Many fantasy novels - 'Lord of the Rings', for instance, or 'Lavondyss' by Robert Holdstock - are beautifully written. Geoff Ryman's 'The Child Garden' is exquisite and utterly beguiling. Mervyn Peake's 'Gormenghast' trilogy is an astonishing piece of multi-faceted storytelling. So quality of writing does not condemn the genre.

Fear is good, for it makes us cautious and aids survival. Not so with terror. It is like slow poison, paralyzing the limbs and blurring the mind. . . Never, when in danger, ask yourself, What will they do to me? Instead think, What can I do to prevent them?

Our souls are but leaves in a storm, and only the gods know where we will come to rest.

Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people seek it.

A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.

There's no shame in fear. But understand this - the coward is ruled by fear, while the hero rides it like a wild stallion.

I make little distinction between those who commit evil and those who stand by and do nothing.