George Alec Effinger: Trending quotes (page 2)

“With a stiff forefinger I silenced the koto music. Peace flooded in; the world thanked me.”

George Alec Effinger book When Gravity Fails

Source: When Gravity Fails (1986), Chapter 3 (p. 23).

World , Peace , Music , Silence

“The universe doesn’t have secrets,” I said cynically, “only lies and swindles.”

George Alec Effinger book When Gravity Fails

Source: When Gravity Fails (1986), Chapter 6 (p. 63).

Secret , Universe

“His thoughts grew confused, and he mistook that quality for complexity.”

George Alec Effinger

Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 12 (p. 190).

“Now we have the prospect of a religious war on our hands, with the attendant proliferation of “heresies” and two separate but equal inquisitions.”

George Alec Effinger

Source: What Entropy Means to Me (1972), Chapter 5 “In the Hall of the Mountain Thing” (p. 80).

War

““You shouldn’t be so critical,” said Mike the bartender. “Some people like this kind of thing, you know.”
“The kind of person who gets excited over that, I don’t care about,” said Ernest.”

George Alec Effinger

Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 13 (p. 199).

People , Personality

“I was no more eccentric than your average raving loon.”

George Alec Effinger book When Gravity Fails

Source: When Gravity Fails (1986), Chapter 6 (p. 63).

“Marriage was something I thought happened only to other people, like fatal traffic accidents.”

George Alec Effinger book A Fire in the Sun

Source: A Fire in the Sun (1989), Chapter 20 (p. 289).

Marriage , People

“You bought the girls drinks and you stared at their perfect bodies and you pretended that they liked you. And they pretended that they liked you, too. When you stopped spending money, they got up and pretended that they liked someone else.”

George Alec Effinger book When Gravity Fails

Source: When Gravity Fails (1986), Chapter 1 (p. 4).

Money , Girl , Drink , Perfection

““We have now successfully enlisted the aid of many groups of theoretically anti-communist people, all supporting those very causes which lead directly to victory for the Party. These students will be of great value in creating political upheaval here in the next few years. Though they may not vote themselves, they will do a great part of the work for the candidates we shall endorse.”
“I think it was the vague promise of sexual freedom that did it,” said Weintraub wryly. “That seems to work on everybody. Even the clergy.””

George Alec Effinger

Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 11 (p. 177).

People , Support , Thinking , Freedom

“Let me make it clear: You don’t want his disapproval. He never forgets these things. If he needs to, he hires other people to carry his grudges for him.”

George Alec Effinger book A Fire in the Sun

Source: A Fire in the Sun (1989), Chapter 3 (p. 31).

People , Forgetting

“Brant felt a spasm of pain. “Uh,” she said. She closed her eyes tight until the pain went away.
“Can I do anything?” said Staefler.
“Yes,” she said. “Have my baby for me.””

George Alec Effinger

Source: Death in Florence (1978), Chapter 4 “Queene Eileen” (p. 177).

Pain , Baby

“After all, our laws only reflect the definitions of the majority. When those ideas change, the laws change.”

George Alec Effinger

Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 11 (p. 174).

Law , Idea , Change

“The longer I observe the way people really act, the happier I am that I never pay attention to them.”

George Alec Effinger book When Gravity Fails

Source: When Gravity Fails (1986), Chapter 13 (p. 168).

People , Way

“Government by emotion is identified with rule by tyranny.”

George Alec Effinger

Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 1 (p. 24).

“I looked good, faster than light with a little money in my pocket. You know what I mean. I was the same as always: the clothes looked first-rate. That was fine, because most people only look at the clothes, anyway.”

George Alec Effinger book When Gravity Fails

Source: When Gravity Fails (1986), Chapter 16 (p. 226).

Money , People , Light , Clothes

“I believe in a political revolution, without the aid of the military. I would rather win a man’s mind than compel his obedience.”

George Alec Effinger

Source: Relatives (1973)., Chapter 3 (p. 59).

“Did you sleep well last night?” asked Glorian.
“Yes, I suppose,” said Dore, “although I was trouble by a strange dream.”
“Oh? Perhaps it was some sort of omen. Tell me of it.”
“Certainly,” said Dore. “I dreamed of a domino.”
“Just one?”
“Yes, just the one. All night. No people or sounds in the dream, just the domino. The five-three.”
“Wonderful!” cried Glorian. “The five-three is a lucky little devil. It presages victory after hardships. It confirms your inner ambition, but counsels you to avoid extremes, to temper pleasure with practicality. Advances in music, art, and drama are indicated. Rely on good manners and good taste. The five-three is a domino of hope and good news.”

George Alec Effinger

“Are you making that up?” said Dore suspiciously.
Source: What Entropy Means to Me (1972), Chapter 6 “A Perilous Scheme” (p. 111).

People , Pleasure , Dreams , Hope

“That was the evil of Dr. Bertram Waters: the perpetuation of hopeless dreams, compounded by the betrayal of those dreams to make his own a reality.”

George Alec Effinger

Source: Death in Florence (1978), Chapter 2 “A New Mann” (p. 99).

Dreams , Reality , Water , Evil

“I told you it was dirty. When you wander into the highest level of international affairs, it’s almost always dirty.”

George Alec Effinger book When Gravity Fails

Source: When Gravity Fails (1986), Chapter 15 (p. 205).

““Are you happy, Norman?” asked Brant.
“Well, sure, I guess.”
“That’s what I thought,” she said bitterly. “Neither am I.””

George Alec Effinger

Source: Death in Florence (1978), Chapter 3 “Moore and More” (p. 129).

Happiness