tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post4995042581108035972..comments2024-02-12T17:59:33.534-06:00Comments on RAZORED ZEN: VILLAINS: THE BLACK AND THE GRAYCharles Gramlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-55560392030077164162007-03-30T22:37:00.000-05:002007-03-30T22:37:00.000-05:00I appreciate all kinds of villains, but I have a f...I appreciate all kinds of villains, but I have a fondness for Comic Booky villains. I'm just a comic booky kinda guy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-61154016790449055192007-03-29T13:23:00.000-05:002007-03-29T13:23:00.000-05:00I love well-developed villains. Richard III is coo...I love well-developed villains. Richard III is cool, Milton's Satan is dandy, yet they are still clearly villanous to most readers. Villains can also be funnier than heroes with their evil but hipster dialogue.Erik Donald Francehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332500850365598564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-59317621486200349422007-03-29T01:13:00.000-05:002007-03-29T01:13:00.000-05:00Well, the real villains are the one's that don't l...Well, the real villains are the one's that don't look the part. They blend in, and fester in a cloak of normality. Then they strike. But in fiction, perhaps their colour needs to be deepened?Danny Tagaloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15899578338574197919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-75163072463149188252007-03-28T21:47:00.000-05:002007-03-28T21:47:00.000-05:00I'm not sure I could write an absolute villain, es...I'm not sure I could write an absolute villain, especially since I deal with folks who have done some incredibly evil things. I get to observe their human side in a controlled environment.JR's Thumbprintshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10479324326541901987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-40030177635049409022007-03-28T17:16:00.000-05:002007-03-28T17:16:00.000-05:00Ah.A really fun fictional exercise is to rewrite a...Ah.<BR/><BR/>A really fun fictional exercise is to rewrite a familiar story, but this time tell it from the villain's POV - make him the good guy!<BR/><BR/>It's also produced several bestsellers. Piers Anthony, Michael Moorcock, Marion Zimmer Bradley, James Ellroy, Richard (Donald Westlake) Stark, John Gardner and Dante all come to mind.<BR/><BR/>Will you end up with an anti-hero, a tragically misunderstood figure, or a prisoner of circumstance on a collision course with his own doom?<BR/><BR/>Will you come up with something completely different?<BR/><BR/>(Coffee kicking in now...)Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-33980453786663498292007-03-28T15:56:00.000-05:002007-03-28T15:56:00.000-05:00There was supposed to b emore of that comment, but...There was supposed to b emore of that comment, but it's really early and I'm mostly on autopilot.<BR/><BR/>Now I can't remember what it was...Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-51067371355823543762007-03-28T15:54:00.000-05:002007-03-28T15:54:00.000-05:00Great post, Charles.Great post, Charles.Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-30884477593129654862007-03-28T15:20:00.000-05:002007-03-28T15:20:00.000-05:00I am the villian of the story;o)I am the villian of the story<BR/><BR/>;o)ZZZZZZZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03138083815199638165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-87905444955605898512007-03-28T13:02:00.000-05:002007-03-28T13:02:00.000-05:00I think there's virtue in getting a bit of gray in...I think there's virtue in getting a bit of gray in the mix especially in a horror novel. The more believable the villian the more easily the reader can accept other fantastical elements. <BR/><BR/>A very textured Western novel I like a lot is <A HREF="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/o/chad-oliver/cannibal-owl.htm" REL="nofollow">The Cannibal Owl</A>. It features a Native American antagonist. He kidnaps a young boy to replace his own son, touching off much of the story's action, but the reader is given a clear understanding of his motivations and the beliefs that drive him. By the end of the novel even the kidnapped boy observes: "I think he did the best he could by his lights."Sidneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16284680909152676159noreply@blogger.com