The Baddest of the Bad Guys

They say that a hero can only be as mighty as his opponent. Who is this "they" I refer to? Couldn't say; this quote is actually something I read a very long time ago. Still, my pitted memory aside, there's some truth to this saying - you could be the greatest barbarian hero ever to swagger into Valhalla, but if your great nemesis is some average Joe that you walk up to and decapitate with one swing of your ridiculously oversized sword, no one is going to take you seriously. To some extent, it really is the degree of a villain's evil that determines the power and reputation of a protagonist. So it's time to give some credit where credit is due: I'm counting down the five worst bad guys of modern fantasy literature. No, Sauron isn't going to be in here. First of all, I'm clarifying "modern" as "since 1980." Second of all, a big, looming, scary specter of pure evil has never really cut it for me. Don't get me wrong, I've have no problem with books that use that - I use it a little myself in The Perfect Blade - but that's not going to win the evil contest. To really get in the running, I need a guy or girl with human emotions who could have turned out entirely normal, but willingly embraced evil to such an extend that they have raised themselves above most other people in status and power. I want cunning. I want character. I want complexity. I want someone I can love to hate. So let the games begin.

WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW!


#5 - Voldemort, from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Okay, so thanks to the (deserved) popularity of the Harry Potter series, it's not uncommon right now to hear someone say that Voldemort is a perfect specimen of evil. I wouldn't quite go that far - you'll see why when you bump into some of the villains further down the list - but Voldemort does make the top five. Why? For starters, he killed his father and grandparents. Notwithstanding that his father abandoned his pregnant mother, killing your own blood family is pretty evil no matter how you slice it. In addition, there's the little matter of his attempt to kill an infant in the cradle. Of course, it was his embarrassing failure there that led to Harry Potter himself. Last but not least, Voldemort is an individual who tortures without a twinge of conscience, and condones others to torture in his name. Any bad guy can kill - hell, most of the good guys do too, and if they don't fantasy books will usually make it a major plot point because it's so unusual - but torture is different. There are situations like self defense where killing can be justified, but not so with torture. Deliberately causing suffering and pain in others, to the point of breaking a victim's mind, definitely gets you on the list.


#4 - Sulepis, from the Shadowmarch triology by Tad Williams

The Autarch of the punitive and violent nation of Xis is revered as the living iteration of a god. He has complete power over his people, his nation, and its vast military forces. And what does he do with it? I'll give you a hint - he does not start a grassroots movement to build low-income housing. When Sulepis' father died, the first thing Sulepis did was to kill his brothers and rivals to the throne, in the fine tradition of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. At the time of Shadowmarch, the first book, he is keeping a menagerie of wives (read: slaves). He has one of his guard tortured for questioning, and when he has his answers, he has the man tortured for fun. Sulepis issues a military order to attack an impregnable city, and when he is told that it will cost the lives of thousands of his own troops, he giggles. Giggling is not a sign of a stable mind. In fact, the only reason Sulepis isn't higher up the list is that he is so insane that I can't be certain that his evil deeds are the result of thought-out choices rather than good old madness...


#3 - Emperor Jagang, from the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind

This is one bad man - Jagang, Emperor of the Imperial Order. He gives us all the classics of evil. He is a conqueror, tyrant, torturer, and slave lord. He sends his troops to rape and pillage conquered lands to ensure unflinching fealty through fear. But with him we go to a new level of evil - the conquest and torture of the mind. Jagang was a dream walker, which let him enter into people's minds and control them like puppets. He took over politicians to subvert their governments, wizards to steal their arcane secrets. He possessed the mind of the Sisters of Darkness and The Sisters of Light, two sects of priestesses, to gain control of their orders and influences. For fun, he will send his concubines naked into the camp of his foot soldiers, and ride along in her mind taunting her through the whole ordeal. No questions here - Jagang is a monster.


