He felt like an old sponge steeped in paraffin and left in the sun to dry.

It was his subconscious which told him this - that infuriating part of a person's brain which never responds to interrogation, merely gives little meaningful nudges and then sits humming quietly to itself, saying nothing.

When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch.

Being offended by things is the world's big hobby at the moment. It's almost taken over from wearing goatee beards.

The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along.

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing noise they make as they go by.

The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.