Top 200 John Flanagan Quotes (2025 Update)
Page 3 of 5

101. “I see,” said Will. But Halt shook his head. “No. All too often, you don’t see, because you don’t maintain your concentration. You’ll have to work on that.” Will said nothing. He merely accepted the criticism. He’d learned by now that Halt didn’t criticize without reason. And when there was reason, no amount of excuses could save him.”

— John Flanagan

102. “Surrounded by followers, he was alone.”

— John Flanagan

103. “Don’t annoy me, little dog, Tug seemed to say. I know your mother.”

— John Flanagan

104. “Self-doubt is a disease. And if it gets out of control, it becomes self-fulfilling. You have to learn from what happened... Use the experience to make you stronger.”

— John Flanagan

105. “The man is a nincompoop and a fool. Even worse, he took me for a fool as well.”

— John Flanagan

106. “Horace was big for his age and a natural athlete. The chances that he would be refused were virtually nonexistent. Horace was exactly the type of recruit that Sir Rodney looked for in his warrior apprentices. Strong, athletic, fit. And, thought Will a trifle sourly, not too bright.”

— John Flanagan

107. “It’s not what I expected,” he said. “They’re far more organized than our intelligence had led us to believe.”

— John Flanagan

108. “Idiots, Halt muttered. If we were here to cause trouble, we could simply ride them both down.”

— John Flanagan

109. “What is this Chocho business?? Will muttered to himself. But his friends overheard the comment. ‘It’s a term of great respect,’ they chorused, and he glared at them. ‘Oh, shut up,’ he said.”

— John Flanagan

110. “The sarcastic little know-it-all needs help, does he?”

— John Flanagan

111. “If you’re a ghost,” he said, “we mean you no disrespect. And if you’re not a ghost, tell me who you are-or you soon will be one.”

— John Flanagan

112. “It was not polite for a Temujai general to allow his emotions to show.”

— John Flanagan

113. “Then, marveling at the recuperative powers and endurance of the Ranger horse breed, he tightened the girths on Blaze’s saddle and swung astride the bay, groaning softly as he did so. Ranger horses might recover quickly. Ranger apprentices took a little longer. It.”

— John Flanagan

114. “It was safe to assume that the rider would be carrying a weapon of some kind. After all, there was no point in wearing half armor and going weaponless.”

— John Flanagan

115. “It is possible, of course... to want to do two different things at the same time. Then it just becomes a choice of knowing which one you want most.”

— John Flanagan

116. “He could bear the dying, but not the disappointment.”

— John Flanagan

117. “Sometimes, he thought, all you could do was wait.”

— John Flanagan

118. “When we get to Macindaw,’ he said, ’let’s just send him up the ladder with those planks. He’ll clear the defenders out in no time.”

— John Flanagan

119. “Hope we didn’t break it,” Edvin muttered. Hal shrugged. “It’s not our bridge.”

— John Flanagan

120. “Your dislike for the project will be duly noted, and ignored.”

— John Flanagan

121. “He had no sense of compassion for the Wargals who had died for him. They were nothing more than a tool for him to use.”

— John Flanagan

122. “Yet each country had items that the other needed. The Arridi had reserves of red gold and iron in their deserts that the Toscans required to finance and equip their large armies. Even more important, Toscans had become inordinately fond of kafay, the rich coffee grown by the Arridi.”

— John Flanagan

123. “Although it does help if your intelligence force is also intelligent.”

— John Flanagan

124. “Gradually, the cheering died away, like a mighty wave that crashes in upon a beach, then recedes until there is nothing of it left behind.”

— John Flanagan

125. “That’ll make Edvin happy. He’s always keen to replenish our stocks of fresh meat whenever he can.” “It’ll make Ingvar happy too,” Stig put in. “He’s always keen to eat it.”

— John Flanagan

126. “I’m not really interested in being king. I prefer to work for a living.”

— John Flanagan

127. “It formed into small drops on his weather beaten features, drops that rolled down his cheeks. Strangely, some of them tasted like salt.”

