Lee Child

Best are shooting weapons, second best are stabbing weapons, third best are slashing weapons. Blunt instruments are way down the list. They slow hand speed. Their uncontrolled momentum is disadvantageous after a miss.

Coffee, good for what ails you.

All cities are the same, and all cities are different. They all have colors.

People have been scared so long they can't even remember what it's like not to be scared any more.

But rewards bring risks. There's no such thing as something for nothing. No free lunch.

Four types of people join the military. First, for people like me, it's a family trade. Second, there are patriots, eager to serve their country. Third, there are people who just need a job. And fourth, there are people who want to kill other people. The military is the only place where it's legal to do that.

People who wasted time and energy cursing recent errors were certain losers.

It's never over.

Perception was reality, at least half the time.

Some things are worth dying for.

An old, old process, exploited by fortune tellers everywhere. Steer a guy through an endless series of yes-no, right-wrong questions, and in no time at all a convincing illusion of intimacy built itself up. A simple psychological trick, sharpened by listening carefully to answers, feeling the way, and playing the odds.

If in doubt turn left.

Strength and brains. A dangerous mixture.

Life or death. Always the ultimate choice.

Sleep when you can, because you never know when you're going to sleep again. That was the old army rule.

Chains don't have kinks. Horses have kinks. Chains have weak links.