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

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

I mean, you can't be less ruthless than the opposition simply because your government's policy is benevolent, can you now?

The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous. But neither, in my experience, do we ever reach a plane of detachment regarding our parents, however wise and old we may become. To pretend otherwise is to cheat.

There is a big difference between fighting the cold war and fighting radical Islam. The rules have changed and we haven't.

During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.

You should have died when I killed you.