I find child abuse the most heinous of crimes. Nothing too bad can happen to these oxygen wasters.

The scene in Reprisal serves a plot purpose: I needed to break a strong man -- rob him of his faith, his hope, his will to fight -- and this was the only way to do it.

I can't show abuse happening because I can't bear to picture it happening; so I limit myself to sidelong glimpses and oblique references.

But mostly it serves to focus my own outrage as I write. I funnel it into Jack, and when he lets loose, so do I.

I find child abuse the most heinous of crimes. Nothing too bad can happen to these oxygen wasters.

The scene in Reprisal serves a plot purpose: I needed to break a strong man -- rob him of his faith, his hope, his will to fight -- and this was the only way to do it.

I can't show abuse happening because I can't bear to picture it happening; so I limit myself to sidelong glimpses and oblique references.

But mostly it serves to focus my own outrage as I write. I funnel it into Jack, and when he lets loose, so do I.

Two points:

Of course any civilized person abhors torture. Yet...suppose your 4 year old daughter was being held by a gang intending to rape and murder her. You have one of that gang in your hands. Is there =anything= you wouldn't do to make him give up the information you need to rescue your little one? Would you be wrong in torturing him? (And would any jury of fathers on this planet find you guilty of a crime?)

And it seems some sub-humans are taking advantage of the tsunami disaster to sell orphans into sexual slavery. I think public hanging would be too kind a mercy for these monsters. To paraphrase Brendan Behan, I have never seen a natural catastrophe so bad, human beings could not make it worse.

I couldn't agree with this string of posts more. The torture or harm of the innocent and or helpless just makes me want to hurt the person or persons doing it very badly.

It is this kind of stuff that makes you love Jack so much as a character. He gives these kind of scum what they deserve without allowing them to play the "victim" themselves.

It was this line of thinking that caused me to be so infuriated with the video from Iraq of the scumbags who kidnapped and tortured the older woman from CARE (can't remember her name at this moment). Maybe it shows me to be some sort of unconscious sexist but I would throw in anyone who would do these sort of things to women as well. I know women take care of themselves, but to see someone do harm ar attempt to do harm to a women (unless the women is a complete scumbag child abuser or something along those lines, then all bets are off) brings out a meanness in me.

I find child abuse the most heinous of crimes. Nothing too bad can happen to these oxygen wasters.

That's what makes me love your writing! The abuse may be hard to write, it's difficult to read, but the revenge is always so beautiful! hmmm. . . . .never thought I'd describe a fork in the eye as beautiful. . . . .

That's what makes me love your writing! The abuse may be hard to write, it's difficult to read, but the revenge is always so beautiful! hmmm. . . . .never thought I'd describe a fork in the eye as beautiful. . . . .

Trish,
You said it all!
Maggers

Now that's a thread headline that'll get your attention!

It comes, however, from an email discussion I'm having with a fellow board member.

I've noticed that there are several FPW stories where children are horribly maimed and tortured, among them, "The Wringer," "Black Wind," and "Reprisal."

I don't know of another author, at least none which which I am familiar, who feels so.... umm, comfortable ... in writing about the awful abuse of children. Actually more than awful abuse, it's downright torture. Now, I have to say that I've been able to stomach the scenes, although I was more horrified by "Black Wind" than the others.

I think this is another facet of FPW that separates him from all the rest. He's willing to go where few others do.

Although, should the killing or torturing of animals ever happen, that is where I have to draw the line.

So what does that say about me, willing to read about the torture of children, but, for God's sake, DON'T KILL THE DOG!

OMG, I'm the same way! LOL! Anytime an animal is hurt, I lose it.

Susan

I agree with all of you. There's torture in F. Paul Wilson's books, but people always get it back. Except maybe Roma, but there was no real way to settle that anyway.

JEEEZ!!! Back off a little! And stop yelling. What you said was that you could read about the torture of children but "DON"T KILL THE DOG," not that you can't read about killing a dog. It's like you are trying to pick a fight. You left it dangling, not me. Make yourself clear instead of accusing me of misinterpreting all the time. That bandwagon is quite full enough, thank you.

Sorry, next time I will think twice before trying to compliment you.

Instead, try reading twice.

I knew exactly what Maggers was talking about.

"Trying to compliment" sounds rather calculating, and not terribly honest.

Ken V.

I find child abuse the most heinous of crimes. Nothing too bad can happen to these oxygen wasters.

I have always thought that a suitable punishment for child molestors/torturers would be to say to the mothers of victimized children, "Ladies, the creature who violated your children is in the next room -- handcuffed to a chair. He's all yours . . . with one caveat -- you have to clean up the mess."

Ken V.

This whole conversation reminds me of line from the movie Seven. This may not be an exact quote, but it's close: "I don't enjoy it, any more than you would enjoy some time alone with me in a room with no windows - wouldn't you like to hurt me with impunity?"

That is what reading FPW's books are like for me. The violence and torture is a little easier to stomach because, most of the time anyway, the people who commit these acts get theirs in a big way.