The Nix Quotes & Sayings

And I've never been wicked,' said the Witch firmly. 'Least, not by my measure. Just independant-minded.'

'Wickedness depends on where you're standing, doesn't it?' said Jenny. — Garth Nix

Nick shook his head and found to his surprise that he did have tears left after all. He wasn't surprised by a talking cat. The world was crumbling around him and anything could happen. — Garth Nix

For everyone and everything, there is a time to die. Some do not know it, or would delay it, but its truth cannot be denied. Not when you look into the stars of the ninth gate. — Garth Nix

I'm not going," he said. He held up the Third key like a weapon. Sensing his mood, it grew longer and sharper, till he was holding a trident as long as he was tall ... "And anyone who tries to make me is going to suffer."
"Twice," added the voice under the table. — Garth Nix

I think I would like to work in the Library."
"The Library," repeated Sanar, looking troubled. "That can be dangerous to a girl of fourteen. Or a woman of forty, for that matter."
"Only in parts," said Ryelle. "The Old Levels."
"You can't work in the Library without going into the Old Levels," said Mirelle somberly. "At least some of the time. I wouldn't be keen on going to some parts of the Library, myself. — Garth Nix

The hour we spent sneaking through the temple, with Haddad circumventing various monitors, dodging guards, and then boarding the ship through a supposedly one-way waste umbilical, was very educational. At least after I got cleaned up I appreciated the educational aspects. — Garth Nix

Sixth comes Saraneth, also known as the Binder. Saraneth speaks with the deep voice of power, shackling the Dead to the wielder's will. — Garth Nix

I really gravitate to the comedy of tonal contrasts. I hope that doesn't sound insufferably pretentious. What I mean is people having reactions to things that seem inappropriate, or being happy in an apparently unhappy situation. — Matt Nix

Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker? — Garth Nix

(Nix and Lothaire conversing)
"Have you no mate, female?" he'd asked, intrigued with her, though she was his natural enemy.

"I was betrothed to Loki for a time. Which did not proceed smoothly for obvious reasons. So for now I am an unrepentant manizer." At Lothaire's blank look, she'd said, "That will be amusing in the twenty-first century. — Kresley Cole

Are you calling about the ad?"
"Ad?"
"For the gently used Bentley for sale. It has zero miles!"
Well, that explained the backward driving.
Macrieve & Nix — Kresley Cole

They might refuse the evidence of their own eyes and continue blindly on over the ridge, driven by optimism and hope that finally they would find somewhere to call home. — Garth Nix

He clenched Nix's shoulders. 'Why did you hesitate? I saw you hesitate!' He shook her until her head lolled, while she grinned and said, 'Wheeee! — Kresley Cole

What do you mean? I am Mogget, of course. The one and only Mogget. Though I have had other names. — Garth Nix

As it 'appens, I am Arthur's right-hand man," said Suzy. "Or left-hand girl, I can't remember where I stood last time. Anyhow, me and Arthur is like two fingers of a gauntlet. Or at least the thumb and the little finger. I mean, I'm his top General, and all. So if I say you're in, you're in. — Garth Nix

I used to think like that at school," Sabriel answered. "Dreaming about the Old Kingdom. Proper Charter Magic. Dead to bind. Princes to be
"
"Rescued? — Garth Nix

Stop! By the Keys I hold, I order the Nothing to stop! House, you must hold against the Void! — Garth Nix

Even now, she wished she could write a note, push it across the table, and go away to her room. But she was no longer a Second Assistant Librarian of the Great Library of the Clayr. Those days were gone, vanished with everything else that had defined her previous existence and identity. — Garth Nix

Have you ever fought an opponent you had no defense against? Like a fire breather or an acid spitter?"
"Once I faced a female with diamond skin," Nix said breathlessly. "I was transfixed - even as she was choking the life out of me."
"Really?"
"No, I saw that character on X-Men. I just wanted to commiserate. Alas, I have no weaknesses. — Kresley Cole

Come with me."
"Come with you? To Pandemonium? To the Void? And here I thought that my invitation to summer in New Jersey was the worst I had ever received. — Cassandra Clare