#2 - Hekat, from the Godspeaker trilogy by Karen Miller

Unlike the previous three, Hekat doesn't take any special, psychotic pleasure in the torture of others - even when we meet her in childhood, she is as cold, uncaring, and ruthless as a serpent. Hekat starts as a poor girl sold to slavers, but she is a girl with goals - and she has a heartless will and the blessings of a dark god to help her reach them. Hekat doesn't torture; she just does whatever is most convenient for clearing obstacles. The first person who is ever kind to her is a slaver named Abajai, who purchases her. When he becomes a liability, she butchers him in his sleep. She marries the emperor Et-Raklion, then fills her husband's mind with lies about his best friend Hanochek, who sees Hekat for the monster she is. Hekat has the man sent into exile, and when he has nothing left, she crushes him. She finds that the emperor is sterile; to ensure that she will keep power when the Emperor dies she sleeps with two different men to produce sons, whom she tells the emperor are his. And this is why she is number two on the list - her actions towards her sons, who love her dearly and want her acceptance more than anything. One she loves, and one she hates, but it makes no difference - she uses both as mere means to an end. At the end of the first book, Empress, her oldest son Zandakar finds love in a land Hekat sent him to conquer. He returns to his homeland to stand before his mother and beloved (and heavily pregnant) new wife to say that he will not destroy other lands for Hekat. He begs his mother to forgive him, to turn away from conquest and live a life of peace. By way of an answer - in an amphitheater full of people mind you - Hekat carves open her daughter-in-law's belly, disembowels the woman, and stabs her unborn grandson to death before sentencing Zandakar to exile. Nice job, mom.


#1 - Bayaz, from the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

If you read this series, you'll find plenty of nasty bastards to choose from, and for the first two books and most of the third, Bayaz doesn't really seem like a contender. The First of the Magi, he is a stern man of vast power, who takes it upon himself to coach the spoiled, aristocratic Jezal on the qualities of a good leader. Granted that some of his lessons are a bit Machievellian, but nothing straight-up evil, and to all appearances is preparing to fight an epic battle against Khalul, the dark Second of the Magi and Bayaz's eternal rival. Then we find out everything we know is wrong. In point of fact, Bayaz most likely killed his master, the god-like Juvens who gave the gift of magic to the Magi. Bayaz certainly killed Juven's brother the Maker - he got into the Maker's house by seducing his daughter Tolomei, who Bazay cast down and destroyed before her father's eyes. The rivalry between Bayaz and Khalul is revealed to have likely been caused when Bayaz decided that he deserved to control the world, and Khalul resorted to dark, desperate means to stop him. Bayaz leaves his friend and fellow Magi Yulwei sealed forever in the Maker's House with his undead ex Tolomei, who will spend the rest of eternity feasting on his flesh. Too bad, as Yulwei was one of the kindest characters in the books. In the end, we find out that Bayaz is not a friend but a pupeteer, engineering entire societies to riches or ruin as it suits him. He is the worst kind of monster, because he doesn't see people as pawns to manipulate, victims to torture, or enemies to face - he just sees them as objects to be placed where he wants, and swept aside when they outlive their usefulness. And until the last 50 pages or so of the triology, he does it all in the guise of ally and mentor. They say the deepest circle of Hell is reserved for betrayers of trust...this series (which is a fantastic read, by the way) has Bayaz to show us why that is.

This is the list as I see it. Feel free to comment to agree or argue - I happily take both.


~Blue Nephelim Out

The Mytholarium - Kitsune

Name: Kitsune, or Fox-Spirit
Country(s) of Origin: Japan, arguably influenced by Chinese and Korean fox-myths
Earliest Stories: 4th Century A.D.
Kitsune Links: The Kitsune Page, Kitsune in Folktales, Kitsune Lore

Image: Woodblock carving by Yoshitoshi, featured in the series "100 Views of the Moon."


The kitsune today is an occasional character in anime and manga, but it has very deep roots in the rich folklore of ancient Japan. The kitsune are fox spirits, creatures of many guises - seductive lovers, michevious tricksters, wanderers disguised among humans. Although they are know for being somewhat impish, even malignant in some stories, the kitsune are just as often featured as dedicated lovers and spouses or as sages.

