Life was to be a search, or nothing! But it was the fear that it was nothing that drove me forward. Every encounter was an encounter with myself.

[My novels] introduce levels of intelligence ... moral doubt [and] self-doubt, which may not pertain [to real-world espionage].

Writing is like walking in a deserted street. Out of the dust in the street you make a mud pie.

No problem exists in isolation, one must first reduce it to its basic components, then tackle each component in turn.

The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.

A committee is an animal with four back legs.

I've never been able to write a book without one very strong character in my rucksack.