Prison for the crime of puberty -- that was how secondary school had seemed.

One of the rules I try to follow is that normal people are going to be involved even in heroic events

Science has learned recently that contempt and indignation are addictive mental states. I mean physically and chemically addictive. Literally! People who are self-righteous a lot are apparently doping themselves rhythmically with auto-secreted surges of dopamine, endorphins and enkephalins. Didn't you ever ask yourself why indignation feels so good?

I would normally never set out to write a trilogy.

There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors who could not parse a differential equation to save their lives.

The worst mistake of first contact, made throughout history by individuals on both sides of every new encounter, has been the unfortunate habit of making assumptions. It often proved fatal.

The fundamental premise of sci-fi is not spaceships and lasers - it's that children can learn from the mistakes of their parents.