Anne Buist is the Australian author behind Medea’s Curse, released in January this year. The book revolves around forensic psychiatrist Natalie King who is being stalked. There are many, many possibilities as to who’s behind this and Natalie has to figure out who is out to kill her.
In her quote, Anne goes to the heart of a character — be it a hero or a villain — their complexity is paramount to a successful story. She holds up Lisbeth Salander and the villains in those books as the best example of complex villains and a heroine — do you agree? What other books have complex heroes and villains like this?
Most interesting, is her point that the balance can tip too far — that a villain can overshadow the hero, much like Hannibal Lecter has. Thinking about the books, I couldn’t tell you the other characters in them, but I know they’re about Hannibal. The character has seeped into our consciousness, while the heroes have not. Is there another book and characters that do the same for you?
I suppose some books where the villain kind of MAKES the stories could be intentional and that’s not a bad thing. I do think villains have to be complex and interesting though. You can’t have a stock character as a villain.
Other than Hannibal, I am struggling to think of a villain that makes the story. I keep thinking Frankenstein maybe?