"Up in box five I blinked in surprised amusement. That was a new one! Little Giry should be writing Gothic novels, not prancing around the stage dressed as a water nymph!"

“I can make anything disappear, if I really want to.”

“Awful things!... truly awful. The floor in our dressing room starts to run with blood... disembodied hands come out of the wall and crawl across the stage.”

“Hell is not a place, it's a state of mind and body; hell is obsession with a voice, a face, a name.”

“Memories are like fireflies darting across the surface of my mind, showing me here and there images so sharp and vivid that I catch my breath in wonder before the vignette disappears, sinking like a pebble into the quicksand of regret and recrimination.”

“Death was the ultimate power and I his eager, willing apprentice.”

“Ah, well... hell is full of burning boats, did you know that, Nadir? I daresay that's what makes it so bloody hot.”