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Originally published in The Guardian.

Alex Rider to Necropolis, espionage to the supernatural, Anthony Horowitz is the master of all things, gritty, witty and mysterious. As the king of the thrill celebrates his birthday, we take a look at some of his greatest ever quotes.

"When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news." – Stormbreaker 

"He had followed a trail left by a dead man. It was only now that he realised it might lead only to a grave." – Stormbreaker 

"Show Holmes a drop of water and he would deduce the existence of the Atlantic. Show it to me and I would look for a tap." – The House of Silk 

"Statues lined the stairs and stood, dotted across the roof. But they had been brutalised by time and the weather. Some were missing arms. Many had no faces. Once they had been saints and angels. Two hundred years standing in London had turned them into cripples." – Scorpia 

"He had tattooed all the names of the men he had killed on his body… unfortunately, he had run out of room." – Scorpia Rising 

"All that sadness. All that anger. It is the smoke that blows in your eyes. If you do not blow it away how can you hope to see?" – Russian Roulette 

"We live in an age where there is no room for the impossible." – Raven’s Gate 

"If they find me, they will kill me. But my life is not in question here. You are all that matters." – Necropolis

"I had received an answer to the question Holmes had put to me. Now all I needed to know was why I asked it." – The House of Silk 

"Childhood, after all, is the first precious coin that poverty steals from a child." – The House of Silk 

"‘There’s a name for people who are interested in the moon.’ said Alex. ‘They’re called lunatics.’" – Crocodile Tears