The Final Hour Quotes

“He’s like an apparition, appearing now and again: a rumor, a myth. Hearsay. Not verified. Not real. You have to want to believe in him to see that he exists at all.”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour

“We enter this life not knowing we exist. We leave it wondering what that existence meant.”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour

“Victor said, ‘I’m going to take this axe and I’m going to hack off one of your hands. The blade is dull and I couldn’t find a whetstone so it might take a couple of blows to do the job, so you’ll need to be patient. The pain and the fear will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced, but the horror of watching the stump where your wrist used to be spray blood everywhere is going to be like nothing you can even imagine. At that point you won’t be worried by what your employers might do to you. You’ll bleed to death in about two minutes. Which is why I’m telling you now: don’t forget the stove. When I sever your hand, you’re going to be free of that post. It’s only 20 feet to that stove, but it’s going to feel like a mile. Focus on it now, because you’re going to be in shock. When you cauterise the wound against the cast iron, you’re probably going to pass out, but I’ll wake you up again. If your heart stops, I’ll use the epinephrine you brought to bring you back. If you don’t talk to me then, if you don’t give what I want to know about your employers, I’ll take your other hand. After that, I’ll start improvising. Are you ready?’ Niven’s gaze flicked between the axe and Victor’s eyes. ‘You… you can’t be serious.’ Victor raised the axe.”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour

“In a life threatening situation, whether terrorism or a rockslide, what kills most people is slowness to react. Regular lives are so safe, so event-less that there is a lack of comprehension when faced with death. It's not necessarily shock. It's disbelief. It's dismissal. Civilians say to themselves, I've got this wrong, this isn't what I think. But it is, and by the time they've realized, it's too late. And of course sometimes they do in fact have it wrong. They've misread the situation, and they're left embarrassed and maybe ashamed. But....." "But they're alive," Mayes finished.”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour

“exploring,”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour

“Niven stretched out his arms so the rope binding his hands was braced against the vertical beam. He used that leverage to stand up. ‘You’re the hitman. I’ve heard of you.’ ‘I’m really not fond of that term,’ Victor said. ‘There’s no need to romanticise what I do. I’m just a killer.”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour

“In a life threatening situation, whether terrorism or a rockslide, what kills most people is slowness to react. Regular lives are so safe, so event-less that there is a lack of comprehension when faced with death. It's not necessarily shock. IT's disbelief. It's dismissal. Civilians say to themselves, I've got this wrong, this isn't what I think. But it is, and by the time they've realized, it's too late. And of course sometimes they do in fact have it wrong. They've misread the situation, and they're left embarassed and maybe ashamed. But....." "But they're alive," Mayes finished.”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour

“It was almost impossible to operate with the best gear. The most effective weapons were the ones most hardest to obtain. More often than not, he had to make do".”
― Tom Wood, The Final Hour