You are unnerving the hell out of me, Valkyrie."
"oh" she frowned, petting her bat fitfully " I must have misread the future for the past." she shrugged. "It happens. — Kresley Cole

All of us recruits are equal in the eyes of the Army: low as you can go. — Garth Nix

Together, the bells and Dog sang a song that was more than sound and power. It was the song of the earth, the moon, the stars, the sea, and the sky, of Life and Death and all that was and would be. It was the song of the Charter, the song that had bound Orannis in the long ago, the song that sought to bind the Destroyer once again. — Garth Nix

I certainly have had experiences of a sense of wonder at the world and a feeling that even though it could all be explained rationally, it still feels that there is more to it. — Garth Nix

I won't let you go! I love you, Dog!'
'There will be other dogs and friends, and loves' whispered the Dog. 'You have found your family, your heritage, and you have earned a high place in the world. I love you too, but my time with you has passed. — Garth Nix

I lied," said the Dog cheerily. "That's one of the reasons I'm the Disreputable Dog. Besides, — Garth Nix

Well met, Mistress Lirael. This ragamuffin, as your servant so aptly described him, is His Highness Prince Sameth, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting. Hence the bells. But on to more serious matters. Could you please rescue us? Prince Sameth's personal vessel is not quite what I'm used to, and he is eager to catch me a fish before my morning nap. — Garth Nix

In all my books, I try to have a strong element of realism underlying the fantastic. — Garth Nix

As for you, Private, if you mention a word of this to anyone, I'll feed you to the cat thing here. Understand?"
"Yum," said Mogget.
"Yes, sir!" mumbled the telephone operator, his hands shaking as he tried to smother the burning wreckage of his switchboard with a fire blanket. — Garth Nix

I like to write books that I would have liked as a child, that would have got me thinking and imagining beyond the words on the page. In a way, my audience is always how I remember myself as a child. — Garth Nix

The Nix, she said, was a spirit of the water who flew up and down the coastline looking for children, especially adventurous children out walking alone. When it found one, the Nix would appear to the child as a large white horse. Unsaddled, but friendly and tame. It bowed down as low as a horse was able, so the kid could leap onto it. At — Nathan Hill

They passed it late in the afternoon, their single sail stretched to bursting, clinker-built hull heeling well over, bow slicing up a column of spray that salted mouths, eyes and bodies. — Garth Nix

Or you could be a serial killer who specializes in reading books, then seeking out the authors and murdering them in horrible ways. (If you happen to fall into that last category, you should know that my name isn't really Alcatraz Smedry, nor is it Brandon Sanderson. My name is in fact Garth Nix, and you can find me in Australia. Oh, and I insulted your mother once. What're you going to do about it, huh?) — Brandon Sanderson

Every Clayr is given the gift to See some portent of her death, though not the death itself, for no human could bear that weight. Almost twenty years ago I Saw myself and your little dog, and in time I realized that this was the vision that foretold my final days. — Garth Nix

I think having an open mind about these things is probably the most important thing, because even though I've never had an experience of the supernatural, something I couldn't explain. — Garth Nix

She has never before given herself over to anyone-she'd always parceled herself out little by little. This bit for Samuel, some small part for her father, barely anything for Henry. She'd never put all of herself in just one place. It felt too risky. Because her great and constant fear all these years was that if anyone ever came to know all of her--the real her, the true deep essential Faye--they would not find enough stuff there to love. Hers was not a soul large enough to nourish another. — Nathan Hill

But even if the captain rewrites his own history, how could it affect your reality? I'm from a place you call a fairy tale, and I'm still here."
"But . . . the Vaadi Al-Maas was real once. People believed in it."
"I believe in you. Simple enough, right?" His smile was heartbreaking. — Heidi Heilig

I never knew you had such a fine eye for fabrics," I said as we continued up the street. "You should have been a tailor instead of a thief."
"I have a fine eye for all things, amira, which is why I'm a thief and not a tailor. — Heidi Heilig

Lilah stood above them, tall and beautiful, her white hair whipping in the fresh breeze, her clothes streaked with gore, her hazel eyes glowing with fire.
She turned slowly to Nix and in her ghostly whisper of a voice said, I hate boys. — Jonathan Maberry

