"Who do you think's after you, Shane, my lad? Or is it just the dark you're afeared of?"
- Adrian McKinty
"The riot had taken on a beauty of its own now. Arcs of gasoline fire under the crescent moon. Crimson tracer in mystical parabolas. Phosphorescence from the barrels of plastic bullet guns. A distant y..."
"Human beings are pattern-seeking animals. It's part of our DNA. That's why conspiracy theories and gods are so popular: we always look for the wider, bigger explanations for things."
"If you really have to get shot, Belfast is one of the best places to do it. After twenty years of the Troubles, and after thousands of assassination attempts and punishment shootings, Belfast has trai..."
"With gas cookers and chip pans in every kitchen, the chip-pan fire was by far the most popular method these Proddies had for burning their houses down. The second technique was the ever popular chimne..."
"more guilt, guilt, guilt. That's the Irish condition."
"He was one of those characters who felt that a weak handshake could somehow damage his authority, which meant that every handshake had to bloody hurt."