The exact origin of kitsune stories is debateable. While it is agreed that the Japanese kitsune was influenced by Korean and Chinese fox folklore, there is still argument on how much. Some historians say the kitsune are part of a Japanese myth concept that dates back to the 5th century B.C.; this theory argues that the original kitsune of Japan was benevolent and that the Asian mainland influences only introduced the negative traits of the fox spirit. On the other side are those who say that the kitsune concept was delivered wholoesale from the mainland to Japan. It is hard to say for certain. What is sure is that by the 11th Century the kitsune had been thoroughly embraced into Japanese folklore, where they flourished.

There is no hard distinction between kitsune (simply, the Japanese word for fox) and kitsune the clever fox spirits - foxes are the chosen animal of the god Inari, and all foxes become supernatural beings if they live long enough. The power of an individual kitsune depends mostly on its age, with the creature gaining power as it grows older. Even young Kitsune, for example, can make themselves disappear and sometimes fly. At 100 years old, a kitsune gains the ability to shapeshift and take on human form, which they do frequently. At 1,000 years old, the kitsune gains a second tail, and gains another tail every thousand years thereafter until it reaches 8,000 years old. At this time it reaches the peak of its supernatual power, growing a ninth tail and turning gold or white. This is why white foxes are treated with particular reverence in Japanese mythology. Many stories credit the kitsune with other magical abilities, in particular the ability to generate a burst of kitsune-bi, or fox-fire, from their mouths or tails, and the ability to craft illusions or dazzling complexity that are often impossible to distinguish from reality.

The kitsune wer not shy creatures and meddled heavily in the affairs of humans; most stories invlove the fox spirits in human form, roving among the populace. Though the foxes can take on and shape the choose, the most popular forms were those of an old man, or a young women. Since kitsune are noted for their physical beauty, their human female form was thought to be equally beautiful - women with thin, arched features were called fox-faced and considered very attractive. What's more, men of medival Japan were wise to be politely cautious to any woman alone on the roads after dark, as she could well be a fox in disguise. Though the stunning human forms of foxes are featured in many bawdy cautionary tales, there are also many sotires of the kitsune marrying humans and even having children with them. Past ancestors of those lovely, fox-faced women? Perhaps, and the idea was certainly considered valid in ancient Japan. In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, another common trait of the kitsune was that some part of their foxy nature remained apparent when they were in human form. Most often it was their tails. There is a story of a young man who noticed that the woman he was speaking with had a tail peeking from under her skirt. He politely said that her skirt had a snag and turned away so that she might smooth it - and for his manners, the kitsune rewarded him with good fortune.

The moral of the story? Always be courteous to foxes - because you never know with kitsune.

~Blue Nephelim Out

Character of the Week - Rincewind

And so, my attempt to give you all regular features begins! May I present to you, the first-ever Character of the Week...Rincewind!

Name: Rincewind
Appears in: Various novels of The Discworld, written by the amazing Sir Terry Pratchett
Age: Young...ish
Gender: Male
Occupation: Wizzard (his spelling, not mine); running from certain, implied, and threatened death



Pictured here as drawn by Paul Kidby of The Art of Discworld.


Behold, Rincewind! The unkempt-est, fastest, least magical and most-persecuted wizard on the Discworld. He - what? You've never read the Discworld series? Shame, shame upon you! Go out right now and do whatever it takes - beg, borrow, steal, I mean it - to get The Color of Magic, first book in the series. Hell, if you're reading this you don't even have to move; you can just grab it online. If you know me in person, come over to my house so I can lend it to you. Really. Go now. I'll wait.

Got it? Good! Anyway...

Behold Rincewind, Character of the Week! What has he done to earn this award, you ask? Well, he's run away from a lot of things. In fact, he's usually running away from something attempting to kill, maim, or otherwise subdue him, and when he isn't currently running it's because he either just finished running or because he will be running again shortly. I love Rincewind - look at him go!

