“Never underestimate the ridiculous things that have been done in the name of religious-semantic obscurity.”

“Curiosity may have killed the cat, but paranoia was what tied it up in a sack and buried it in wet concrete.”

“There was almost a flicker of humanity in the man. The kind of human who pulled wings off flies as a kid, but still human.”

“Whatever happened next, good or bad, it would be wonderful finding out.”

“Men don't ask other men if they're getting home OK, they just assume that beneath the frail, weak exterior lurks a muscle-building kung fu master fearless of ever being mugged.”

“When last I checked, you were a sorcerer, not a Jedi.""You've seen Star Wars?""Seen it and denounced it.""You've denounced Star Wars?"She looked me straight in the eye and said, "Hollywood should not glorify witches.""I think you've missed the point...""I also denounce Harry Potter.""Really?""Yes.""Because...""...because literature, especially children's literature, should not glorify witches.""Oda, what do you do for fun?"She thought about it, then said, without a jot of humor, "I denounce things.”

“Make me a shadow on the wall!”

“...for life is magic, magic is life, the left-over life we don't even notice we're living.”

“Make me a shadow on the wall.”

“A small child being dragged to bed peered curiously at me as it passed, then waved. We waved back, not being entirely sure how else to respond to small creatures like that.”

“You know how it is -- you get older, you get wiser, you start to ask yourself 'is it any use being able to summon creatures of the nether deeps when I could be watching BBC 4?”