Science fiction made me aware of how big and strange the universe was, leaving aside the whole question of aliens.

The real world is far too complex and unpredictable to make something like the idea of humanity controlling its own evolution or engineering itself - well, I wouldn't say impossible but it should be approached with a degree of caution.

I'm a long-term optimist, and I don't think the problems with our society are from being overly optimistic.

The world has become one big grassy knoll, crawling with lone gunmen who think they're the Warren Commission.

I don't really believe in the Devil, but if the Devil is the Father of Lies, then he certainly invented the Internet.

Naive' is not a word I associate with the Southern Rule. Superstitious, perhaps, traditional, yes, maddeningly set in their way, certainly but not naive." "I meant you are naive. They must have a hidden motive." "This is why I have no politics," said Darvin. "I can't think in those terms.

I enjoyed Old Man's War immensely. A space war story with fast action, vivid characters, moral complexity and cool speculative physics, set in a future you almost want to live into, and a universe you sincerely hope you don't live in already.