In any vast bureaucracy, you’re bound to find obstructive bureaucrats and professional butt-kissers. But if you look long and hard enough, usually somewhere towards the bottom, you may be lucky enough to find one of the Last DJs. The Last DJ is a man with integrity, who often puts honor before reason and cannot be… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Last DJ
Tag: honor
Trope Tuesday: Worthy Opponent
Sometimes, it’s not the Big Bad the heroes are fighting against, so much as an almost friendly opponent who is not so different from them after all. That’s what this trope is all about. The Worthy Opponent is no mere redshirt or mook–quite often, in fact, he’s the Dragon of the opposing side–but unlike the… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Worthy Opponent
Trope Tuesday: Honor Before Reason
If you can’t do something smart, what do you do? Something right–at least, when this trope is played straight. Characters who place honor before reason tend to be idealists, starry-eyed or otherwise. It’s not that they’re stupid–at least, not always–but they do tend to be vulnerable to flaw exploitation. If the Fettered can’t take a… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Honor Before Reason
Trope Tuesday: Lawful Neutral
Unlike the Lawful Good, the Lawful Neutral has no qualms about committing heinous acts to maintain order. Whether for country, for position or for the preservation of the English language, these characters believe in law above all else, giving stern chase or sacrificing their own personal feelings to achieve it. From the easydamus character alignment page:… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Lawful Neutral
Trope Tuesday: Lawful Evil
If the term “villain” applies to anyone, it applies to the Lawful Evil. Whether the evil overlord, his trusted right-hand man, or one of his devoted minions, these characters are dedicated wholeheartedly to their cause, whether they believe it will lead to a better world or not. Taking over the world is often a major obsession,… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Lawful Evil
The gulf between the generations
I just watched a fascinating interview with a 1960s White House intern who claimed to have an eighteen month affair with President John F. Kennedy. But the most interesting thing wasn’t the affair itself, but the way the President’s staff, the “fourth branch” of government (AKA the media), and the entire general public of 1960s… Continue reading The gulf between the generations
Story Notebook #5 (part 2)
For those of you who don’t know (or can’t remember, since it’s been so long), I’ve been doing this ongoing thing where I go through my old story notebooks. Last time, we covered my last semester of classes at BYU; this time, we’ll cover my time in Washington DC, when I was trapped in an internship from… Continue reading Story Notebook #5 (part 2)
Winter Warriors by David Gemmell
Eons ago, in the Days of Fire, demons feasted upon the souls of men the way that men feast on cattle. Those days ended when the second most powerful demon betrayed his people, damning them to purgatory so that men could inherit the Earth. Four thousand years have passed, and the demons are beginning to… Continue reading Winter Warriors by David Gemmell
The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell
Tenaka Khan was a child of two nations and an outsider to both. Half Nadir, half Drenai, the only home he ever knew was in the ranks of the Dragon, the elite fighting forces of the Drenai. But now, a mad dictator rules the land, and the Dragon has been destroyed. With all his friends… Continue reading The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmell
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
Cordelia Naismith never thought she would find the love of her life on a scientific survey to an unexplored border world, let alone that he would be a Barrayan, one of the enemy. But Aral Vorkosigan is not just any other officer in the Barrayan Military. He is courteous, fair-minded, thoughtful–and above all else, driven… Continue reading Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold