somebody explain "overkill" to me again?
half_sleeping victimised me with D for the 5-character meme, which goes as follows:
I will give you a letter; now, think of 5 fictional characters whose name starts with that letter and post their names and your comments on these characters in your LJ.
Really, for all my initial histronics about the choice of letter, this was quite easily done.
Here's my five.
one.
1. Dexter - the Darkly Dreaming Dexter series, by Jeff Lindsay
People think its fun to pretend you're a monster, me, I spend my life pretending I'm not.
Dexter's a serial killer adopted by a cop, working with the police as a blood spatter technician. Our boy Dexter's a true, irrevocable psychopath, and knows it. But Daddy trained him to channel his murderous instincts for good: so instead of torturing and killing innocents in various interesting and mysterious ways, he tortures and kills serial killers in various interesting and mysterious ways.
What I love so much about Dexter is that he's a completely dysfunctional individual who manages to be true to his inner psycho and while perfecting the art of being ordinary.
He is, essentially, a very abnormal person pretending to be perfectly normal. I love the way the author describes how he was taught to pass for normal. Drink Cokes with people, Dexter. Smile in photographs. I love the concept of someone for whom passing for normal is a life skill.
two.
2. Door - Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
All things want to be opened, you know.
I love this book. It took me ages to want to read it; but it was only when I started living in London that I truly realised what an amazing book it was. You should read it, too, if you haven't already.
Door's a wonderfully resourceful young lady, sole survivor of an ancient family of Openers in London Below. Her family's talent is to coax things to open - be they locks, doors, secret gateways: you name it. As the novel begins, she is fleeing for her life from a pair of singularly sadistic (and literally inhuman) assassins sent to hunt her down. Door is one of the few female leads in novels I have actually liked. Which is saying quite a lot.
three.
3. Dace, Dark Moon, David Gemmell
Dace is the lead character Tarantio's demonic alter ego/split personality. I love this guy, and think him utterly and completely awesome. It's the abandon with which he is himself: he likes killing, is indifferent to what others generally term good, and is fiercely loyal to no one - or so it seems. When his host/brother is nearly dying in battle, he breaks free with a Curse you, brother! I'm not ready to die yet! and basically kicks ass and saves the body they both live in.
During one of their training sessions Dace had broken loose, and had tried to kill Sigellus. The swordsman had been too skilled for him then, but Dace managed to cut him before Sigellus blocked a thrust and hammered his iron fist into Dace's chin, spinning him from his feet.
"What the Hell is wrong with you, boy?" he had asked, when Tarantio regained consciousness. For the second time in his young life, he talked about Dace. Sigellus had listened, his grey eyes expressionless, blood dripping from a shallow cut to his right cheek just below the eye. When at last he had told it all, including the murders, Sigellus sat back and let out a deep sigh. "All men carry demons, Chio," he said. "At least you have made an effort to control yours. May I speak with Dace?"
"You don't think I am insane?"
"I do not know what you are, my boy. But let me speak with Dace."
"He can hear you, sir," said Tarantio. "I do not wish to let him free."
four.
4. Ducon Greve, Shadow of Ombria, Patricia McKillip.
Another story about a alternate world: Ducon Greve is a bastard prince in the city of Ombria, pale-haired and silver-eyed, who draws with charcoal and wanders the city's shadowy ways and alleys. His sole allegiance appears to be to his cousin Kyle. But it's not the bare bones of the story that make it beautiful, it's the way it's written. McKillip writes beautiful fairytales, and I think it's a pity that her writing's turned towards the urban landscape of late. She was in her element with stories like these.
I liked Ducon: by birth, he was a prince out of place, and he dared to be unconventional and defy both his power-hungry aunt and the warring political factions who wanted to overthrow her and use him for their own ends. He was very much his own person, separate from intrigue and true to who he was; and I tend to like that sort of thing in characters I read about.
five.
5. Dean Winchester, Supernatural
Savin' the best for last, Sammy.
