Steven Gould > Quotes

“Great,' I said. 'Visit exotic Australia. Get bitten by an exotic snake. Die exotically.”
― Steven Gould, Jumpers

“There is an abandonment, an escape, that physical labor bestows.”
― Steven Gould, Jumper

“Anywhere, anytime.”
― Steven Gould, Jumper

“What did you—" He swallowed. His voice was raspy. "What did you do to him?"
"Sightseeing. Your turn."
He shivered. "No, that's all right.”
― Steven Gould, Jumper

“Back in the Aerie she popped her lips percussively as she examined her booty. 'P-ilfering P-adgett's P-ockets Pr-oduces P-ossible P-ath to... to—' Well, clues and shit.”
― Steven Gould, Reflex

“Steering is for people who know where they're going.”
― Steven Gould, Wildside

“Why is it easier to get men to go to war than to see a counselor?”
― Steven Gould, Jumper

“A hungry man thinks only about how he can feed his family today. He doesn't care that how he feeds them today destroys his children's tomorrow.”
― Steven Gould, Wildside

“She brought the tea into the living room on a lacquered tray. The pot and cups were Japanese with unglazed rims. She poured.
"Thanks," I said.
"Well?"
"Huh?"
"Your family," she reminded.
I sipped the tea. "This is really good. Really delicious."
She raised her eyebrows. "That's what I thought. You're a good listener, Davy, and you can change the subject on a dime. You've hardly talked about yourself at all."
"I talk... too much."
"You talk about books, you talk about plays, you talk about movies, you talk about places, you talk about food, you talk about current events. You don't talk about yourself."
I opened my mouth, then shut it again. I hadn't really thought about it. Sure, I didn't talk 
about the jumping, but the rest? "Well, there's not much to say. Not like those stories of growing up with four brothers."
She smiled. "It's not going to work. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But I'm not going to be distracted again, nor fooled into talking about those idiots again."
She poured more tea into my cup.
I frowned. "Do I really do that?"
"What? Not talk about yourself? Yes."
"No, try and distract you."
She stared at me. "You are fucking amazing. I've never seen someone so good at changing the subject."
"I don't do it on purpose."
She laughed. ”
― Steven Gould

“I'd thought about this for a long time. "That bank loses that much money in bad loans every 
month. They make that much money in interest every day. They're a big bank. The money I 
took was small change to them. No depositor was hurt."
She shook her head. "I still can't approve of it. I don't think it's right."
I felt my face go remote, still. I crossed my arms and felt cold.
She spread her hands. "It doesn't change the fact that I still love you. I've missed you terribly. 
I've missed your phone calls, and I've missed your body in bed next to me. I don't know what 
to do about this. My loving you goes way beyond my disapproval of your theft."
I uncrossed my arms and reached across the table for her. She leaned forward and we kissed 
until the candle burned a hole in my shirt. Then we laughed and I held an ice cube to the 
burn and the food came and everything was all right.”
― Steven Gould

“That was you?”
“Well, it wasn’t Sailor Moon.”
― Steven Gould

“Matar slowly approached the coffee and picked it up carefully, like it might bite him. He 
removed the lid and sniffed.
"It's not poisoned," I said.
"What are you? You conjure things from nowhere."
"Perhaps I'm an afrit, a genie. Perhaps I'm an angel."
Cox watched this exchange with interest. "Perhaps you are Shaitan," said Matar.
I raised my eyebrows and Cox obligingly said, "Satan."
I smiled a smile that didn't touch my eyes. The blood drained from Matar's face. "Perhaps," I 
said. "Welcome to hell.”
― Steven Gould

“I'd let her sell it to Dad. They tended not to contradict each other so if one of them had already said "yes" it usually meant "yes." If one of them said "no", ditto--which was why I'd asked Mom first.”
― Steven Gould, Impulse

“I told her about my revenge on Topper the attempted rapist and the guy at the transient's hotel in 
Brooklyn, and, finally, I told her about stealing the money.
"You did what?" She sat straight up in her chair, her eyes wide, her mouth open.
"Shhh."
Other diners were staring at us, frozen in silent tableau, some with forks or spoons halfway 
to mouth.
Millie was blinking her eyes rapidly. Much quieter, she said, "You robbed a bank?"
"Shhh." My ears were burning. "Don't make a scene."
"Don't shush me! I didn't rob a bank." Fortunately she whispered it.
The waiter walked up then and took our drink order. Millie ordered a vodka martini. I asked 
for a glass of white wine. I didn't know if it would help, but I figured it couldn't hurt.
"A million dollars?" she said, after the waiter left.
"Well, almost."
"How much of it is left?"
"Why?"
She blushed. "Curiosity. I must look like a proper little gold digger."
"About eight hundred thousand."
"Dollars!" The man at the next table spilled his water.
"Christ, Millie. You want me to leave you here? You're fifteen hundred miles away from 
home you know.”
― Steven Gould

