Today I'm pleased to welcome back the supremely talented Christine Rains as part of the blog tour for the 13th Floor Complete Collection. She's talking about something that is tricky to get right, but very effective if done well. Over to you, Christine!
We talked about all sorts of villains this
year in my guest post series. The tricksters, bullies, geniuses, and gods.
There's one sort of villain that doesn't make an appearance in my series. One
that I consider important in the realm of bad guys. That is the sympathetic
villain.
This is the sort of character that falls
into the antagonist role doing bad things, but there's a reason behind it that
gains the reader's sympathy. Perhaps it's done through back story or through
seeing how society treats him. He has a reason for what he's doing and perhaps
he thinks it's good. It makes for fantastic characterization, but as much as we
can sympathize, it doesn't change the fact he is the villain.
The sympathetic villain is becoming more
popular these days. Two of my favorites are Dr. Horrible (Dr. Horrible's
Sing-Along Blog) and Severus Snape (Harry Potter series). I adore these
characters, but no matter what anyone argues, they are still bad guys. They
are, in a way, the anti-villain. A trend rising along side of the anti-hero.
Why is the sympathetic villain more
attractive to people these days? Some suggest that we relate to the urge to do
bad things more than we did a few decades ago. Or it could be that the heroes
are too good to believe and so we flock to what we consider the more realistic
character. Whatever the reason, I can see this trend continuing.
Perhaps we'll see more of George R.R.
Martin's thinking: “There are no heroes or villains. Only characters with
flaws.”
Who are your favorite sympathetic villains?
Why do you think there are more anti-heroes and anti-villains these days?
Title: The 13th Floor Complete
Collection
Author: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: October 13th, 2013
Blurb:
Six supernatural tenants
Living in a haunted apartment building
On a floor that doesn't exist.
Six novellas telling their tales.
A retired demon acquires a price on his
head.
A werewolf is hunted by her pack.
A modern day dragonslayer misses his
target.
A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the
man she loves.
A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he
can't find.
A banshee falls in love with someone who's
death she has seen in a vision.
And a sweet ghost must battle a primal
monster to save them all.
All the stories take place at the same time
intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.
Includes “The Shadow,” a bonus short story.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/13th-
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/
Author Bio:
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom.
She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great
Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with
her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered
Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor
series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and
twenty-one short stories published.
15 comments:
I'm not really a fan of any villain, sympathetic or otherwise lol! Severus Snape... don't get me started on him- I could be here for days LOL!
Thanks so much for hosting me, Nick!
Hehehe! Please do talk about Severus, Kyra. I don't mind! ;)
Sounds like some great storytelling.
Villains are so misunderstood.
Most villains would fall in that category I think. The ones most believable and real anyway.
Not a big fan of anti-heroes though.
David, thanks!
Alex, I like a good backstory for a villain, but I also like that sometimes they're just plain evil!
Dr. Horrible is one of my faves, too! Sympathetic villains can be incredibly fascinating when done right. One reason why I think people are finding them more appealing is because some try too hard to make their heroes good, which leads to no flaws, and flawlessness is...well, boring.
Some sympathetic villains can be boring, too, though, at least to me. (Like all the ones who only get that label because they're sexy and suddenly IN LOVE OMG. Sorry, but sympathetic villains need more redeeming qualities than that!)
I'm really enjoying The Blacklist, with James Spader, the villain, as the hero, or anti-hero. Very refreshing, even though he's a self-confessed monster.
Lovely to catch another post, Christine.
Denise
Good question. *shrugs* Maybe it has arisen from writers striving to create complex characters and avoid cliches.
Love the 13th Floor series. :)
I was a big Dexter fan. I don't think there will ever be another quite like him.
Christine's visiting me today! Stop by and see what she's up to. It's fun.
Ooo, like Denise said, I love The Blacklist. James Spader is such a likeable villain. I also loved Hannibal Lecter and Dexter and all sorts of anti-villians. LOL!
Evil for evil sake is just as boring as the wonderful, unflawed hero.
People have motivations. The thing that drives them to do what they do and most have a split of good and bad. Yes, we can be one of the good guys but that doesn't mean we haven't done or thought about the other side of the coin. Within that parameter, there are people who fight for good because they're making up for bad choices or bad actions. So, they are flawed and have to fight that side of themselves. In stories that makes for an interesting dynamic.
Bad guys who are interesting usually have or do good things and may have good reasons why they went the way they did. Still doesn't make 'em good guys. :-) Just interesting characters.
I like Snape but I gotta say, I'm always on the side of good.
Sia McKye Over Coffee
Heather, flawlessness is completely boring!
Denise, thank you!
Melissa, that's a great answer. I think we're trying to twist old stereotypes.
Stephen, Dexter is an excellent example.
Lee, yay! Trick-or-treating on the 13th Floor. :)
Cherie, they have a definite sort of allure.
Sia, great reasoning. I'm always on the side of good too!
Jules and Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction! Both "charming motherblablah... pigs" :)
Makes them more human instead of black vs white.
lostinsidethecovers, excellent examples!
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