Kenneth Oppel Quotes

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

Yes' is a very powerful word. It's like opening a door. It's like fanning a flame. It's the most powerful word in the world. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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

I couldn't imagine such men at rest, their faces smooth and innocent despite the wickedness of their hearts. ~ Kenneth Oppel

Flying into a storm, even its outer edges, did not seem like a good idea to me. And this was no ordinary tempest. Everyone on the bridge knew what it was: the Devil's Fist, a near-eternal typhoon that migrated about the North Indian basin year-round. She was infamous, and earned her name by striking airships out of the sky. ~ Kenneth Oppel

None of us gets to choose how we're born, it's what we make of ourselves afterwards. ~ Kenneth Oppel

You two were in a cave together?' said Miss Simpkins in horror.
'Yes,' said Kate, 'and it was very, very dark. ~ Kenneth Oppel

I'm glad being shipwrecked appeals to you."
"Captain Walken made a point of avoiding that word."
"Well, he was trying to keep everyone jolly, wasn't he. It's no good having everyone running around screaming and eating each other."
"I wouldn't run around screaming," she said. "I can see eating someone in a pinch, though. If it really came down to it, I mean."
"I don't doubt it."
"Come on, Matt Cruse, don't you find it just a bit exciting, being here?"
"No."
She looked at me as if I'd suggested we stop breathing for a few hours. ~ Kenneth Oppel

Never climb a tree in a long dress," Kate panted, coming up behind me.
"I'll remember that," I said. ~ Kenneth Oppel

'I really don't see what all the fuss is about, Sir Hugh,' said Kate with a polite smile. 'As a man of science you should know that urine is sterile. It's only when it's left to stand that it accumulates bacteria. So, if I were you, Sir Hugh, I'd eat my soup quickly.' ~ Kenneth Oppel

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

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, ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

I prefer the word aviatrix. It has more zing to it."
"It's very zingy," I agreed. ~ Kenneth Oppel

We used to flock to watch gladiators, public torture and executions. In more recent times, our appetite for mortal violence has been sublimated in sports, photorealistic video games, film and literature. ~ Kenneth Oppel

'What have you done?' I whispered.
She swallowed, and the guilt in her eyes was extinguished by a flare of defiance.
'This,' she said, 'is my ticket to outer space.' ~ Kenneth Oppel

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

Realistically, the chance of any book becoming a film is slim. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

I think good art should always be entertaining, or at least give pleasure of some sort. And my chief goal as a writer has always been to tell a good story and give my readers a good time. ~ Kenneth Oppel

You flatter me shamelessly. I like it. Good. ~ Kenneth Oppel

The noise kept up and did not stop. My head rang. I saw Shepherd take the chewing gum from his mouth, break it into two, and stick it in both ears. He kept working. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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

The preface? Why would he waste time with the preface? Skip the preface and move on to the meat of the thing! ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

The world should have been in Technicolour, but seemed more like black and white. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

The baby was warm against my chest. I knew I was broken too. I wasn't like other people. I was scared and weird and anxious and sad lots of the time, and I didn't know why. My parents thought I was abnormal, I was pretty sure. They said I wasn't, but you don't get sent to a therapist if you're normal.
Sometimes we really aren't supposed to be the way we are. It's not good for us. And people don't like it. You've got to change. You've got to try harder and do deep breathing and maybe one day take pills and learn tricks so you can pretend to be more like other people. Normal people. But maybe Vanessa was right, and all those other people were broken too in their own ways. Maybe we all spent too much time pretending we weren't. ~ Kenneth Oppel

The more I worked on 'Half Brother,' the more it seemed to me the story was really about love in all its possible forms - how and why we decide to bestow it, or withdraw it; how we decide what is more worthy of being loved, and what is less. We are masters of conditional love. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

It's somewhat disquieting that the same parents and educators who are horrified by the notion of child soldiers have bestowed upon 'The Hunger Games' a double mantle of critical praise and global bestsellerdom. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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) ~ Kenneth Oppel