“Davy,
Didn't you realize that the only thing I wanted from Mark was his version of the night you, 
well, removed him from the party? I know Mark is a sleaze. I'm not involved with him in any 
way, but when you vanished from in front of me, what was I to think?
I don't know if you're even human. For all I knew you fly around in a flying saucer kidnapping 
humans left and right. If this sort of jumping to conclusions bothers you, think how much 
alternative explanation you offered.
I know you're hurt, and I guess you were hurt even more when you thought I was getting 
involved with Mark again. But, dammit, you are doing your share of lashing out, yourself.
Millie
P.S. I still don't know if you are human, but I know that I care for you enough that you can 
hurt me. You did.”
― Steven Gould

“Are you ready to release Millie Harrison?"
"We don't negotiate with terrorists."
"I'm not a terrorist." I said it tiredly. "Besides, that's bullshit. The U.S. has always negotiated 
with terrorists, no matter what it's said. Why do you think we sold arms to Iran?"
"Release Brian Cox. We'll think about it."
"Millie Harrison is being illegally held. Brian Cox kidnapped her. Who is the terrorist? Who is 
attacking the innocent? Release her and I'll give you back Cox."
I hung up.”
― Steven Gould

“It’s a Glock. You squeeze that part, things come out of that part. Very fast.”
― Steven Gould, Exo: A Jumper Novel

“Did they scalp you?”
― Steven Gould, Reflex

“It is our policy not to negotiate with terrorists."
I stared at the phone, my eyes wide. I was speechless and very, very angry.
"Are you still there?" The voice belonged to an unnamed official in the NSA. Perston‐Smythe introduced him as one of Cox's supervisors.
"What the fuck do you mean by that?"
"It is the policy of this government not to negotiate with terrorists."
"Do you mean to tell me that you consider me a terrorist?"
He sounded almost prim. "Certainly. You've taken a hostage."
"Terrorists," I said, gritting my teeth, "attack the innocent to achieve their goals. If you're about to tell me that you consider Cox an innocent bystander, then this conversation is over."
"Terrorists are—"
"Oh, fuck it! You want a terrorist action so you can consider me a terrorist? There's no way you can keep me out of your nuclear arsenals. Where do you want the first one to go off? The Pentagon? The White House? The Capitol building? How about Moscow or Kiev? Wouldn't that be interesting? Do you think they'd launch?"
His voice was a lot less prim. "You wouldn't do that."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I wouldn't. BECAUSE I'M NOT A TERRORIST!" I slammed the phone down on the hook and jumped.”
― Steven Gould

“The first thing I want to make clear is that this violence, this terrorism, is not cultural. It isn't 
integral either to Arab or Muslim culture. I've done too many briefings for senators and congressmen who think that all 'towelheads' carry a pistol and a grenade. If you can't see beyond this stereotype, then we might as well stop now.”
― Steven Gould

“Boom. I jumped.”
― Steven Gould, Jumpers

“You’re not responsible for the evil others do,” Dad said.”
― Steven Gould, Impulse

“Misery isn’t a bloody competition. Joe”
― Steven Gould, Exo: A Jumper Novel

“God’s Blessing are more numerous than those growing trees. /Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, Defeat of the Infidels/”
― Steven Gould, Shade

“Lo siento, abuelo, no llegué a decirte adiós. Hubiese preferido decirte hola.”
― Steven Gould, Jumper

“What’s the big deal—you’ve read it, haven’t you?” Then he’d take them down to the used-book store and sell them for peanuts. He never got anything close to what they were worth. He didn’t like them cluttering up the house, or even my room. They weren’t going to get my books.”
― Steven Gould, Jumpers

“Oh? Where?” “Africa.” Davy winced. Second largest continent. Over a billion people. Fifty-six countries. You could overlay all of the U.S., China, India, and Europe on Africa’s landmass.”
― Steven Gould, Impulse

“I want a chance to be Space Girl, too.”
― Steven Gould, Exo: A Jumper Novel

“There’s nothing more infuriating than someone who wants to help.”
― Steven Gould, Blind Waves

“I checked the warehouse, but he wasn’t there, either.”
― Steven Gould, Exo: A Jumper Novel