Ben Aaronovitch

Questions would be asked. Answers would be ignored.

— Ben Aaronovitch

What do you think you're doing?

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Class-war evil supernatural black fungus. I love it.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

This is your brain on magic.

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Fuck me,' I said to Toby. 'We're living in Isengard.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Fuck me, I thought. I can do magic.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

It's a sad fact of modern life that if you drive long enough, sooner or later you must leave London behind.

— Ben Aaronovitch

My dad was a fairy," said Zach. "And by that I don't mean he dressed well and enjoyed musical theatre.

— Ben Aaronovitch

“I did feel a 'something', like a catch in the silence at the moment of creation.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

I gave the prescribed Metropolitan Police "first greeting". "Oi!" I said "What do you think you're doing?

— Ben Aaronovitch

“ Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards , I thought. For they are soggy and hard to light. ”

— Ben Aaronovitch

In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold.

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Keep breathing,’ I said. ‘It’s a habit you don’t want to break.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Dr Walid walked me past the security at reception and introduced me to today's dead body.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

“THE TROUBLE with the old boy network is you can never be really sure whether it’s switched on or not and whether…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Could it have been anyone, or was it destiny? When I'm considering this I find it helpful to quote the wisdom of…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Abigail stared suspiciously at Lesley. "Why are you wearing a mask?" she asked. "Because my face fell off," said Lesley. Abigail considered…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“He was transparent, the way holograms in films are transparent.Three dimensional, definitely really there and fucking...transparent.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Kumar and I ended up stuffing tissue paper up our nostrils, but agreed that if we had to come down again more…

— Ben Aaronovitch

For a terrifying moment I thought he was going to hug me, but fortunately we both remembered we were English just in…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Zap,’ I said. ‘That’s the technical term for it, is it? What do you call someone who’s been zapped?’ ‘Mr. Crispy,’ said…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“There's more to life than just London," said Nightingale. "People keep saying that," I said. "But I've never actually seen any proof.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

Being a seasoned Londoner, Martin gave the body the "London once-over" - a quick glance to determine whether this was a drunk,…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“As I stepped onto the gloomy landing a word formed in my mind: two syllables, starts with a V and rhymes with…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“There was also a great absence of people, including behind the mahogany-topped reception desk. Now, there’s a time when an unlocked premises…

— Ben Aaronovitch

The media are doing this, not because they have a sinister motive, but because they love to feel that they are influencing…

— Ben Aaronovitch

My dad once told me that the secret to a happy life was never to start something with a girl unless you…

— Ben Aaronovitch

Carved above the lintel were the words SCIENTIA POTESTAS EST. Science points east, I wondered? Science is portentous, yes? Science protests too…

— Ben Aaronovitch

Actually I'd always thought he sat in the library with a slim volume of metaphysical poetry until the commissioner called him on…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“It’s a truism in policing that witnesses and statements are fine, but nothing beats empirical physical evidence. Actually it isn’t a truism…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“The principal advantages of living in your station’s section house is that it is cheap, close to work and it’s not your…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“This is a speech we've all heard before. From the con artists who aren't like the burglars, who aren't like the armed…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“The media response to unusual weather is as ritualized and predictable as the stages of grief. First comes denial: "I can't believe…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Murder investigations start with the victim, because usually in the first instance that's all you've got. The study of the victim is…

— Ben Aaronovitch

The general public have a warped view of the speed at which an investigation proceeds. They like to imagine tense conversations going…

— Ben Aaronovitch

What's the biggest thing you've zapped with a fireball?' I asked. 'That would be a tiger,'said Nightingale. 'Well don't tell Greenpeace,' I…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Right from the start Abigail used to moan and fidget as her hair was relaxed or braided or thermally reconditioned, but her…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“The problem with the so-called bloody surveillance state is that it’s hard work trying to track someone’s movements using CCTV – especially…

— Ben Aaronovitch

...good-Samaritanism in London is considered an extreme sport - like base-jumping or crocodile-wrestling.

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Don’t get me wrong, I like the countryside. In fact, some of my best friends are geographical features.”

— Ben Aaronovitch