tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post8317712241183652209..comments2024-03-29T10:25:17.813-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Cherchez le Crook: a guest blog by Timothy HallinanJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-65217330353580958102012-11-02T02:52:07.031-04:002012-11-02T02:52:07.031-04:00I personally think the Captcha on this sire was de...I personally think the Captcha on this sire was designed by a serial killer. It's thwarted me four times, and it's just a good thing I saved my message. And also that I am a positive, upbeat, slow-to-anger individual who hardly breaks much of anything most of the time.<br /><br />Hank, thanks for the kind words. And congrats to you on the big splash with the new book, which Amazon won't let me download in Thailand.<br /><br />I don't think there's much argument that serial killers, as a genre, reached its high point in "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs" and then (for me, anyway, sank into camp with "Hannibal." Someone told me that Harris, after "Silence," declined to be edited. Don't know whether it's true, but there is NO writer I know who can't use/doesn't need a good editor.<br /><br />David Warner was never bad in any film. And "Time After Time" is a great movie and also a great book -- time for me to reread Jack Finney, if Amazon would sell him to me here.<br /><br />I don't think torture porn is limited to serial killer books. I've read books in several genres that I simply put down because the writer couldn't distinguish between powerful writing and sensationally nauseating detail. <br /><br />And, Lil, Iago almost always steals the show. Why the great actors want to play Othello instead of Iago is beyond me.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-83480867685106142822012-11-01T17:18:32.655-04:002012-11-01T17:18:32.655-04:00Hi Tim, It's nice to see you here, and I am lo...Hi Tim, It's nice to see you here, and I am looking forward to your new books. Junior is a good guy crook; Poke's adversaries are bad guys. I think this is an old fascination we have with nature of evil, and those who seem to embrace it. I always think of Iago and how much more interesting he is than Othello. For me, we live a relatively law abiding life, and those who are untouched by the nature of right and wrong are both scary, and somehow hypnotic.lil Glucksternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288522126331817172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-1723614414310047702012-11-01T16:02:45.889-04:002012-11-01T16:02:45.889-04:00Welcome Tim!
I think Thomas Harris elevated the s...Welcome Tim! <br />I think Thomas Harris elevated the serial killer to cult status with Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs - and he did a masterful job - but not everyone tells as good a story. Sometimes the SK is an excuse for a high body count and a villain that doesn't require much motivation because "OMG, he's a serial killer!"<br /><br />My captcha is rare eat...is that a Hannibal Lecter reference?Rosemary Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08033747422699443024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-83812571576040569872012-11-01T15:38:59.048-04:002012-11-01T15:38:59.048-04:00Yes, yes, Joan and Reine, David Warner in TIEM AFT...Yes, yes, Joan and Reine, David Warner in TIEM AFTER TIME. Exactly. He was so sinister. ANd I LOVED that movie! Wasn't it so good?Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85240594985796536862012-11-01T15:29:00.620-04:002012-11-01T15:29:00.620-04:00David Warner played Doctor John Leslie Stevenson/J...David Warner played Doctor John Leslie Stevenson/Jack the Ripper in "Time After Time" . . . there was a Read Morgan in the cast; he played a booking cop. Malcolm McDowell was H. G. Wells . . . Warner's Jack the Ripper was creepily evil . . . .Joan Emersonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-53727609553374871362012-11-01T15:02:19.172-04:002012-11-01T15:02:19.172-04:00Oh Hank, yes... TIME AFTER TIME! Reid Morgan? Malc...Oh Hank, yes... TIME AFTER TIME! Reid Morgan? Malcolm McDowell? Loved that one!Maureen Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499876353651763590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-2102130986426447562012-11-01T14:46:51.266-04:002012-11-01T14:46:51.266-04:00Tim, TiM, Tim! You are my hero and role model! I a...Tim, TiM, Tim! You are my hero and role model! I am SUCH a fan. And am delighted with Junior's success.<br />My favorite villain..well, I don't know if he's my fave, but I remember being especially creeped out by the Jack the Ripper character Somebody Morgan played in that time travel move I also can't remember the name of.<br /><br />Okay, I realize yo are all saying--huh? But you know who I mean?<br /><br />And Urquhart in that British political series. And the Kelsey Grammer character on BOSS.<br /><br />And got to "love" Hannibal Lecter.<br />Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-6487472502243234432012-11-01T13:35:25.448-04:002012-11-01T13:35:25.448-04:00Welcome, Tim!
