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*puts on his serious face*

Well I don't know that I found any of the book to contain violence any more than I would have expected or worse than violence I have read a dozen times over in other books of this genre. Thats not to say that it didn't contain more just that it didn't jump out and hit me in the face.

Perhaps Goth could be a little upsetting to some but, the more we hate him the more we are going to enjoy his painful demise (he does loose doesn't he? Don't tell me the series ends with Goth winning??? *runs and hides*).

Does it bother you that some might find it disturbing? I am sure that taken from a certain perspective we could probably find any kind of literature to contain what could be considered offensive. In fact about a month ago I got into a discussion with some middle to late aged guy who seemed to think that Harry Potter was polution for childrens minds. He seemed to find riding on broomsticks and the like to be destructive to kids and that "in his day" they never had the like (yeah and I saw what a well rounded individual he turned out to be). "Childrens minds shouldn't be poluted by that sort of Hogwash!" he said. Go figure I thought it was HogWarts! ">


I do have to admit though that after reading Betrayal I did have a concern. I was concerned that I would have to wait two years to finish the series. ">

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ugh, neighbour... mowing lawn... noisy... can't concentrate... will get back to this later... or there might be some violence right here...

Asteroid B-612

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Just received an email from a couple who have read Betrayal and are concerned at the brutality of the violence contained in the story. Have replied outlining that despite the new world, this does have a European style medieval setting and life was brutal in those days with some people in power so incredibly ruthless and seemingly without conscience. I imagine their concerns rest with Goth.

Thoughts?

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Crusie’s right. Even the most benign thing in the world will be guaranteed to offend someone somewhere, even if it is because it IS benign. Having said that, Goth is about the furthest thing from benign I have ever seen, and I would agree with you that he is what that couple were getting at. Still, he’s the villain of the piece. You can’t exactly have him stop to let a family of ducks pass.

The depiction of violence in books is easier to deal with than that on TV or in movies I think. With books, it’s all in your head, you imagine it, you picture it, and even if the author goes into graphic detail on how blood sprayed across the hero’s face as the jugular was torn from his trusty sidekick, it is up the reader to visualise it and in most cases, that person is going to put it in a context that is acceptable to themselves. However, in a visual medium, TV/movies, it is at the discretion of someone else as to how the violence is realised. It is Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay (I just watched BAD BOYS (whatcha gonna do?), can you tell?) SHOWING us their vision of what is happening, not telling us so we can imagine it for ourselves. Having something displayed right in front of you allows for no variation in perception (to a degree). It is there, it is done, and it is solid. I hate Fight Club for this very reason.

Having said all that, I didn’t find the violence in Betrayal to be excessive. It had to be there for the sake of the story and it had to be in the degrees it was for the same reason. Goth, to me, is a very psychologically disturbed character. He had his traumatic past, coupled with physical deformities (even more once Saxon was finished with him, hehe), and a nasty, selfish, almost childlike mentality. Not a nice mix when you add religious zealotism (Is that word? My spell checker says no). His kind were not only prolific in the European medieval times, they are just as prevalent today.

As long as this couple understand that you were not trying for the gross out factor, I don’t see why you can’t just accept this as a sign (I hesitate to say positive) that your writing is reaching out to people, sparking their interest and getting them thinking.

Asteroid B-612

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Thanks my friends. I wasn't bothered at all by their comments - in fact I welcomed it and was glad to be able to have the opportunity to respond. The reason I mentioned it was because my interest is now piqued to hear the brutality thing from another perspective...to see if it leapt out at anyone else and I really appreciate hearing your thoughts. In truth I was only warming up in Betrayal - I think Revenge is harder, more edgier and things get to feel a tad more dangerous.

Crusie the whole Harry Potter thing for the souls who find it corrupting intrigues me. It is a grand adventure with all the elements of a dark fairytale. I'm amazed that people will read tales of leaving small children deliberately in a forest, allowing a witch to find them and then fatten them up for cooking blah blah is totally okay whilst a story where good triumphs over evil in such fantastic, hilarious and totally absorbing style is howled down. It is no different to the theme of Star Wars - good v bad with the good guys finally winning and those same people will happily take their children to that movie. I respect their views but most of the time I don't "get" them. My boys and I have had a whale of a time reading the Potter series and cheering on Harry.

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I just don't see how one can legitimately complain about something like that in a fantasy novel.

A person tells a tale. It is their tale to tell. Its what makes it their's. You either like it or you don't. If you don't like it you have your reasons and can certainly verbalize them, but to tell the author they are 'concerned' about something in fiction is silly. Its make believe. Why not use the time to complain and do something about 'real' violence in the world? That actually hurts people. This is a scapegoat.

I suppose you could say portraying violence in fiction or fantasy desensitizes people and so aids in glorifying violence, but I don't believe this. I think a well rounded person knows the difference and I am tired of it being used as an excuse.

To me the purpose of fantasy literature is to satisfy my hunger for adventure. In reality our struggles are rarely for some great right over wrong, so we read about the character who summons courage when its asked of them and becomes a hero. This kind of plot contains violence.

Name one good fantasy book without a bit of nasty violence?

If they don't want violence tell them to read Winne the Pooh. Oh wait, isn't there a violent rain storm in one Pooh chapter?