Madame, may I see your dog's chit, please, ~ Kenneth Oppel

One of the reasons I wrote 'Airborn' was that I'd fallen in love with the great passenger airships which flew in the '20s and '30s. Their time was short-lived. They were frail, they tended to crash; and they could never be as fast, safe and efficient as the airplanes that replaced them. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ 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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

They're having a liaison!' the woman in the big hat said to her friend. 'They've found love in a jail cell ... '
'There's no liaison!' I said angrily. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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

There's fancy math to explain all this, of course. ( ... ) But when you saw the Aurora, saw her floating and rising, you forget all about the match and just stared. ~ Kenneth Oppel

I tried to lure sleep to me, but she slowly shook her raven tresses and would not come back. ~ Kenneth Oppel

A feeling is not a fact. ~ Kenneth Oppel

You see, when medicine works, it is blessed science, and when it fails, it is witchcraft. - Polidori ~ Kenneth Oppel

The world of 'The Hunger Games' is a paranoid survivalist's dream. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

His speech failed to rouse an enthusiastic cheer, but no one dared contradict him. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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

It was as though, in one moment, he had become a stranger. And I a stranger to myself. ~ Kenneth Oppel

I give you my wings. ~ Kenneth Oppel

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

The sky pulsed with stars. Some people say it makes them lonesome when they stare up at the night sky. I can't imagine why. There's no shortage of company. By now there's not a constellation I can't name. Orion. Lupus. Serpens. Hercules. Draco. My father taught me all of their stories. So when I look up I see a galaxy of adventures and heroes and villains, all jostling together and trying to outdo one another, and I sometimes want to tell them to hush up and not distract me with their chatter. I've glimpsed all the stars ever discovered by astronomers, and plenty that haven't been. ~ Kenneth Oppel

A masterpiece of vagueness. ~ Kenneth Oppel

Tentane Mutual's policy was not to consider any loan modification unless the borrower was delinquent in their payments. I told Mr. Marsh at the time that it may be easier for him to qualify for a loan modification than a refinance, because the qualification criteria was relaxed. But it was his decision." "But you didn't tell Mr. Marsh at that time that falling ~ Kenneth Eade

Nothing is more portable than rich people and their money ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

The truth is worth pursuing at any distance. ~ Kenneth Eade

Politicians are crooks! ~ Kenneth Eade

The boat struck the bank full tilt. The dreamer, the joyous oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air. ~ Kenneth Grahame

It rains because I refuse to cry... ~ Kenneth G. Ortiz

We have 45,000 square miles of geography in Ohio. ~ Kenneth Blackwell

Westerners have aggressive problem-solving minds; Africans experience people. ~ Kenneth Kaunda

Only men of considerable vanity write books; consistently therewith, I worried lest the world were exchanging an irreplaceable author for a more easily purchased diplomat. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

Never pay attention to any price-weighted index. ~ Kenneth L. Fisher

Everyone of us has her/his own niche in life. There are lot of people I look up to, they inspire me and they will always influence my life. Here are some of those inspirational figures and their niches:
. Kenneth Hagin- A man of faith
. Myles Munroe- A man of Kingdom of God
. Mike Murdock- A man of wisdom
. Casey Treat- A man that has a heart for orphans
. Oscar Nkosi- A grounded teacher of God's word
. Matthew Ashimolowo- A man who raises champions
. John Maxwell- A man of leadership
. Reinhard Bonnke- A man of winning souls
. Mark Chironna- A man that delivers the fresh word from above. ~ Euginia Herlihy

You need three things in the theatre - the play, the actors and the audience, and each must give something. ~ Kenneth Haigh

Every question selects a field of battle. ~ Kenneth Burke

By the end of the 1970s Britain was in a mess. ~ Kenneth Baker

There is some mysterious thing that goes on whereby, in the process of playing Shakespeare continuously, actors are surprised by the way the language actually acts on them. ~ Kenneth Branagh

In the market economy the price that is offered is counted upon to produce the result that is sought. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

Even the word depression itself was the terminological product of an effort to soften the connotation of deep trouble. In the last century, the term crisis was normally employed. With time, however, this acquired the connotation of the misfortune it described. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

I've always loved pure, silly slapstick comedy. It always makes me laugh. ~ Kenneth Branagh

