“It was one of Diego Alatriste's virtues that he could make friends in Hell.”

“Because God and the devil could be one and the same thing, and everybody understood it in his own way.”

“One is never alone with a book nearby, don't you agree? Every page reminds us of a day that has passed and makes us relive the emotions that filled it. Happy hours underlined in red pencil, dark ones in black...”

“You don't choose your friends, they choose you, and you either reject them or you accept them without reservations.”

“He did not want to think, but it was inevitable that he would.”

“He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous”

“He was laughing under his breath, like a cruel wolf, as he leaned over to light his last cigarette. Books play that kind of trick, he thought. And everyone gets the devil he deserves.”