“From what I've read of detective stories, inspectors always do want to drag the pond first.”

“You have a tendency, Hastings, to prefer the least likely. That, no doubt, is from reading too many detective stories.”

“Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.”

“...I finally went back to my seat in the second row and sat there doing what I've done throughout my professional life: I tried to think, first, how to make credible a somewhat extreme, if not outright ridiculous story, and, next, how, after telling it, to fortify and defend myself from the affronted who read into the story an intention having perhaps to do less with the author's perversity than with their own.”

“I have no idea whether beginning with my accident was the best decision, as I've never written a book before. Truth be told, I started with the crash because I wanted to catch your interest and drag you into the story. You're still reading, so it seems to have worked.”

“Think about this: in all the stories I've ever heard, genies always want to get out of the bottle. And they do get out, sooner or later.”