It was sad music. But it waved its sadness like a battle flag. It said the universe had done all it could, but you were still alive.

It's always surprising to be reminded that while you're watching and thinking about people, all knowing and superior, they're watching and thinking about you, right back at you.

My advice is this. For Christ's sake, don't write a book that is suitable for a kid of 12 years old, because the kids who read who are 12 years old are reading books for adults. I read all of the James Bond books when I was about 11, which was approximately the right time to read James Bond books.

Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. It always defeats order, because it is better organized.

Esk felt that bravery was called for, but on a night like this bravery lasted only as long as a candle stayed alight.

Fear is a strange soil. It grows obedience like corn, which grow in straight lines to make weeding easier. But sometimes it grows the potatoes of defiance, which flourish underground.

Guilt was the grease in which the wheels of the authority turned.