People can't live on $7.50 an hour. ~ Kenneth Langone

An alibi is only as good as its details. ~ Kenneth Eade

We are all alone in this world; even in a crowd. ~ Kenneth Eade

The happiest time of anyone's life is just after the first divorce. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

The one who comes to question himself cares for mankind. ~ Kenneth Patchen

Ruthless, greedy, tyrannical, disreputable ... they have had one principle worth all the rest, the principle of delight! ~ Kenneth Clark

Most of the low latticed windows were innocent of blinds, and to the lookers-in from outside, the inmates, gathered round the tea-table, absorbed in handiwork, or talking with laughter or gesture, had each that happy grace which is the last thing the skilled actor shall capture – the natural grace which goes with perfect unconsciousness of observation. Moving at will from one theater to another, the two spectators, so far from home themselves, had something of wistfulness in their eyes... ~ Kenneth Grahame

One musn't overrate the culture of what used to be called "top people" before the wars. They had charming manners, but they were as ignorant as swans. ~ Kenneth Clark

In the intelligence community, a rumor was almost as good as a confirmation. ~ Kenneth Eade

It seemed a place where heroes could fitly feast after victory, where weary harvesters could line up in scores along the table and keep their Harvest Home with mirth and song, or where two or three friends of simple tastes could sit about as they pleased and eat and smoke and talk in comfort and contentment. ~ Kenneth Grahame

I choose to be inspired by things that have been done well in the past. So, I don't worry about being compared, because I think that does paralyze you. ~ Kenneth Branagh

(Sunday, 20 March 1988)
Oh! to be out of it for ever! To cease upon the midnight with no pain. Why do I linger? Not from love of life, I've always found it awful... no, it's rather from a sense of curiosity... not wanting to miss the third act. ~ Kenneth Williams

It was perhaps the most conceited song that any animal ever composed. 'The world has held great Heroes, ~ Kenneth Grahame

I met David Smith through my former wife, Cornelia, who'd studied with him. ~ Kenneth Noland

I don't need a job. I don't want an appointment. I don't want to be on a commission. I don't want to be ambassador to nowhere. ~ Kenneth Langone

According to the experience of all but the most accomplished jugglers, it is easier to keep one ball in the air than many. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

For all the cynicism that the world contains, people are a little more open to those things that maybe are to do with returning you to some kind of simpler, happier state. ~ Kenneth Branagh

As time goes on, I realize more and more that, beginning in the early 30's, David Smith began setting the precedent for what was to come later for many of us. ~ Kenneth Noland

In the usual (though certainly not in every) public decision on economic policy, the choice is between courses that are almost equally good or equally bad. It is the narrowest decisions that are most ardently debated. If the world is lucky enough to enjoy peace, it may even one day make the discovery, to the horror of doctrinaire free-enterprisers and doctrinaire planners alike, that what is called capitalism and what is called socialism are both capable of working quite well. ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

At certain epochs, man has felt conscious of something about himself - body and spirit - which was outside the day-to-day struggle for existence and the night-to-night struggle with fear; and he has felt the need to develop these qualities of thought and feeling so that they might approach as nearly as possible to an ideal of perfection - reason, justice, physical beauty, all of them in equilibrium. He has managed to satisfy this need in various ways - through myths, through dance and song, through systems of philosophy and through the order that he has imposed upon the visible world. ~ Kenneth Clark

In midmost of the stream, embraced in the weir's shimmering arm-spread, a small island lay anchored, fringed close with willow and silver birch and alder. Reserved, shy, but full of significance, it hid whatever it might hold behind a veil, keeping it till the hour should come, and, with the hour, those who were called and chosen. ~ Kenneth Grahame

She kissed me on the cheek, and my mom sang Theresa's name from the open front door. She loves Theresa. I think she loves me more when I'm with her. ~ Kenneth Logan

If you'll simply step out and do what He's called you to do - whether it's to proclaim His Word, or to assist others through the ministry of helps - you'll find yourself walking into the blessings of God and a greater fulfillment in your life than you ever dreamed possible. ~ Kenneth E. Hagin