More advice. Don't go near the Old One. Do go near the Old One. Don't stay past twelve. Trust the Will. Don't trust the Will. I wish someone would tell me something straightforward for once. — Garth Nix

Once I faced a female with diamond skin," Nix said breathlessly. "I was transfixed - even as she was choking the life out of me."
"Really?"
" No, I saw that character on X men. I just wanted to commiserate. Alas, I have no weaknesses."
"Except your insanity," Lucia pointed out.
sigh. "Well played, Archer. then carry on ... — Kresley Cole

It is taken care of. Nothing will not break into my Pit or the Far Reaches! I cannot speak for the other parts of the House, but we have Nothing well in hand here. I understand Nothing as no one else does!
- Grim Tuesday — Garth Nix

Time plays tricks between here and home, said Mogget sepulchrally, frightening the life out of the telephone operator. — Garth Nix

Just like the Perimeter! It never rains but it pours, declared the Major. — Garth Nix

The truth is for those who seek it! — Gayle Nix Jackson

The most important questions - "What are you? Where did you come from?" - had a whole range of answers, starting with "I'm the Disreputable Dog" and "from elsewhere" and occasionally becoming as eloquent as "I'm your Dog" and "You tell me - it was your spell. — Garth Nix

Clearly the Old One had the capacity to kill - or easily deliver some sort of final ending that sounded remarkably like death. — Garth Nix

Because one thing she's learned through all this is that if a new beginning is really new; it will feel like a crisis. Any real change should make you feel, at first, afraid; — Nathan Hill

Double, treble, quadruple bubble, watch the stock market get into trouble ... — Garth Nix

I just really like writing and making television shows. There are ego rewards in doing battle with other television programs in prime time in the main season. I suppose there are times when I might look at that and think that's the major league. But when you look at it, ultimately would I really want to gamble my livelihood and my ability to connect with my fan base or write a show that I really like writing, or in some cases direct a show that I really like directing, for the sake of winning an ego battle? It's totally not worth it. That stuff is so ephemeral. — Matt Nix

Knowledge, like all things, is best in moderation," intoned the Will. "Knowing everything means you don't need to think, and that is very dangerous. — Garth Nix

When I'm finally worn out, I lay there quietly, taking in the beauty that is this man.
My Nix.
Just as I am his Emily. — Sawyer Bennett

Regin!" He leapt up from a bunk.
"Well, well, the gang's all here." Nix must've given him Regin's whereabouts. Again.
"I'm going to get you out of here," he said, his green eyes aglow.
She snorted. "Let me know how that works out for you, Job MacBangup." Seeing Brandr here just brought her situation into stark relief. "It's curious though
you don't usually show up until it's time to bury him. — Kresley Cole

Is it a lack of faith to be thinking that we're all going to be slain or captured and sunk into the Hot Lake?" asked one of the four chosen archers.
"Yes," snapped the Carp. — Garth Nix

Anything else you want to tell me?" I asked Valek as we stopped a few feet short of the castle's south entrance. "Did Ari and Janco set me up for Nix's attack? Do you have another test of loyalty for me up your sleeve? Maybe the next time, I'll actually fail. A prospect that seems appealing!" I pushed away Valek's supporting arm. "When you warned me that you would test me from time to time, I thought you meant spiking my food. But it seems there is more than one way to poison a person's heart, and it doesn't even require a meal. — Maria V. Snyder

"Nix, I know you're faking the static." She could picture her sister blowing into her fist directly at the receiver. The static abruptly stopped. "Why?"
"It seamed less rude than the alternative."
"What's that?"
Click. — Kresley Cole

It's no secret that most memoirs are really self-help books in disguise. — Nathan Hill

Please," said Lirael ... "I think I would like to work in this Library."
"The Library," repeated Sanar, looking troubled. "That can be dangerous to a girl of fourteen. Or a woman of forty, for that matter. — Garth Nix

