"Sharpe was a soldier's soldier, a man whose approval was eagerly sought by other men, whose name was used as a touchstone of professional competence, and apparently a man who now contemplated surrender without a fight." (p.21).

"El Matarife clasped the priest in his arms. They were brothers, though it was hard to see how the same womb could have given birth to two such different men." (p.14).

"He had been oppressed since Christmas, swinging between violent guilt and savage despair because his wife had died in the snows at the Gateway of the Gods. Unbidden into his mind came the sudden picture of the blood at her throat. He shook his head, as if to drive the picture away. He felt guilty that she had died, he felt guilty that he had been unfaithful to her, he felt guilty that her love had been so badly returned...