Jack Vance's Lyonesse books are the greatest fairy tale of the twentieth century.

The life we've been leading couldn't last forever. It's a wonder it lasted as long as it did.

The universe is eight billion years old, the last two billion of which have produced intelligent life. During this time not one hour of absolute equity has prevailed.

Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles, patient explanations of the obvious, fleeting allusions to the unthinkable. As a preliminary, the conversationalist must gauge the mood, the intelligence and the verbal facility of the company. To this end, a few words of pedantic exposition often prove invaluable.

A barbarian is not aware that he is a barbarian.

But, for instance, when I was awfully young, I read all the Oz books. They were an enormous influence on me.

I must cite an intrinsic condition of the universe. We set forth in any direction which seems convenient; each leads to the same place: the end of the universe.