“He had done nothing on Christmas day, just wandered around outside in the frozen woods. Hard ground, chill winds and bare branches that looked like they'd been dipped in sugar. None of it seemed re...”

“The city centre was still crawling with Christmas shoppers looking to add to their already burgeoning piles of gifts. To Scott they were like ants at a picnic, teeming from store to store, trailing...”

“Scott could feel the contents of his stomach flip over and over on themselves. He turned to the side and retched, frothy yellow bile spilled out onto the newspaper covered floor, filling the room w...”

“Solitude led to retrospective thinking, and if the past is what you are trying to get away from, then constant distractions in the present are needed.”

“We were left with nothing because of a love like acid that ate its way through our entire family.”

“That's why Twinkle likes the place so much, Scott thought, looking around at the faded wood veneer tables, and the faded souls drinking at them. Misery was soaked through the place like the old bee...”

“To calculate sacrifice is to attempt to sacrifice safely, and safe sacrifice is one of the most outrageous oxymorons I can think of.”

“Consider and then act, don't react. A worthy opponent will calculate his move to entice a response from you. Make your own play.”

“When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteoousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders'.”

“Never send a battalion to take a hill if a regiment is available.”

“Camouflage doesn't help when the other guy is willing to defoliate the whole jungle.”