In any authoritarian society, the possessor of power dictates, and if you try and step outside, he will come after you. This is equally true of Sovietism, of China and of Iran, and in our time it has happened a lot in Islam. The point is that it's worse when the authoritarianism is supported by something supernatural.

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

You want all your books to stick around after you've gone.

We are the storytelling animal.

All art began as sacred art, you know? I mean, all painting began as religious painting. All writing began as religious writing.

We are the only animals that tell stories to understand the world we live in.

Sometimes when you finish a book, you don't know quite what you've got.