John L. Monk > Quotes

“It wasn’t just her beauty. It was the attitude in her smile, the tilt of her head, and the loving look in her eyes when she caught me sneaking a peek down her shirt.”
― John L. Monk, Kick

“Growing up, I was the champion of spiders and moths in my house, catching and releasing them for my mother at great personal risk.”
― John L. Monk, Kick

“This guy was beyond lucky. He was Midas with a better attorney, or the owner of a Monkey’s Paw version 2.0, or Richard Cory on Prozac.”
― John L. Monk, Kick

“You know, it might surprise you,” she said, “but sometimes I go for days not caring what you think.”
― John L. Monk, Hard Mode

“There’s nothing in the world like junk food on a road trip. It’s the ultimate affirmation of freedom.”
― John L. Monk, Kick

“In real life, love and hate are often only separable if we’re willing to recognize our demons and choose to become better people.”
― John L. Monk, Kick

“You shoot me, you’re dead,” Joey said. “Understood.”
― John L. Monk, Hell's Children

“Help too much and people got stubborn. Help too little and things slipped.”
― John L. Monk, Hell's Encore

“Help too much and people got stubborn. Help too little and things”
― John L. Monk, Hell's Encore

“Every time I’m inside a Dillard’s I can’t help comparing it to Macy’s. On the whole, Dillard’s strikes me a little like a JC Penny that knows somebody. But I wasn’t there for the décor or the grand piano playing all by itself near the escalators, or the sad-eyed woman trying desperately to get people to sign up for their personalized American Express card.”
― John L. Monk, Kick

“the appearance of a tunnel leading down into the mud, which had opened like a relaxed sphincter.”
― John L. Monk, Hard Mode

“ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?!?!? ARE YOU THAT INSANE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? (SANE / INSANE)”
― John L. Monk, Hard Mode

“There’s nothing in the world like junk food on a road trip. It’s the ultimate affirmation of freedom. Though unhealthy and a leading source of heartburn, for that brief few minutes it’s just you and your pie and a million miles behind you, with the promise of more miles and more pie to come. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”
― John L. Monk, Kick

“Hraith Doomguard wasn’t his real name. He’d chosen it because players always laughed when he told them it was Tom Butler. “That’s too boring,” they’d say. “It can be anything you want here.” Tom had grown up with two brothers and a sister. He’d been teased mercilessly by other kids who called his parents “breeders”—couples who had more than one child. Overpopulation, everyone knew, was the biggest threat to the world, and never mind that the global population was smaller than at any point in the last hundred years. Having grown up in a large family, Tom wanted a family of his own. But every woman he met at the law firm or singles bars had taken the sterilization package to shave ten years off retirement age. Theirs was a purgatory-like existence. None of them wanted marriage. They lived overly safe lives for fear of dying too young, all in the hope of paradise worlds, game worlds, theme worlds, or hedonistic worlds characterized by muscly bodies and supersaturated sensuality. As Tom’s life plodded along, he was plagued with bouts of deep depression which he managed with a medical prescription. In time, he did meet a few women who wanted a family. But he was either too picky or they were, and nothing ever came of it. Lonely and mostly celibate, Tom kept to himself in his later years after watching his friends, parents, brothers, and his sister retire to the Everlife worlds, never to be seen again. At the ripe old age of eighty-five, he finally succumbed to the near-constant government nagging that he was a drain on the system. After a little research, he retired to Mythian. It was fun at first, but eventually the ogres, goblins, and skeleton armies couldn’t replace his longing for a life of purpose. One day, after waking up for the thousandth time—perfectly rested yet unfulfilled—Tom realized the only thing he enjoyed about living was being asleep. That’s why, having reached level 164 for no good reason, he gave up adventuring, went to sleep, and never woke up again.”
― John L. Monk, Karma's Touch