'The Blade Itself' was my first book. Probably I should've tried a few short stories first, but for some reason I decided to begin with Everest.

History is littered with dead good men

You should laugh every moment you live, for you'll find it decidedly difficult afterwards.

Armour... is part of a state of mind... in which you admit the possibility... of being hit.

Sometimes men change for the better. Sometimes men change for the worse. And often, very often, given time and opportunity . . .’ He waved his flask around for a moment, then shrugged. ‘They change back.

But you can't truly hate a man without loving him first, and there's always a trace of that love left over.

It's hard to be done a favor by a man you hate. It's hard to hate him so much afterwards. Losing an enemy can be worse than losing a friend, if you've had him for long enough.