Dean. Just thinking about this one makes the biggest grin in the world break out on my face. What is there not to love about this guy: he's an ass, a womaniser, a hell of a jerk, a real pig, totally messed-up, with the biggest Daddy complex you've ever seen (next to Sam's) - and a hell of a handsome devil, fiercely loyal, even more fiercely protective, funny as hell, and with a zest for life that's especially incredible considering how much of his is spent dealing with the dead. And the un-dead. And the never-really-alive.
Sammy's my favourite, really (dammit: pretty boy, bring on the chick-flick moments) - but Sam and Dean, they work best as a team.
And now for my seven-hit combo: Neil Gaiman's Endless.
"Justice? Justice is a delusion you will not find on this or any other sphere. And wisdom? Wisdom is no part of dreams, lithe walker, though dreams are a part of the sum of each life's experiences, which is the only wisdom that matters. But revelation? That is the province of dream."
1. Destiny: My feelings on Destiny are the same as my feelings on Delirium and Despair: I don't so much see them as characters in their own right. I see them, still, as concepts. Death, Dream and Destruction are the ones who seem to have more of a personality to me.
2. Dream: Dream, is, oddly enough, my favourite. I love that it rains so much in his world because he is so emo all the time.
Also, I'd ship Lucien (or Matthew) (the ravens) and Dream.
3. Desire: I totally ship Desire/Dream. But, see #1 of my Endless remarks.
4. Delirium: See above. Like Death, I also do not quite understand her popularity. I suppose it's the brightly-coloured randomness and the floatiness and her very ethereal personality.
And the green mouse-flavoured ice cream.
5. Despair: See my thoughts on Destiny, Desire, and Delirium.
6. Death: Death, oddly enough, is one of those characters who is so universally loved that it makes me go, Eh? And that incomprehension and the fuss over her makes me kind of like her a little less than I probably would have.
As it was, I understand it's a revolutionary concept to personalise Death as a pretty young goth girl who clearly loves life, but - nah. She's all right.
I like Pratchett's Death better.
7. Destruction: I love that he gave up on it all and went off to become a painter.
1. Dilbert
2. Dogbert
3. Dennis the Menace
4. Dino, of Reborn
5. Druss the Legend, David Gemmell
6. Darren Shan ( Did it here when I thought I wouldn't have enough names).
yeah.
I will give you a letter; now, think of 5 fictional characters whose name starts with that letter and post their names and your comments on these characters in your LJ.
Really, for all my initial histronics about the choice of letter, this was quite easily done.
Here's my five.
one.
1. Dexter - the Darkly Dreaming Dexter series, by Jeff Lindsay
People think its fun to pretend you're a monster, me, I spend my life pretending I'm not.
Dexter's a serial killer adopted by a cop, working with the police as a blood spatter technician. Our boy Dexter's a true, irrevocable psychopath, and knows it. But Daddy trained him to channel his murderous instincts for good: so instead of torturing and killing innocents in various interesting and mysterious ways, he tortures and kills serial killers in various interesting and mysterious ways.
What I love so much about Dexter is that he's a completely dysfunctional individual who manages to be true to his inner psycho and while perfecting the art of being ordinary.
He is, essentially, a very abnormal person pretending to be perfectly normal. I love the way the author describes how he was taught to pass for normal. Drink Cokes with people, Dexter. Smile in photographs. I love the concept of someone for whom passing for normal is a life skill.
two.
2. Door - Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
All things want to be opened, you know.
I love this book. It took me ages to want to read it; but it was only when I started living in London that I truly realised what an amazing book it was. You should read it, too, if you haven't already.
Door's a wonderfully resourceful young lady, sole survivor of an ancient family of Openers in London Below. Her family's talent is to coax things to open - be they locks, doors, secret gateways: you name it. As the novel begins, she is fleeing for her life from a pair of singularly sadistic (and literally inhuman) assassins sent to hunt her down. Door is one of the few female leads in novels I have actually liked. Which is saying quite a lot.
three.
3. Dace, Dark Moon, David Gemmell
Dace is the lead character Tarantio's demonic alter ego/split personality. I love this guy, and think him utterly and completely awesome. It's the abandon with which he is himself: he likes killing, is indifferent to what others generally term good, and is fiercely loyal to no one - or so it seems. When his host/brother is nearly dying in battle, he breaks free with a Curse you, brother! I'm not ready to die yet! and basically kicks ass and saves the body they both live in.
