yeah, not what I would think of as a "revenge" novel (or serial killer novel), unless you wanted to stretch it and try to say he was taking revenge against the system (yeah, it's a stretch). Also, with the protagonist being ultimately remorseful for the killings, but doing them purely (in his mind) as a matter of survival, it's hard to think of this as a serial killer book either.
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Mark Sullivan <DJ-Anonyme@...> wrote:
>
>
> Is The Ax a revenge novel? Whom was he avenging? I saw it as a very practical means to an end, coldly pursued.
> Mark
>
> > To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> > From: jacquesdebierue@...
> > Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:07:32 +0000
> > Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: Moratorium on serial murderer mysteries?
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Ron Clinton" <clinton65@> wrote:
> > >
> > > > From: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com [mailto:rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com] On
> > > > Behalf Of jacquesdebierue
> > > > > I found Red Dragon far superior to Silence of the Lambs in this respect.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Me, too. With Silence of the Lambs, I was conscious of reading some sort
> > > of
> > > > concocted story with a super villain. Red Dragon felt more real.
> > >
> > >
> > > I've heard that a number of times, and while I still believe SILENCE is the
> > > better of the two for a number of reasons, I would agree that RED DRAGON is
> > > itself a remarkable work and would probably immediately follow the three top
> > > serial killer works I mentioned earlier (THE COLLECTOR, SILENCE OF... and BY
> > > REASON OF INSANITY). Ellroy's KILLER ON THE ROAD (aka SILENT TERROR) might
> > > take up the fifth spot...but I haven't yet reconciled if it's as good as I
> > > think it is or not.
> > >
> >
> > The problem is that somebody like Hannibal Lecter cannot exist. He's a fantasy. Perfectly acceptable as a fantasy story, but not as a realistic one. Dave Zeltserman, in his novel Bad Thoughts, went Harris one further and achieved what I suspect is a comic sendup of the entire genre.
> >
> > > Actually, I take that back...Ellroy can have the sixth spot. I just
> > > remembered a terrific serial killer book: Bradley Denton's BLACKBURN. Loved
> > > that book. Since BLACKBURN stretches the thematic confines of the serial
> > > killer novel, I'll throw out another one that does as well and, like
> > > BLACKBURN, is highly recommended: Westlake's THE AX. Like Jimmy Blackburn,
> > > Westlake's protagonist kills for reasons that he sees as perfectly
> > > legitimate...reasons that also become all too comprehensible for the reader.
> > > For that reason, these latter two might be the most frightening books of the
> > > bunch.
> > >
> >
> > I agree that The Ax is frightening because it is realistic. No fantasy there, just a pretty sensational revenge, you might say...
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > mrt
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 19 Aug 2010 EDT