ahead of others because we believe that we are significant. We must attend to our own needs, desires, wants, and aspirations, because each of us is our own greatest priority. No one else cares for us as much as we do, no one else can exist in our skin. We think we're important. It is where our sense of self-worth comes up, where our egos reside, where "we" are. And we believe that each of our lives means something. — Peter David

And then he raised the welder to his face and flicked the switch. — Peter David

To explore strange new worlds ... and assimilate them.
To seek out new life forms ... and new civilizations ... and assimilate them.
To boldly go where no Borg has gone before ... and assimilate them. — Peter David

Running from horrors doesn't help. The only way to deal with them is to meet them head-on. — Peter David

If I have a bow and arrow, Commander, I don't shoot a padded shaft to my target's left in order to express my annoyance. I fire a steel-tipped arrow into his leg. — Peter David

Apropos, you're going to have to learn to sooner or later that you can't just let other people decide what the world around you should and shouldn't be. — Peter David

and wherever they chose. The formidable Bill Sikes glowered and menaced and planned robberies. Oliver Twist - to the best of Dodger's knowledge - was lying in a ditch somewhere and might well be dead. And Nancy, that tragic woman whose fundamental goodness of femininity had been diminished and dimmed, but not destroyed, by her life as a slattern whore, was still practicing her trade — Peter David

There are no such things as happy endings. Never. They're totally manufactured by fiction writers who choose to end the story on a high point. — Peter David