“He did not think of himself as a writer for the simple reason that the world had never allowed him to think of himself in this way.”

“Iain didn't go back to sleep for a long while. He continued to think about all the logical reasons he would never allow himself to be turned into a lovesick weakling like Patrick, and when he finally fell asleep, he had convinced himself that he would distance his heart from hismind.He dreamed about her.”

“Rather, he found himself enchanted with examples of simple human error, mundane malfunctions and mechanical glitches. The sheer variety of things that could and did go wrong in the world never failed to surprise and strangely comfort him.”

“Whether he knew of this deficiency himself I can't say. I think the knowledge came to him at last--only at the very last. But the wilderness found him out early, and had taken vengeance for the fantastic invasion. I think it had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception till he took counsel with this great solitude--and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core”

“He could remember all about it now; the pitiful figure he must have cut; the absurd way in which he had gone and done the very thing he had so often agreed with himself in thinking would be the most foolish thing in the world; and had met with exactly the consequences which, in these wise moods, he had always foretold were certain to follow, if he ever did make such a fool of himself.”

“He didn't know why the Shadows wanted the brother and sister, but if he allowed himself to dwell on it too long he knew in his gut that finding them meant their deaths.So he didn't allow himself to think about it.”