John Gardner > Quotes

“Do you think it possible for a woman to love two men at the same time?’ ‘A man can love two women, so I see no problem.”
― John Gardner, The Secret Generations

“Across the hidden places of my heart, You search me out; Following the tracery of my daily life So Death can never conquer The secret generations of our souls. The”
― John Gardner, The Secret Generations

“Hope was gone for millions, taken away by a bullet that severed the jugular vein and lodged in the spine.  ”
― John Gardner, The Secret Generations

“hundred and sixty degrees and then turned to follow through in the opposite direction. The little plane lifted over the jungle once more. ‘There’s nothing there. Absolutely nothing,’ Natalya said. ‘Let’s give it another go. I’ll take her down very close to the drink. Keep your eyes peeled.’ He extended the aircraft’s flaps to allow himself to fly safely at a slower speed, just over the water; curving around the complete circle, looking down on the wingtip which seemed to be only a foot or so above the smooth blue-green tint of the lake. Still nothing. Maybe Wade was right, Bond thought. He put on power, then retracted the flaps and climbed, crossing the lake diagonally, then,”
― John Gardner, Goldeneye: A James Bond thriller

“All June I bound the rose in sheaves.’ Then”
― John Gardner, The Secret Generations

“They were not using blanks. This was for real, and he knew with sudden shock, that it was as he had earlier deduced. He was being thrown to the wolves.”
― John Gardner, Role of Honour: A James Bond thriller

“SMERSH has what I understand is called, in criminal parlance, a hit list. That list includes a number of names – people who are wanted, not dead, but alive. Can you imagine whose name is number one on the chart, James Bond?’ Bond did not have to guess. SMERSH had undergone many changes, but as a Department of the Russian Service, SMERSH had a very long memory.”
― John Gardner, Icebreaker: A James Bond thriller

“which could be hydraulically lowered,”
― John Gardner, Licence Renewed

“Tethered goats have been known to catch tigers.”
― John Gardner, For Special Services: A James Bond thriller

“War is the statesman’s game, the priest’s delight, The lawyer’s jest, the hired assassin’s trade.’ She”
― John Gardner, The Secret Generations

“Bond had a feeling that he was, indeed, lucky to be alive. He also wondered if his luck was merely a stay of execution.”
― John Gardner, Role of Honour: A James Bond thriller

“The moon shines, but it does not warm.”
― John Gardner, The Secret Generations

“James Bond could hardly believe it. A KGB man was actually inviting him into the spider’s web, under the pretext of witnessing the theft of a large quantity of arms.”
― John Gardner, Icebreaker: A James Bond thriller

“Bond pondered on other powerful individuals with whom he had fought dangerous, often lonely, battles. At random he thought of people like Sir Hugo Drax, a liar and cheat, whom he had beaten, by exposing him as a card sharp, before taking the man on in another kind of battle. Auric Goldfinger was of the same breed, a Midas man, whom Bond had challenged on the field of sport as well as the deeper, dangerous zone of battle. Blofeld – well, there were many things about Blofeld which still chilled Bond’s blood:”
― John Gardner, Icebreaker: A James Bond thriller

“The cosiness of the old socialism had turned into a rabble, with cardboard leaders ready to be burned down by the firebrands of the far left; the present government practised an outward show of Victorian paternalism, together with values that had little meaning in the modern world — and often no meaning at all for the civil servants who acted on its behalf. The middle ground Naldo saw as a scattering of foxholes, peopled by men and women who dreamed impossible dreams, and had not one clear, original, or feasible political thought between them.”
― John Gardner, The Secret Trilogy

“He remained silent, wishing to draw her out. The trick was as old as the trade itself, practised constantly by case officers and agent handlers the world over. Remain silent and let them come to you, tell you all there is to tell. Only then should you try to fill in the gaps.”
― John Gardner, Role of Honour: A James Bond thriller

“feed”
― John Gardner, The Nostradamus Traitor

“The paths glistened with moisture; while here and there, a soggy leaf, gold a week or so before, lay like a vandalized butterfly.”
― John Gardner, The Secret Generations

“the Mossad agent whom Dudley had described as, ‘An absolutely deadly young lady, around five-six, clear skin, the figure’s copied from the Venus de Milo, only this one’s got both arms, and the head’s different.’ ‘How different?’ Bond had asked. ‘Stunning. Late twenties, I’d say. Very, very good. I’d hate to be up against her . . .’ ‘In the professional sense, of course.’ Bond could not resist the quip.”
― John Gardner, Icebreaker: A James Bond thriller

“Rumours ran along the corridors of power; there was gossip in the clubs, tattle in the powder rooms of government departments, hints to the Press, hints by the Press, even questions in the House of Commons, and finally the resignation of Commander James Bond.”
― John Gardner, Role of Honour: A James Bond thriller