We are very much like them: indiscriminate killers, ruled by drives little acknowledged and less understood, mindlessly territorial and murderously jealous - the only significant difference being that they have yet to master our expertise in hypocrisy, the gift of our superior intellect that enables us to slaughter one another in droves, more often than not under the auspices of an approving god!

But hope is no less realistic than despair. It is still our choice whether to live in light or lie down in darkness.

You're mortal, and only a mortal can afford to be romantic. When we conquered death, we murdered love.

But monsters, I now know, come in all shapes and sizes, and only their appetite for human flesh defines them.

I have a very low tolerance for boredom and often think I would have missed out on books entirely if Id grown up in the Internet and video game age. Now I enjoy books for people of all ages, including children.

Then the door flew open and Mr. Faulks told us to head over to the gym. I thought that was really smart. Get all of us in one place so the aliens didn't have to waste a lot of ammunition.

I didn't save you," he whispers, lips tickling my eyelashes. "You saved me.