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Quote by Rick Riordan

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The Last Olympian

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Author

Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan, born on June 5, 1964, is an American author known for his works that blend mythology and fantasy elements. His most famous series, 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians,' combines Greek mythology with the experiences of modern teenagers. more

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“Once, he thought, I would have seen the stars. Years ago. But now it's only the dust; no one has seen a star in years, at least not from Earth. Maybe I'll go where I can see stars, he said to himself as the car gained velocity and altitude; it headed away from San Francisco, toward the uninhabited desolation to the north. To the place where no living thing would go. Not unless it felt that the end had come.”

“Richard Feynman once said that "Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars - mere globs of gas atoms. I too can see the stars on a desert night, and feel them. But do I see less or more? The vastness of the heavens stretches my imagination - stuck on this carousel my little eye can catch one - million - year - old light. A vast pattern - of which I am a part... What is the pattern, or the meaning, or the why? It does not do harm to the mystery to know a little about it. For far more marvelous is the truth than any artists of the past imagined it. Why do the poets of the present not speak of it? What men are poets who can speak of Jupiter if he were a man, but if he is an immense spinning sphere of methane and ammonia must be silent?" And if Feynman were alive today, I would reply that "Mr. Feynman, the Poets are happy looking at the moon and stars. They could see Jupiter only if their Telescopes show them!"”

“As long as you're the Light, nevermind the Night! Walking through the narrow alleys of Life fuming with untold stories and blurry horizons, somewhere knowing in my heart that sunsets and sunrises are not just about the Sun but also about the sky that holds a canopy of stars to unleash once the sun is set all while hiding them beautifully tucked in the bosom of a blue sky when the Majestic Sun walks around in the crown of Sunshine. But then, and always the Stars Shine the brightest in the Darkest of Night, because no matter what the Light is always there, always leading the way, always finding its Smile in the dungeons of camouflaged blackness.”

“I tilt my head toward the ceiling and gasp. Because, somehow, there is no more ceiling. No roof, nothing. It’s the night sky, brilliant with shimmering stars, the rare cloud pale against the darkness, and the full moon that glows so big it feels like I can reach up and brush my fingers against it. Here, by this highway that’s nearly deserted at night, there are so few lights and no cities for miles around so the stars can glow bright. Awe fills my heart, like a breath of clean, pure air.”

“She stood for a time, still and meditative, with her face held up to the arch of sky, seeking a shooting star in that illimitable field above her. The stars glittered and winked as if they were live, sentient beings, the angels themselves, watching the doings of earth, not in the serene manner of celestial beings but excited and interested in what they saw below. Their colours flashed in red and ice-blue and dazzling green and amber. There was Auriga with its bright Capella, a star Susan always recognised since her father long pointed out its bright flame. "That's the one I knows well. It's always been in the sky. I've watched it when I've been going to milking and coming home on winter nights, and it's been a kind of companion to me." The Great Bear swung over the house top, guarding Windystone from harm. Orion was hidden, but if she walked along by the yew trees, she could see his fiery stars and steel-green Riga, and the belt like a jewel. But she stayed where she was, alone, quiet, giving herself up to the movement of the rolling heavens, and she was caught up in that heavenly motion and whirled like a dark atom with the swinging earth.”