Rincewind is the most unmagical wizard - likely the most unmagical human being and possibly the most unmagical organic object - on the Discworld, the setting of Sir Terry Pratchett's delicious fantasy satire series of the same name. He first appeared in the earliest book, the afore-mentioned Color of Magic, and has since turned fleeing in terror into a near religion. Rincewind is a wizard - no, he can't do any magic, but he can be identified by his pointy hat, which has WIZZARD clearly spelled on it with little glittery sequins. Despite his lack of magical ability, he actually is a wizard, because like all wizards (and cats) he can see Death, and he can perceive Octarine, which is the eight color and is a visible indicator of magic. Other than the innate abilities and his hat, Rincewind has none of the traits of a wizard, i.e. any ability whatsoever to do magic. He is a failed student of The Unseen University of Magic, and the quote on him is that he is the magical equivalent of the number zero, and when he dies the occult potential of the human race will actually go up a fraction of a point. Though no one knows it, Rincewind is one of the favorite chosen of The Lady, Discworld's mysterious luck goddess/personification. This makes him a favorite target of Fate, the eternal enemy of The Lady, and hence terrible things seek Rincewind out like he had a bulls-eye tattooed on his forehead. Fortunately, Rincewind has an amazing will and talent for survival, and manages to escape even the most devastating and asuredly fatal events unscathed - often by running. His best friend is an Orangutan, Librarian of the Unseen University.

Sir Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld, has had to explain repeatedly that Rincewind is not his favorite character. In fact, supposedly Sir Pratchett never planned to bring Rincewind in again after the first two books - considering the cowardly wizard too one-sided for any substantial material - but Rincewind proved to be a fan-favorite and has returned in many Discworld books by popular demand. Though Sir Pratchett feels that Rincewind is one-dimensional, on occasion we do see hints that there is a tiny little spark of bravery somewhere in that scrawny, toast-rack chest. This is particularly true in the end of Sourcery, where we get to see the best in Rincewind - in spite of all his efforts to the contrary.

And so, for his utter dedication to cowardice, and his insistence the he is a wizard despite all evidence to the contrary, we salute you Rincewind! Congratulations on being the very first Character of the Week.


Post-text: On a sadder note, for those of you who don't know, Sir Terry Pratchett announced in December of 2007 that he is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. I am deeply moved by this - Sir Pratchett is an amazing mind, and the depth of his contribution not just to fantasy but to taking a long look at the human condition is literally to much to describe on a page. So everyone, send out your thoughts, prayers, well-wishes, or other positive feelings of choice to Sir Terry Pratchett. He is one of the best.


~Blue Nephelim Out

Figurines for My Collection

So, I've been thinking about how to organize this blog - now that I'm actually getting things underway, it seems past time to address this. I was thinking of mixing in editorial posts with regular (or semi-regular) features, something to add cohesion to this little venture of mine. My thoughts?

The Mytholarium - A section spotlighting various creatures and beings of the fantasy world, from cultures around the globe. I love research, and my giant Compendium of World Mythology, so this one I think would be fun.

Character of the Week - A section where I give a call-out and short biography for one character from a fantasy book, film, or other enterprise. I look at this as an opportunity to give the nod to the writers, filmmakers, and other fantasy entrepreneurs who take the time to give their characters depth.

Races, Places, and Faces - I'd like to make this a feature covering different aspects of my own novel, The Perfect Blade, and my fantasy worldscape of Meridia. This one would be completely self-serving, I admit it, but after all part of the reason I'm running this blog is to start sounding out ideas for my work.

Book/Movie reviews - This one is self-explanatory. I'm not going to lie though, I'm much more of a reader than a movie or TV watcher, so this is probably going to involve far more book reviews than anything else.

The Muse's Corner - I'd like to make this a section where I can feature fantasy art, I suppose poetry or other creative forms too if I come across them. I have a gallery over at DeviantArt.com, and I think there are a lot of wonderful artists there and else where on the web who deserve the attention.

The Latrine List - Now, as much fun as this would be, I'm really hesitant about it... In theory, this would be a place to highlight the worst of the worst in fantasy, and if you're even a little familiar with the genre you'll know there's plenty of muck to go around. However, the reason I'm a little reluctant is because I want to publish myself one day, and it seems like shoveling the proverbial nightsoil on people who will (hopefully) one day be my peers seems like something that could come back and bite me. But then again...some of the books out there really are terrible, and wanting to share the field with the author doesn't mean I want to pretend that I think he/she is a good writer. Gah, I'm really on the fence about this one.