Lachlain: 'And you must be the soothsayer - '
Nix: 'I prefer predeterminationally abled, thank you.' Her hand shot out, ripping a button from his shirt, so fast it was a blur. She'd taken the one closest to his heart, and for a moment her face turned very cold. She'd made a point - she could have gone for his heart.
Then she opened her hand and gasped in surprise. 'A button!' She smiled delightedly. 'You can never have enough of these!'
Lachlain: 'How did you find this place?'
Regin: 'A phone tap, satellite imaging, and a psychic,' she said, then immediately frowned. 'How do YOU find places? — Kresley Cole

The most important question a seminary student must answer about his professor is not, 'Is he orthodox?,' but 'Is he honest? — William E. Nix

The Dog was a different matter. She was new, or so old that any book that told of her was long since dust. The creature in the fog thought the latter. — Garth Nix

If you could go anywhere, where would you want to go?"

"Could we find a map of someplace perfect?"

"Like paradise?" I asked, teasing.

"Here? No." He stared upward, the first stars shining in his eyes. "A better place. Someplace where nothing goes wrong. There must be a myth like that somewhere."

I bit my lip; my shoulders fell. "Navigation involves the beliefs of the Navigator and the mapmaker. And I don't think I've ever met anyone who truly believes in a world without suffering. — Heidi Heilig

I have never known what to tell anybody. Except that it is better to do something than nothing, even if the cost is great. — Garth Nix

Devoid of life, it was also devoid of the Dead. — Garth Nix

Choosers will be beggars if the begging's not their choosing. — Garth Nix

The truth is for those that seek it! — Gayle Nix Jackson

But think of how much worse it would be to sit here, not knowing. Until the Dead choke the Ratterlin and Hedge walks across the dry bed of the river to batter down the door. — Garth Nix

Don't look, part of his mind said. If you don't see trouble, it doesn't exist.
But it does, thought Arthur, fighting down the fear. Keep breathing slowly. You have to confront your fears. Deal with them. — Garth Nix

Prepare a crossing party," snapped Horyse. "A single person to cross. Miss Abhorsen, here. And Sergeant, if you or Private Rahise so much as talk in your sleep about what you may have heard here, then you'll be on gravedigging fatigues for the rest of your lives! — Garth Nix

I suppose that now you'll want to sleep with me?Alas big guy I'm taken.'
'No. you're not,'Regin said.
'Am too,' Nix said. 'Mike Rowe, the star of Dirty Jobs, is soon to realize I'm his beloved.' She sighed dreamily. 'He even got his lawyers to contact me on the pretext of a' she made air quotes 'restraining order. — Kresley Cole

Should have told you . . . betrayed . . . the Bile . . . — Garth Nix

I loved publishing; I loved working in the book industry, but I've been writing pretty much nonstop since I was 19. I realized very early on that I would need a day job, and I wanted one that was in books. — Garth Nix

Nix and Emma: 'Looks like you just found a new talent.'
'Great. Why couldn't I be good at underwater origami or something? — Kresley Cole

There is a very big difference between writing for children and writing for young adults. The first thing I would say is that 'Young Adult' does not mean 'Older Children', it really does mean young but adult, and the category should be seen as a subset of adult literature, not of children's books. — Garth Nix

She was no longer a shy Second Assistant Librarian. She was the Abhorsen-in-Waiting. — Garth Nix

Five Great Charters knit the land
Together linked, hand in hand
One in the people who wear the crown
Two in the folk who keep the Dead down
Three and Five became stone and mortar
Four sees all in frozen water. — Garth Nix

They mistrust you because they think you'll be the death of me," Roark said softly. "Tell me, Nix. Will you? — Jae T. Jaggart

*So, you're the small troublemaker who foiled Saturday's Cocigrue," said Lady Friday. Leaf, a friend of the so-called Rightful Heir , this Arthur Penhaligon. How kind of you to visit. — Garth Nix

Are you . . . are you the athask? The great one?" "Maybe," said Mogget. "I can't remember." "Mogget, — Garth Nix

In the expectant quiet, there were only the usual sounds of the night. Wind in the big trees out past the school wall, starting to rise as the sky darkened, Crickets beginning to chirp. Then Sabriel heard it
the massed grinding of Dead joints, no longer joined by gristle; the padding of Dead feet, bones like hobnails clicking through necrotic flesh. — Garth Nix