During one of their training sessions Dace had broken loose, and had tried to kill Sigellus. The swordsman had been too skilled for him then, but Dace managed to cut him before Sigellus blocked a thrust and hammered his iron fist into Dace's chin, spinning him from his feet.
"What the Hell is wrong with you, boy?" he had asked, when Tarantio regained consciousness. For the second time in his young life, he talked about Dace. Sigellus had listened, his grey eyes expressionless, blood dripping from a shallow cut to his right cheek just below the eye. When at last he had told it all, including the murders, Sigellus sat back and let out a deep sigh. "All men carry demons, Chio," he said. "At least you have made an effort to control yours. May I speak with Dace?"
"You don't think I am insane?"
"I do not know what you are, my boy. But let me speak with Dace."
"He can hear you, sir," said Tarantio. "I do not wish to let him free."
four.
4. Ducon Greve, Shadow of Ombria, Patricia McKillip.
Another story about a alternate world: Ducon Greve is a bastard prince in the city of Ombria, pale-haired and silver-eyed, who draws with charcoal and wanders the city's shadowy ways and alleys. His sole allegiance appears to be to his cousin Kyle. But it's not the bare bones of the story that make it beautiful, it's the way it's written. McKillip writes beautiful fairytales, and I think it's a pity that her writing's turned towards the urban landscape of late. She was in her element with stories like these.
I liked Ducon: by birth, he was a prince out of place, and he dared to be unconventional and defy both his power-hungry aunt and the warring political factions who wanted to overthrow her and use him for their own ends. He was very much his own person, separate from intrigue and true to who he was; and I tend to like that sort of thing in characters I read about.
five.
5. Dean Winchester, Supernatural
Savin' the best for last, Sammy.
Dean. Just thinking about this one makes the biggest grin in the world break out on my face. What is there not to love about this guy: he's an ass, a womaniser, a hell of a jerk, a real pig, totally messed-up, with the biggest Daddy complex you've ever seen (next to Sam's) - and a hell of a handsome devil, fiercely loyal, even more fiercely protective, funny as hell, and with a zest for life that's especially incredible considering how much of his is spent dealing with the dead. And the un-dead. And the never-really-alive.
Sammy's my favourite, really (dammit: pretty boy, bring on the chick-flick moments) - but Sam and Dean, they work best as a team.
And now for my seven-hit combo: Neil Gaiman's Endless.
"Justice? Justice is a delusion you will not find on this or any other sphere. And wisdom? Wisdom is no part of dreams, lithe walker, though dreams are a part of the sum of each life's experiences, which is the only wisdom that matters. But revelation? That is the province of dream."
1. Destiny: My feelings on Destiny are the same as my feelings on Delirium and Despair: I don't so much see them as characters in their own right. I see them, still, as concepts. Death, Dream and Destruction are the ones who seem to have more of a personality to me.
2. Dream: Dream, is, oddly enough, my favourite. I love that it rains so much in his world because he is so emo all the time.
Also, I'd ship Lucien (or Matthew) (the ravens) and Dream.
3. Desire: I totally ship Desire/Dream. But, see #1 of my Endless remarks.
4. Delirium: See above. Like Death, I also do not quite understand her popularity. I suppose it's the brightly-coloured randomness and the floatiness and her very ethereal personality.
And the green mouse-flavoured ice cream.
5. Despair: See my thoughts on Destiny, Desire, and Delirium.
6. Death: Death, oddly enough, is one of those characters who is so universally loved that it makes me go, Eh? And that incomprehension and the fuss over her makes me kind of like her a little less than I probably would have.
As it was, I understand it's a revolutionary concept to personalise Death as a pretty young goth girl who clearly loves life, but - nah. She's all right.
I like Pratchett's Death better.
7. Destruction: I love that he gave up on it all and went off to become a painter.
1. Dilbert
2. Dogbert
3. Dennis the Menace
4. Dino, of Reborn
5. Druss the Legend, David Gemmell
6. Darren Shan ( Did it here when I thought I wouldn't have enough names).
yeah.