Vince Flynn Quotes & Sayings

It's what every writer needs: a daybed. — Vince Flynn

If you're not busy living, you're dying. — Vince Flynn

It's this upside-down world that we live in where we afford political correctness to the most intolerant group of individuals on the planet. — Vince Flynn

My doctors warned me repeatedly that if you don't stay positive, you don't do well. — Vince Flynn

Underestimating one's enemy was a classic tactical mistake
one that was usually born out of stupidity or arrogance or both. (Harry Smith) — Vince Flynn

I have such bad memories, sitting in the back of a classroom, being told, you know, everybody is going to read a paragraph, and skipping ahead to my paragraph and being mortified and trying to read it enough times so that I wouldn't stutter and stammer, getting called on, even in high school. — Vince Flynn

Have you ever heard the phrase, it is better to keep your mouth closed and have people wonder if you are stupid than open it and remove all doubt? (Hakim al Harbi) — Vince Flynn

No matter how bad you think you have it, there's always - always somebody who's got it way, way worse. — Vince Flynn

We're all dying, just some of us sooner than others. — Vince Flynn

No one writes better historical fiction than Steven Pressfield. The Afghan War that was waged by Alexander the Great 2000 years ago is eerily similar to the one that's being fought today. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to better understand what American and Coalition forces are up against in one of history's most tribal and troubled regions. — Vince Flynn

Killing Lincoln is a must-read historical thriller. Bill O'Reilly recounts the dramatic events of the spring of 1865 with such exhilarating immediacy that you will feel like you are walking the streets of Washington DC on the night that John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. This is a hugely entertaining, heart-stopping read. — Vince Flynn

It was war, and in war the truth was almost always the first casualty. — Vince Flynn

Any form of government that required the repression, imprisonment, and execution of those who disagreed with it was certainly not a government of the people. — Vince Flynn

[He] had seen firsthand the horrific results of appeasement. It was a path chosen by feebleminded people who were morally incapable of confronting evil. He saw many parallels between the Nazis, the communists, and these jihadists. They were all sociopaths at heart
obsessed with their own tribal desires and utterly incapable of conferring justice or compassion on those outside the tribe. If you were not one of them, you were a lesser human, and thus deserved to be treated in any way they saw fit. And if that meant blowing up airliners and buses full of innocent civilians, then so be it. — Vince Flynn

It was not possible to reason with unreasonable people — Vince Flynn

One of the most talented writers out there is Brian Haig. — Vince Flynn

Greta's car was three blocks away, and up ahead there looked to be a crowd of people gathering. They had probably come outside to see what the commotion was. Rapp stopped running. There was no quicker way to attract attention than running in street clothes at night when gunshots had been fired. The sirens were much closer now. At the next intersection a police car came skidding around the corner. Rapp's training kicked in. He stopped and stared directly at the two policemen in the front seat. That's what innocent people did. Guilty people looked away, hid their faces, and even ran. — Vince Flynn

I have a history of disregarding orders. - Mitch Rapp — Vince Flynn

Revenge is more wild, less calculated ... deeply personal. Retribution is a punishment that is morally right and fully deserved. (Mitch Rapp) — Vince Flynn

People who think God is on their side are capable of the most inhumane acts. (Petrov) — Vince Flynn

A major theme in all my books is that the CIA is not only the first line of defense but they should also be the first line of offense. — Vince Flynn

or the trunk, taken somewhere and stripped naked, — Vince Flynn

Anybody who knew me growing up calls me Vinny. — Vince Flynn

That's the problem with this whole country. Fucking vast prosperity. No one has any real problems anymore. Ninety percent of the damn politicians in this town either think there's no war on terror, or if we'd just be nice to these zealots they'll leave us alone. Well, that ain't going to fucking happen. The Huns are circling, and we're sitting around arguing about gay rights and prayer and guns and global warming and all kinds of bullshit. These idiots will eventually wake up to the threat, but by then it might be too late. (Stan Hurley) — Vince Flynn

I think the more avenues that open up when people want to publish, the better. Some of the authors that want to jump ship from the traditional houses and go on their own, you know what? Good luck. It's going to be a lot tougher than you think. — Vince Flynn

Abu, torturing guys and breaking them down is not something I look forward to, although your case is a little different. I think you're such a despicable fuck that I might actually enjoy our little session. (Mitch Rapp to Abu Haggani) — Vince Flynn

When I give a lot of speeches, they're always on the fly. I mean, I know what I'm going to say roughly, but I do not - will not read. — Vince Flynn

I am a huge fan of Alan Furst. Furst is the best in the business
the most talented espionage novelist of our generation. — Vince Flynn

first, he called idiot savant. The type of person who is so smart in his or her field of expertise that their mind is literally elsewhere. In layman's terms he explained that these people were smart in school and dumb on the bus. The second category was made up of perfectionists, people who were incapable of letting go of one task and moving on to another. These people were always playing catch-up, rarely rose to any real position of power, and needed to be managed properly. The third category, and the one to be most wary of, were the egomaniacs. These were the people who not only felt that their time was more important than anyone else's, but who needed to prove it by constantly making others wait — Vince Flynn

There's a lot more to publishing a book than writing it and slapping a cover on it. — Vince Flynn

A good football team plays offense and defense. You have to be aggressive and disrupt. — Vince Flynn

just let Mitch be Mitch — Vince Flynn

And when I go around and talk to schools, what I tell the kids are, first of all, you have to accept each other's differences. Some of you are going to be a crappy football player, some of you are going to be a great mathematician. Whatever it is, accept each other's differences and help prop each other up. — Vince Flynn

I just look at what's going on in the world. — Vince Flynn

I don't want to hear another word about my attitude. i don't want anyone looking over my shoulder, and I sure as hell don't want anyone second-guessing what I do. (Mitch Rapp) — Vince Flynn

I'm a big believer in free enterprise. If people want to try it, then go for it. — Vince Flynn

No offence Mitch, but you look like s*****."
"I feel like s**** — Vince Flynn

People, especially successful people, are habitual creatures. They're organized. This makes them productive - Gus Mitchell — Vince Flynn

[He] saw communism for the sham that it was
a bunch of brutes who seized power in the name of the people, only to repress the very people they claimed to champion. — Vince Flynn

I have been blessed to have the same editor and work for a great publishing house. — Vince Flynn

I don't need men like Ross on my side. I just need them to get out of my way. (Mitch Rapp) — Vince Flynn