174 Quotes by Frances Hardinge

If wits were pins, the man would be a veritable hedgehog.

Silence itself could be used as deftly and cruelly as a kire.

She knew that if you wanted somebody to believe something, there was no point forcing it down their throat. Far better to give them a hint, a glimpse, a taste, then snatch it away from them. The faster you ran, the more they would give chase, and the more likely to believe the hard-won information when they caught it.

Revenge is a dish best served unexpectedly and from a distance – like a thrown trifle.

Magic” was not an answer; it was an excuse to avoid looking for one.

There was an invisible necklace of nows, stretching out in front of her along the crazy, twisting road, each bead a golden second.

Lies like knives, lies like poultices. The tiger’s stripe, the fawn’s dusky dapple. And everywhere, everywhere, the lie that people told themselves. Dreams like cut flowers, with no nourishing root. Will-o’-the-wisp lights to make them feel less alone in the dark. Hollow resolutions and empty excuses.

We thought ourselves kings of the ages. Now we find that all our civilisation has been nothing but a brief, brightly lit nursery, where we have played with paper crowns and wooden sceptres.

Human fear has a terrible power. It changes everything, distorts everything, maddens everything. Fear is the dark womb where monsters are born and thrive.