Top 200 John Flanagan Quotes (2024 Update)
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151. “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

152. “Halt? Are you awake?” “No.” The ill humor in the one-word reply was unmistakable. “Oh. Sorry.” “Shut up.”

— John Flanagan

153. “As I said, when a person is unpopular, it’s so easy to think badly of him.”

— John Flanagan

154. “It’s only cheating if you’re caught doing it. Otherwise, it’s good tactics.”

— John Flanagan

155. “Erak belched quietly and leaned to one side so he could scratch his backside. He was sure that Slagor’s crew had brought fleas with them into the hut. It was the one discomfort they had not had to bear so far. Cold, damp, smoke and smell. But now they could add fleas. He wished, not for the first time, that Slagor’s wolfship had gone down in the gales on the Stormwhite Sea.”

— John Flanagan

156. “I did,” he replied ruefully. “But while I was busy watching the ground, I hit that branch with my head. Broke it clean in two.”

— John Flanagan

157. “Just time for a mug of coffee in the meanwhile.” Crowley was already beginning to work on a third arrow. “Good idea,” he said. Then he frowned as a thought struck him. “Have you noticed that Leander puts milk in his coffee?” Halt grunted. “The man’s a savage.” Crowley raised an eyebrow. “This from the man who laces his coffee with honey?” “Honey is natural,” Halt told him. “Milk is little short of an abomination.”

— John Flanagan

158. “My name is Gilan. The King wants to see you.”

— John Flanagan

159. “Halt regarded him. He loved Horace like a younger brother. Even like a second son, after will. He admired his skill with a sword and his courage in battle. But sometimes, just sometimes, he felt an overwhelming desire to ram the young warrior’s head against a convenient tree.”

— John Flanagan

160. “Believe you are unseen and it will be so.”

— John Flanagan

161. “The wagoner’s eyes were wide open. The shock of what had just happened was frozen on his face. His own dagger was buried deep in his chest. ‘He fell on his knife. He’s dead.’ the steward said. He looked up at the Ranger, but saw neither quilt nor regret in his dark eyes. ‘What a shame,’ said Will Treaty. Then, gathering his cloak around him, he turned and strode from the tent.”

— John Flanagan

162. “The battle, if you could call it that, lasted no more than a few seconds.”

— John Flanagan

163. “How will I ever carry out diplomatic missions without someone to throw unpleasant nobles out the window?” “I’ll.”

— John Flanagan

164. “Just as well. I probably get seasick on boats. “You’ve never been on one.” That’s because I probably get seasick. She went to reply, then realized that she had no answer to this twisted logic, so she let him have the last word. Again.”

— John Flanagan

165. “Jesper was prowling the corridors, examining the locks on the many doors with a professional interest that Hal found disconcerting. He came upon the former thief crouching by a heavy lock that secured a door on the second floor. The lock was far more formidable than the relatively simple ones on the bedroom doors. “Just.”

— John Flanagan

166. “If she was expecting sympathy from the older Ranger, she was disappointed. He emitted a short bark of decidedly unsympathetic laughter.”

— John Flanagan

167. “A Ranger carries the lives of two dozen men with him, the old saying went. Edwina thought then that John Buttle might need to watch his.”

— John Flanagan

168. “Stig here could probably eat a ship if he was hungry enough,” Thorn said, straight-faced. Stig looked sidelong at him. He was used to the old sea wolf’s teasing. “I’d need a lot of salt,” he said.”

— John Flanagan

169. “It was a joke, Thorn. That was all. Just a joke.” “A joke, my friend? No, I don’t think so. A joke is when everyone can have a good laugh together. But when you do something that’s spiteful and hurtful and causes misery to someone else, that’s not a joke. That’s cruelty.”

— John Flanagan

170. “If you worry that you’ll lose, you probably will.”

— John Flanagan

171. “As the old saying went, Most people practice till they get it right. Rangers practice till they never get it wrong.”

— John Flanagan

172. “You’re lucky,” Horace told him. “I dream of food when I’m hungry.” “You dream of food when you’re not hungry,” his friend said.”

— John Flanagan

173. “Women,” he muttered to himself. “They’re nothing but trouble.”

— John Flanagan

174. “We drew lots for the sleeping spaces,” he pointed out, striving to keep a reasonable tone. Ulf shrugged petulantly. “Well, if I’d known I was going to be so close to the door, I would have drawn a different one.” Hal gave up trying to be reasonable. He glared at Ulf. “Do you realize how abysmally stupid that statement is?” he demanded.”

