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1 " It is not in the entrails of doves that the fall of empires can be read, but in the breeding of secrets and the multiplication of lies. "
― Rod Duncan , Unseemly Science (The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire #2)
2 " Revolution was never sparked by political philosophy. It has ever been the price of bread that shakes the pillars of the world. Yet they lock up the thinkers and leave the bakers free. "
3 " There was once a line marked out by God, through which were divided Heaven and Hell. And thus was chaos banished from the world. The Devil created lawyers to make amends. They argued the thickness of the line until there was room enough within it for all the sins of men to fit. And all the sins of women too. – The Bullet Catcher’s Handbook "
― Rod Duncan , The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter (Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #1)
4 " the wealthy seem remarkably honest, for they are seldom found guilty of any crime. "
5 " There is no more complete and satisfying way for a man to disappear than for him to have never existed. "
6 " When shame and wealth combine, money is always spent. "
7 " What is a chameleon’s colour, when all pretence is stripped away? "
8 " For good or ill, knowledge has ever threatened the settled order. A keg of gunpowder may make matchwood of a sturdy house. But a book can set the world on fire. "
9 " To solve a mystery you must ask the right question. To keep a mystery you must have them ask the wrong one. "
― Rod Duncan , The Custodian of Marvels (Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #3)
10 " It was to dispel the smog of superstition and prejudice that we pulled the churches down. Now that work is done, let us build libraries in their stead. "
11 " Men fancy that they recognise a woman by dress, figure and face but it is more through movement that gender is revealed. "
12 " There are two powers in every secret: that others do not know it and that others may be told. "
13 " Applause is the reward of the bullet-catcher. But the con artist will be far away by the time his trick is seen. "
14 " If the catcher of the bullet chooses the moment, it is called conjuring. If the shooter chooses the moment, it is called murder. Never let them rush you ahead of your plan. "
15 " Magic has ever lived in the gap between what we believe should be and what our senses tell us. "
16 " The boy didn’t ask further. Simple acceptance of the marvellous was one of his many gifts. "
17 " constables, I would be able to watch as he led them "
18 " Take off the disguise and another is revealed beneath. Regard well the many people you must be. There is no innermost layer. "
19 " As the mind expects, so will the eye perceive. This is the human condition. This is the conjurer’s friend. "
20 " There is no lie but what they discover. There is no truth but what you can make them believe. "