So, those are mjy ideas for regular feature sections. If anyone has thoughts, suggestions, comments, or criticisms please feel free to share - I want Beyond the Far Horizon to be a dynamic project and I'm looking for sincere input!


~BlueNephelim Out

...Making up A Song About Coraline...

Title: Coraline
Recommended Age: E (Everyone)
Director: Henry Selick
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Voices: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Keith David, Robert Baily Jr.


My Rating: 9/10


Some people would probably argue with me whether this review belongs in a fantasy blog. However, while it's not sword and sorcery, Coraline is the most fantastic thing I've seen in some time - in every sense of the world. By turns delightful and frightening (and sometimes disturbing), it has everything I would expect from a genuine fairytale.

The Plot - Warning! Spoilers to follow!

Eleven year old Coraline hates her new home in Oregon. The scenery is dreary, the neighbors are eccentric in a past-their prime sort of way, and the only person her age is Wybie, who is both desperate to impress her (with gross/scary anecdotes) and a little intimidated by her. Her overworked parents do little to help: her mom is irritable and waspish, while her dad is merely exhausted.

The trouble/adventure begins when Coraline finds a tiny door in one of the walls. When Coraline convinces her mother to unlock it, the space behind the door is bricked up - but that night, she finds that it leads to a fantastic alternate version of her life, complete with alternate parents. They look like clean, refreshed, better dressed versions of her own parents, with one major difference: instead of eyes, they have black buttons. However, despite Coraline's initial wariness, Other World quickly draws her in. After all, everything in Other World is just like home, only better. Other Mother cooks delicious feasts fit for Thanksgiving, with all the dessert you can eat. Other Father sings wacky, charming songs and creates a beautiful magic garden as a tribute to Coraline. The alternate neighbors present her with a dazzling mouse circus and an outrageous dance/acrobatics show. On the surface, Other World seems a far preferable alternative the real world.

However, as the tagline says, “Be careful what you wish for.” The movie hints at a dark side to Other World all along, and when the catch finally comes up, it isn't unexpected but it is still disturbing: Other Mother promises that Coraline can stay forever, if she agrees to sew buttons into her eyes. She refuses, and is thrown into a dungeon with the ghosts of the button-eyed children Other Mother has trapped before. When Coraline escapes, Other Mother captures her real parents to lure her back to Other World and trap her forever. In true fairytale style, Coraline challenges her to a game, with only the cat and to help her in a now-frightening Other World. And in the tradition of clever and courageous child-protagonists, Coraline succeeds in rescuing her parents, freeing the souls of the trapped children, and finding a way to accept her parents for who they are.

The Fantasy Tradition

I think this review belongs here at The Far Horizon for several reasons. It isn't just because I liked the movie - and I really, really did - it's because Coraline has everything I love about fantasy. Please note that I'm an old-school fantasy person. None of that sugar-coated Disney tripe for me: I grew up on RankinBass studio's The Last Unicorn, where the Harpy had three naked breasts and killed and ate people, and I prefer the Cinderella with the chopped off toes and The Little Mermaid where she dies in the end. I'm not violent or bloody-minded; I just like my stories to have some substance to them. Substance means truth and the truth is that there's a lot of brutal, desparate things happening in the world.

Anyway, Coraline has all the elements I like to see in my fantasy. It has engaging misfits to help the main character, in this case her offbeat neighbors who all have some rather surprising advice and insights. It has a hero who succeeds not by being privileged or popular, but by being brave and clever in her quest to save her loved ones. It has a journey to places that are beyond fantastic, from a garden full of glowing flowers and genuine snapping SnapDragons to the metal web of a giant spider. It has references to genuine traditional concepts like The Beldam (an old word meaning witch or hag, creatures renown for stealing away children) and Seeing Stones (an ancient artifact used by early European pagans to see the truth behind appearances and sometimes foretell the future). And of course, it has the underlying darkness that gives a story depth - nothing say creepy like seeing someone's mouth pulled into a smile with safety pins.

Don't be one of those people who says "Well, I hated The Nightmare Before Christmas, so I won't like this because it's claymation" - if you are, you're cheating yourself out of a great experience. Fantasy followers everywhere: you owe to yourself to go see Coraline.


~Blue Nephelim Out