He was a commander in the Russian army at a time when the Russians were our enemies and still part of the Soviet Union . This wasn't very long ago, Alex.The collapse of communism. It was only in 1989 that the Berlin Wall came down." She stopped. "I suppose none of this means very much to you." "Well, it wouldn't," Alex said. "I was only two years old.

I love the idea that magic and witchcraft and battles between supernatural creatures could be raging all around us but just out of our sight.

Do you realise how much trouble you're in?" "Perhaps I'll have some Weetabix after all.

You couldn't trust anyone or anything that belonged to the world of espionage.

He had tattooed all of the names of the men he had killed on his body...unfortunately he had run out of room.

Authors have odd relationships with their creations They owe their fame and fortune to their characters but feel enslaved by them.

It is, of course, traditional in children's literature to get rid of the parents.