Hippo in a skirt: this was a comic reference to one of Solomon's principal wives, the one from Moab. Childish? Yes. But in the days before printing we had limited opportunities for satire.

And then, as if written by the hand of a bad novelist, an incredible thing happened.

That's usually how they start, the young ones. Meaningless waffle.

Then again, Solomon was human. And that meant he was flawed (Go on, take a look at yourself in the mirror. A good long look, if you can bear it. See? Flawed's putting it mildly, isn't it?)

One magician demanded I show him an image of the love of his life. I rustled up a mirror.

That's usuаllу hоw thеу start, thе young оnеs. Meaningless waffle.

The Amulet of Samarkand. It was Simon Lovelace's. Now it is yours. Soon it will be Simon Lovelace's again. Take it and enjoy the consequences.

Can you define "plan" as "a loose sequence of manifestly inadequate observations and conjectures, held together by panic, indecision, and ignorance"? If so, it was a very good plan.

That's a gesture of endearment in some cultures. Some hug, some kiss, some set each other on fire in small patches of woodland

When I write something that would have made me laugh as a 10-year-old, or would have scared me or would have excited me, I know I'm onto something.

Haven't you done enough for a lifetime? Think about it - two power - crazed magicians killed, a hundred power - crazed magicians saved.

When we disrespect a person, we disrespect God

I hope we can inaugurate a new humility in our use of religious language, which for me is the very proof that it is authentic.

Any thought that you don’t control has the power to become toxic.

A man dies and his skin loses heat like the sand on a summer evening. It makes you feel like warming him up.

Baseball has all the money.

A basic rule of baking is that, in general, it's almost impossible to make an inedible batch of brownies.

Our opinion of people depends less upon what we see in them, than upon what they make us see in ourselves

Have you any idea of what you’ve unleashed? (Hades) Cruelty, pestilence, wrath, violence, ultimate suffering…what other gifts did the gods bestow on him?

A leader must have knowledge. A leader must be able to teach.