— John Flanagan

128. “Once, she came face-to-face with a heavyset man wearing a hooded short cloak. They came level with each other under one of the infrequent lanterns and she could make out only the lower half of his face. The upper half was shaded by the hood. She had an impression of a dark, full beard. In the shadow of his hood, his eyes were unblinking, staring at her.”

— John Flanagan

129. “The men chorused their understanding. Halt studied them for a moment or two, making sure they had all grasped the idea. He didn’t want anyone to get carried away in the excitement of the moment and charge down on the massed ranks of Wargals. Cavalrymen did tend to get excited, he knew. But he could see from their faces that they all knew this was to be a feint. “All.”

— John Flanagan

130. “He made sure he emerged on hands and toes, not letting his knees touch the wet ground. Halt scowled at him as he saw him spring athletically to his feet. “I hate young people,” he said to himself.”

— John Flanagan

131. “Halt glanced down at the approaching Wargals. They were in one line, forging their way up the hill. They were clumsy and unbalanced in their marching, and from time to time one of them would stumble and fall.”

— John Flanagan

132. “Halt looked around for a convenient tree. Luckily for Horace, there were none in sight.”

— John Flanagan

133. “He’d just have to lie there and die, watched over by strange stars who didn’t know him, didn’t care for him. It was very sad, really.”

— John Flanagan

134. “Sometimes people can be too intellegent for their own good. Too much thinking could confuse things.”

— John Flanagan

135. “Always move forward if you have the option.”

— John Flanagan

136. “More delicious aromas rose. He sprinkled in a.”

— John Flanagan

137. “Karina and Tho-orn, sitting in a tree-ee. Kay-eye-ess-ess-eye-en-gee.”

— John Flanagan

138. “Maybe we’ll catch a dragon in a tadpole net.”

— John Flanagan

139. “People rarely notice what they don’t expect to see.”

— John Flanagan

140. “Always expect trouble in the desert. Then you usually won’t meet it.”

— John Flanagan

141. “My horse went lame about ten days back and I turned him loose.”

— John Flanagan

142. “As the old Ranger adage went “If a person doesn’t expect to see someone, odds are he won’t.”

— John Flanagan

143. “I managed to find a spot where we had the wind from astern, a steep head sea on our starboard quarter and the tide race through the narrows at the same time. A few hours of that and our fierce horse soldiers were like little lambs – sick little lambs.”

— John Flanagan

144. “Horace sniffed the pleasant smell of wood smoke from the chimney. “Hope they’re cooking something,” he said. “I’m starved.” “Who said that?” Will asked, feigning surprise and looking around in all directions. Then he pretended to relax. “Oh, it’s only you, Horace. I didn’t see you there in that cloak.” Horace favored him with a long-suffering look. “Will, if it wasn’t funny the first half-dozen times you said it, why do you think it would be funny now?” And.”

— John Flanagan

145. “It’s a walking cart,” Horace told him. “You get under it, so the spears won’t hit you, and go for a walk.”

— John Flanagan

146. “Evanlyn smiled grimly as she thought how once she might have objected to the cruelty of the bird’s death. Now, all she felt was a sense of satisfaction as she realized that they would eat well today. Amazing how an empty belly could change your perspective, she thought.”

— John Flanagan

147. “As he poured carefully, Arrow’s head turned toward the sound. The horse made a low grumbling noise in his throat. “Hold your horses,” he said. The he laughed. It seemed absurd to say tat to a horse.”

— John Flanagan

148. “Tug looked nervously at his master. Horses aren’t supposed to fly, he seemed to be saying.”

— John Flanagan

149. “Will was worth at least a few tears from a grizzled old wreck like himself, he thought, and made no move to wipe them away.”

— John Flanagan

150. “When Erak was safely out of earshot, Stig turned to his friend. ‘Of course, she’ll sail rings around Wolfwind,’ he said. ‘Then why didn’t you tell him that?’ Hal asked, grinning. ‘I like my head where it is.”

— John Flanagan