They won the war but lost the peace, — Jonathan Maberry

Nix: We're not leaving without her. So unless you want permanent houseguests of the destructive sort, just hand her over. — Kresley Cole

If only Sam could have stayed just like the Dog, she thought. A comforting friend without the complication of romantic interest.There had to be something she could do to completely discourage him, short of throwing up, or making herself totally unattractive.
"I'm thirty-five," she said at last. — Garth Nix

One of the things that I have always been interested in is the actual experience of people in their lives as opposed to what we think their experience should be. — Matt Nix

The funny thing for me is, I have never lived in a network world. — Matt Nix

Unhand my tail!" squealed the Will. — Garth Nix

Keys to the Kingdom Mister Monday Garth Nix BOOK ONE — Garth Nix

Nix had told Emma before she'd left for Europe that on this trip she would 'do that which you were born to do.' Apparently, Emma was born to get kidnapped by a deranged Lykae. Her fate sucked. — Kresley Cole

I can understand the natural anxiety of readers when waiting for another installment of a favourite series, but I think it is much more important to get a book right than it is to have it appear on time. — Garth Nix

your librarians go into battle?" "When they must," said Lirael. "The Library is very old, and deep, and contains many things that have been put away for good reason. Creatures, dangerous knowledge, artifacts made not wisely, but too well . . . books that should not be opened without proper preparation, some books that should never be opened at all." "Creatures? — Garth Nix

Touchstone watched, suddenly conscious that he probably only had five seconds left to be alone with Sabriel, to say something, to say anything. Perhaps the last five seconds they ever would have alone together.
I am not afraid, he said to himself.
"I love you," he whispered. "I hope you don't mind. — Garth Nix

Yep, said Arthur. Somehow yep seemed the most positive thing he could say. Stronger than yeah and more heroic than yes. He hoped he could live up to it. — Garth Nix

Lirael almost apologized, but she held it back. She did feel sorry for Nick. It wasn't his fault he had been chosen by an ancient spirit of evil to be its avatar. She even felt sort of maternal to him. He needed to be tucked in bed and fed willow-bark tea. That thought led to the idle speculation of what he might look like if he were well. He could be quite handsome, Lirael thought, and then instantly banished the notion. He might be an unwitting enemy, but he was still an enemy. — Garth Nix

Sam picked up his pack, but before he could put it on, Mogget leaped onto it and slid under the top flap. All that could be seen of him were his green eyes and one white-furred ear.
"Remember I advised against this way," he instructed. "Wake me when whatever terrible thing is a about to happen happens, or if it appears I might get wet. — Garth Nix

You two. You can do a cleaning spell."
One slurred, "But Nixie, I'm really pre-hung-over."
Nix's eyes went wide. "Do it, or the photos go live!"
The witch shook her fist to the sky, crying, "Damn you, Valkyrie! Damn you and your digital ways! — Kresley Cole

The idea of the writer/producer in television is much younger than people think it is. — Matt Nix

Nix to Regin: What about that nice leopard-shifter pack that wanted to date you? The benefits of a variety pack of males cannot be overstated. — Kresley Cole

I hope you find some stories here that you will enjoy, or wonder about, or that linger uncomfortably in the mind when you wish they didn't. — Garth Nix

I suppose you could call me ... Soot," said the thing. "Yes ... Soot. I have breathed it, lived in it, and eaten it for so long that it is a fitting name."
"Eaten it?" asked Suzy. "Why eat soot?"
"Boredom," said Soot. — Garth Nix

Arms around me in the dark. Lips against mine in the sunlight. Do you know why I love you?
He knew me. And loved me. And he had never asked me for anything. Even Shade wanted me to
die for him. Maybe I shouldn't forgive a monster just because he loved me that way - but
But loving me that way made him a monster. My doom was the price of saving Arcadia, and only
a monster would care more about me than saving thousands upon thousands of innocents. Shade was
the last prince; of course if he could save only one, he would choose Arcadia. I would do the same. — Rosamund Hodge