— John Flanagan

175. “They would work from dawn till dusk, studying and practicing weapons craft and battle tactics – although the latter were relatively simple in the Skandian world, usually consisting of a headlong charge in response to the command, “Let’s get ’em!”

— John Flanagan

176. “Halt leaned forward and took Cassandra’s hands. “You’d be placing her in the care of the greatest, most capable Ranger Araluen has ever known,” he said quietly. He sensed the surprise among the others and looked up at them. “Oh, Will’s better than I ever was,” he said, smiling.”

— John Flanagan

177. “High on the battlements, on one of the many turrets situated along the walls, Queen Deborah, the Queen Mother, handed the crossbow back to the sergeant standing beside her. He looked at her in admiration. She was gray-haired, and her face was lined and wrinkled. But she had just pulled off a remarkable shot at pretty much maximum range.”

— John Flanagan

178. “He ate what his men ate. No more.”

— John Flanagan

179. “Why not?” Then she thought further. “I wonder what Halt will say when we put it to him.” Alyss shrugged. “Well, it’s such a logical idea, he can hardly say no, can he?” “No!” said Halt. “No, no, no – and, just in case you missed it the first time, no.”

— John Flanagan

180. “Mind you, with the number of ale barrels that had been broached already, they would probably have bellowed their agreement if Erak had declared that from now on, the sun would rise in the west and everybody must walk on their hands when it rained.”

— John Flanagan

181. “Hal shrugged. “It’s not our bridge.”

— John Flanagan

182. “Will wondered how Horace could be so calm. He was unaware that Horace was asking himself the same question about Will, feeling the same knotting of stomach muscles. The.”

— John Flanagan

183. “Don’t waste time complaining about things that can’t be changed.”

— John Flanagan

184. “Edvin!’ Hal yelled. ‘Help me!”

— John Flanagan

185. “Halt was about to indulge in what he called ‘creative documentation’. Horace called it forgery.”

— John Flanagan

186. “They’d still be outnumbered by the pirates, he thought. But then a savage grin lit his face. Being outnumbered didn’t worry him. They were Skandians, after all.”

— John Flanagan

187. “Let’s get something to eat.” It was the best way he could think of to stop Horace worrying about his daughter.”

— John Flanagan

188. “There’s no sense in bemoaning what we can’t achieve today. Let’s get on with what we can achieve.”

— John Flanagan

189. “I’ll take your tent,” Horace said. “You can sleep on the hard ground, rolled in your cloak. You’re a Ranger, after all.”

— John Flanagan

190. “Before he could finish the question, Will interrupted, thinking to clarify matters but only making them more puzzling – as so often happens.”

— John Flanagan

191. “Halt seemed more antagonized by the fact that his brother didn’t like coffee than by the fact that he had stolen the throne from him.”

— John Flanagan

192. “You’re an apprentice. You’re not ready to think.”

— John Flanagan

193. “He grinned at Horace. “Time we heard how musical you can be.” “Hah!” snorted Horace. He took the horn from his belt, raised it to his lips and blew a mighty blast on it. Gilan winced. “Not at all, apparently.” The light flashed one more time from the ridge. “She heard it,” Horace said. Gilan frowned at him. “They probably heard it at Castle Araluen.” Horace ignored him and turned toward the stairs. “Let’s get that ramp down,” he said.”

— John Flanagan

194. “They were impressed by his startling speed, his strength and his expert grasp of Skandian debating tactics. Skandians invariably preferred a good thumping to any amount of well-reasoned argument.”

— John Flanagan

195. “She’s very good,” he said to Horace. “Will has taught her well.” “You’re all very good,” Horace said. “I can never see any of you once you start sneaking around.” “Sneaking around?” said Gilan in a hurt voice. “We prefer to call it ‘unseen movement.’” “Call it what you like,” Horace said. “To me it’s sneaking around.”

— John Flanagan

196. “Before you shoot your arrow, see it fly a thousand times in your mind.”

— John Flanagan

197. “The question is,” said Halt, glancing at Alyss, “what should we do with him?” She hesitated, then that wonderful smile spread over her face. “I wonder,” she said. “Does this castle have a moat?”

— John Flanagan

198. “I don’t plan to miss,” she said. Will shrugged. “Nobody ever does.”

— John Flanagan

199. “You believed this river pebble was a star stone, so it became one.”

— John Flanagan

200. “I’m his first mate,” he said firmly. From the crowd below, they heard a cackle of laughter. “Good for you, boy! A first mate should always stick up for his skirl!” “Shut up, Svengal,” Erak said, without looking.”

— John Flanagan