Quotes by Jim Butcher

In the void, there is no distinction of east and west.Gwen blinked slightly at that. I know all of those words, and yet when strung together like that I have no idea what they mean.

When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family.

There’s nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy. Or more exasperated. Or more . . . secure.

I wish I worried about my uncles opinions, and had problems to work out with my mom. Hell, Id settle for knowing what her voice sounded like. I put a hand on her shoulder. Trite but true—you dont know what you have until its gone. People change. The world changes. And sooner or later you lose people you care about. If you dont mind some advice from someone who doesnt know much about families, I can tell you this: Dont take yours for granted. It might feel like all of them will always be there. But they wont.

All power is the same. Magic. Physical strength. Economic strength. Political strength. It all serves a single purpose-it gives its possessor a broader spectrum of choices. It creates alternative courses of action.

But… all I said was that I was scared. After what you got to experience? Thats smart, kid, I said. Im scared, too. Every time something like this happens, it scares me. But being strong doesnt get you through. Being smart does. Ive beaten people and things who were stronger than I was, because they didnt use their heads, or because I used what I had better than they did. It isnt about muscle, kiddo, magical or otherwise. Its about your attitude. About your mind. She nodded slowly and said, About doing things for the right reasons. You dont throw down like this just because youre strong enough to do it, I said. You do it because you dont have much choice. You do it because its unacceptable to walk away, and still live with yourself later. She stared at me for a second, and then her eyes widened. Otherwise, youre using power for the sake of using power. I nodded. And power tends to corrupt. It isnt hard to love using it, Molly. Youve got to go in with the right attitude or… Or the power starts using you, she said. Shed heard the argument before, but this was the first time she said the words slowly, thoughtfully, as if shed actually understood them, instead of just parroting them back to me. Then she looked up. Thats why you do it. Why you help people. Youre using the power for someone other than yourself.

I hate what you represent.... Power without conviction. Isana replied, her tone lifeless, matter of fact. Ambition without conscience. Decent folk suffer at the hands of those like you.

The Shroud was old, and regarded as special, and people believed in it. That could be enough to give it a kind of power, all by itself.

Like “love,” “hope” is one of those ridiculously disproportional words that by all rights should be a lot longer.

Molly was arrested. Possession.” I blinked at him. “She was possessed?

HARRY DRESDEN—WIZARD Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment

Theres no way to know whats going to happen, Folly. But well blood well be on our feet when it does.

Anger is just anger. It isnt good. It isnt bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters. Its like anything else. You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice.Constructive anger, the demon said, her voice dripping sarcasm. Also known as passion, I said quietly. Passion has overthrown tyrants and freed prisoners and slaves. Passion has brought justice where there was savagery. Passion has created freedom where there was nothing but fear. Passion has helped souls rise from the ashes of their horrible lives and build something better, stronger, more beautiful.

Give me passion -- and compassion -- any day.

There is but one reality, that is true -- but the two of you experience it in slightly different ways. The older you get, I should think, the more you will come to understand that the universe is very much a looking glass, Miss Lancaster.

You beg fate to make your fears into reality, Aleran. But for the moment, they are only fears. They may come. If so, then face them and overcome them. Until then, pay them no mind. You have enough to think on.

Revenge is like sex, Mister Dresden. Its best when it comes on slow, quiet, until it all seems inexorable.

Epic sex? I sputtered. By what standards, precisely, is sex judged to be epic?And tons and tons of mortal simps like you used as pawns. Bob sighed happily, ignoring my question. There are no words. It was like the Lord of the Rings and All My Children made a baby with the Macho Man Randy Savage and a Whac-A-Mole machine.

Children have their own kind of power. When youre teaching them, protecting them, you are more than you thought you could be. More understanding, more patient, more capable, more wise.

It gets kind of zen after awhile, life is a journey, time is a river, the door is ajar.