I keep asking myself,” whispered Sabetha, giving Locke’s arm a squeeze, “ARE we smarter than that woman’s chicken?””At the moment, it’s an open question,” said Locke.

[Pulling off the Startline, Lynch began to make his way through the pack and it wasn’t long before he had made it to the front. Taking over the lead on Lap 67, Lynch was flying...

Jean grinned down at her, and she handed him something in a small silk bag.’What’s this?”Lock of my hair, ‘ she said. ‘Meant to give it to you days ago, but we got busy with...

My guys did an outstanding job, … They really had to work hard and while it looked like luck was totally against us, we actually came out gaining eight points which puts us in the...

Gods, I love this place,” Locke said, drumming his fingers against his thighs. “Sometimes I think this whole city was put here simply because the gods must adore crime. Pickpockets rob the common folk, merchants...

Endure for another day, Mister Tannen, and you’ll have all the foul black misuse of water you can drink.

Gentlemen Bastards.” hissed Locke, “do not abandon one another, and we do not run when we owe vengeance.

Throwing blondes at Locke Lamora was not unlike throwing lettuce at sharks.

[With six out of 12 event completed, Lynch holds the point lead by a margin of 48 points.] We would like to extend our lead this weekend, … So far this season, we have earned...

A glass poured to air for the one who sits with us unseen; the patron and protector, the Crooked Warden, the Father of Necessary Pretexts. Thanks for deep pockets poorly guarded. Thanks for watchmen asleep...

The pressure is definitely on, … Every single point is all important and we will be going for every one we can get. We have finished in the top five in the past nine events...

For Calo, Galdo, and Bug

We don’t see the life after life as it truly is, because in our eyes it conforms to our mechanics of nature.

I’m speaking of the pursuit of excellence in all things. All things! Presence of mind and devotion to craft. A great artist has these. A great chef. A great master of tea. There’s powerful kung...

Crooked Warden, I will fear no darkness for the night is yours,” muttered Locke, pointing the first two fingers of his left hand into the darkness. The Dagger of the Thirteenth, a thief’s gesture against...

[With transmission repairs completed, Lynch pulled back on the track.] We were 17 laps down when we went out and once again were running fine, … But obviously there was still a dark cloud over...

What do you think of the old boy?” said Jean.”He’s got a strangely sunny view of ten years of defeat”, said Locke, “but if I get killed in the next six weeks, I want him...

A win this weekend would be awesome, … It would take a little of the pressure off the last round. From everything I have learned, Thunder Hill is a great facility, one that has good...

That sounds dangerous,’said Jean.’For anyone else, maybe.For Gentlemen Bastards,we,it;s just what we do.’ ‘We?’ ‘We.

If reassurances could dull pain, nobody would ever go to the trouble of pressing grapes.

We’re a different sort of thief here, Lamora. Deception and misdirection are our tools. We don’t believe in hard work when a false face and a good line of bullshit can do so much more.

What do you do,’ said Jean, ‘with, ah, “ungifted” children when you have them?”Cherish them and raise them, you imbecile. Most of them end up working for us, in Karthain and elsewhere. What did you...

Truth be known, I am actually looking forward to this round, … The West Series has never competed on this track, so it is pretty much like sailing into uncharted waters. There is no open...

Caldris led them over to a large covered basket that sat on the stones near the docked dinghy. He undid the cover, reached in and removed a live kitten. “- Hello, you monstrous little necessity”....

I’m looking forward to this race. I really like running on the bigger speedway tracks and tend to do well. They are faster and it is easier to plan your moves. I have competed at...

You have to be a dead-eyed dirty-souled maniac to want to spend your extended life trading punches with other maniacs. Once you’ve seized that power, there’s no getting off the merry-go-round. You fight like hell...

Know something? I’d lay even odds that between the people following us and the people hunting us, we’ve become this city’s principle means of employment. Tal Verrar’s entire economy is now based on fucking with...

In a fair fight, the don’s man would almost certainly paint the walls with Locke and Calo’s blood, so it stood to reason that this fight would have to be as unfair as possible.

I sometimes think that ‘friend’ is just a word I use for all the people I haven’t murdered yet.

The mailing of this newspaper . . . appears to be an end run around the [campaign finance] $150,000 spending limit.

Can you imagine those poor bastards grappling their prey, leaping over the rails, swords in hand, screaming ‘Your cats! Give us all your god-damned cats!

It’s been really overwhelming. There have been more people than you can imagine reaching out.

[T]he more we do this, the more I learn about what I think Chains was really training us for. And this is it. He wasn’t training us for a calm and orderly world where we...

The fact Locke didn’t die instantly may be taken as proof that a human male can survive having every last warm drop of blood within his body rush instantly to the vicinity of his cheeks.

You’d have to take your shoes and breeches off to count to twenty-one!

You want a lesson, boy? If you find yourself being born, climb back in as quick as you can, because life’s a bottomless feast of shit.

Everyone on the team is very, very motivated,

if the suggestion that the minuscule black turnip you call a heart is suddenly overflowing with generosity toward me leaves me wanting to arm myself and put my back against a wall.

Compared to what she was running, these things are pig heavy and have no power. If I had to jump into an Indy Car, I’d be as lost as she was. Now that she’s getting...

There’s no freedom quite like the freedom of being constantly underestimated.

What thief does not fight to hold what he has?””One that has something better” – Locke Lamora to the Gray king

We like what we like, we want what we want, and nobody needs to give us permission to feel that way!

We are set for a repeat performance, … For this race we are flying the Stockton Dodge colors on our 08 Dodge and we want to put their banner right in Victory Lane.

Didn’t Chains tell you about the Golden Theological Principle?””The what?””The single congruent aspect of every known religion. The one shared, universal assumption about the human condition.””What is it?””He said that life boils down to standing...

Actually, we have a lot of traditions for that. You’ll find out

Am I making myself clear, Orrin? I don’t regret how I’ve lived these past few years. I move where I will. I set no appointments. I guard no borders. What landbound king has the freedom...

It was raining when Amarelle Parathis went out just after sunset to find a drink, and there was strange magic in the rain. It came down in pale lavenders and coppers and reds, soft lines...

Familiarity has a way of filing the sharp edges off our feelings for other people. You’ll see.

he explains. There was a lot of rubber on the track from the IRL practice and it began to sprinkle just as I went out. However, I knew we had a great Dodge and figured...

Quit being so hard on yourself. We are what we are; we love what we love. We don’t need to justify it to anyone… not even to ourselves.