While I think there is a huge dange...Welcome, Tim!<br /><br />While I think there is a huge danger of books in the serial killer genre being or becoming "torture porn" (Linda's comment), I do, generally, like the genre. When it is done well, This genre examines the elements important in the creation of all dedicated murderers, above all others– lack of conscience. It can be a different kind of hunt, because you are often looking for someone who blends exceedingly well into their community. I think an astonishing majority go undetected and uncaught.Maureen Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499876353651763590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-83675119314656526082012-11-01T12:10:07.523-04:002012-11-01T12:10:07.523-04:00Hi, everyone --
I'm in Bangkok and it's 1...Hi, everyone --<br /><br />I'm in Bangkok and it's 11 PM and I wasn't sure the blog was up yet, and look at all of you. Thanks so much for reading this.<br /><br />You're all right, villains come in all shapes, sizes, and depth of villainy. I have to admit I've never read Fu Manchu, although I've got one somewhere on my Kindle, among the 250 or so books in the UNREAD folder. I agree with a lot of you that the serial killer thing descended to self-parody and burned out, probably partly because Thomas Harris was SO GOOD in the first two Lecter books and then became a parody of himself later. (I wonder whether the change in Lecter came about in part because of the movie scripts -- Harris imitating the screenwriters' imitation of Harris.<br /><br />But there's an undeniable charge in writing bad guys/gals, something that almost worries me. Why do they attract us so strongly, both as writers and as readers?Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-37419828041651915502012-11-01T11:25:19.107-04:002012-11-01T11:25:19.107-04:00Hi Tim! I agree with you on the serial killers. Bo...Hi Tim! I agree with you on the serial killers. Boring to write, boring to read.<br /><br />But, like you, I do like writing villains. There's something so liberating (especially for a well brought up Texas girl) about writing characters who say and do things that you would NEVER say or do. And you do have to be careful or they will run away with the book, so I think you've come up with the perfect solution:-)Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-9808202773959681192012-11-01T11:09:17.257-04:002012-11-01T11:09:17.257-04:00Welcome, Tim! What a roll you're on right now ...Welcome, Tim! What a roll you're on right now with publication, film, and audio rights being picked up all at once! Super congratulations!<br /><br />Raffles and Patricia Highsmith's <br />Ripley both come to mind as favorite villains (or anti-heroes). Other examples of the likable villain are the Saint (Simon Templar) and Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr and, of course, Alexander Mundy.<br /><br />As far as the serial killers go, some of the books involving them come perilously close to what I've heard described as "torture porn." Anyway, the king of serial killers was Jack the Ripper, who's still puzzling and fooling the experts even today.<br />Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-40394459570194984792012-11-01T10:15:55.498-04:002012-11-01T10:15:55.498-04:00For all time villainy, I have to go with Fu Manchu...For all time villainy, I have to go with Fu Manchu. He embodied the fear of the unknown, of the different and was every bit the equal if not the superior of the "good guys." I use the quotes, because Fu Manchu not only did he not think of himself as evil, but (despite the stereotypes that grew from and around him), he was never really protrayed as a villian by Sax Rohmer. He merely had a different perspective and focus from the West.<br /><br />For a more modern crook, I have grown quite fond of Chris Ewan's "good thief," Charlie Howard.Greg Danielnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-46008382251942045002012-11-01T10:03:58.509-04:002012-11-01T10:03:58.509-04:00I guess my favorite villain would still have to be...I guess my favorite villain would still have to be Professor Moriarty. He's the pattern on which the others came to be based - at least for a while. DeeGramnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58450695931513093892012-11-01T08:45:45.069-04:002012-11-01T08:45:45.069-04:00I'm with Tim on serial killers. Not only can t...I'm with Tim on serial killers. Not only can they lead to lazy writing, they're no fun to read. Give me a good, old-fashioned sociopath who commits his crimes for profit and does what he has to in order to get away with them. Now that's a noble foil for a cop or detective.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-18609726768040169602012-11-01T07:49:11.542-04:002012-11-01T07:49:11.542-04:00Villains we love to . . . well, there are two camp...Villains we love to . . . well, there are two camps here: the lovable ones we cheer on, in the Alexander Mundy/Nathan Ford sort of crooked good-heartedness of “It Takes a Thief” and “Leverage” villainy . . . and those who seem to have no redeeming qualities, who frustrate the heroes and are generally the “bad guys” in the tale: Simon Legree in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” . . . The White Witch in “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” . . . Sauron in “Lord of the Rings” . . . .Joan Emersonnoreply@blogger.com