But in his experience it was only a matter of time before the normal balance of the universe restored itself and started doing the usual terrible things to him.

It is a long-cherished tradition among a certain type of military thinker that huge casualties are the main thing. If they are on the other side then this is a valuable bonus.

YOU FEAR TO DIE? "It's not that I don't want... I mean, I've always...it's just that life is a habit that's hard to break.

Once you have your character sitting right there in your head, all you really need to do is wind them up, put them down, and simply write down what they do, say, or think.

Tell someone you are going to rob them and all that will happen is that you'll get a reputation as a truthful man.

Taxation, gentlemen, is very much like dairy farming. The task is to extract the maximum amount of milk with the minimum amount of moo.

Never f*!k with the ineffable.