“To the attention of the New Fiddleham Police Department: You've got my middle-C, and I would like it back. ... Please return Jackaby's tuning fork. He's getting even more obnoxious than usual.” — William Ritter Copy Share Image
“It looked like precisely the sort of place where a living body might go if it wanted to become a dead one.” — William Ritter Copy Share Image
“It wasn’t that I did not believe in ghosts; it was that I believed in them in the same noncommittal way that I believed… — William Ritter Copy Share Image
“The real powers at play never take center stage. Don't follow the marionette, follow the strings.” — William Ritter Copy Share Image
“I never found a book that did not have at least a little magic in it” — William Ritter Copy Share Image
“He might not have both oars in the water, but his course is sound.” — William Ritter Copy Share Image
“The most frightening monsters are monsters’ mothers. Just ask Beowulf.” — William Ritter Copy Share Image
“Hell of a sight. She let out a scream and just fell to pieces. Can't say I blame her. Like I said, this sort of thing is not for the female temperament." He directed that last sentiment at me, making eye contact for the first time. "I dare say you're right, sir," I conceded, meeting his gaze. "Out of curiosity,… — William Ritter Copy Share
“The man had no portraits or photographs, but he had slowly surrounded himself with mementos of a fantastic past. Each little item, by the sheer nature of its being, told a story. Looking around was a little like being back on the dig, or like deciphering an ancient text, and I wondered what stories they would tell me if I… — William Ritter Copy Share
“Those things aren't magical." "Of course they're magical! Argh! You infuriating man! If a unicorn came and sat in the corner of your office every day, then by the end of the year you'd be hanging your coat on its horn. There is magic in your life! Not appreciating it does not make it any less magical. Yes, some of… — William Ritter Copy Share
“Wood nymphs,” said Jackaby. “Not a real cheery lot, them,” observed Hudson. “In retrospect, a library is a rather somber locale for their kind. A bit like housing a man in a graveyard. Well, a bit like housing a man in a graveyard in which his people’s bones have been mashed to a pulp and reconstituted into slim sheets, onto… — William Ritter Copy Share
“Do you really think he'll still help you if you murder me?" I said, horrified. Pavel snorted. "Do you really think he'll let the… — William Ritter Copy Share Image
