Giving the
Antagonist a POV by Chris Karlsen
I read
across the board genres, especially romances, thrillers, and historical
fiction. I write paranormal romances and romantic thrillers. With my first two
paranormal novels, Heroes Live Forever and Journey in Time, Point of View was
limited to either the hero or heroine. The antagonist(s) in those stories were
mainly the situations the hero and heroine found themselves in and had to
overcome. On occasion, the situations generated villainous characters for them
to encounter, but those characters did not have running roles throughout the
stories.
In Knight
Blindness, book three of my paranormal romance series, I took a somewhat
different direction with the antagonist. Although he’s the hero’s nemesis, he
is not a villain. Like the hero, he is a man who believes in his king’s cause,
a man who goes into battle to fight for his country. During the course of the
story, he goes from battlefield enemy to dogged pursuer of the hero. I knew as
the plot progressed that I wanted him to be as three-dimensional and fleshed
out as the hero. That meant giving him a POV, a personal history. Like the
hero, he too generated a lot of reader comments. He evoked some strong
feelings, some really disliked him and others felt a connection, a certain
empathy for him.
I didn’t
realize when I started the book that building a world, a backstory for him to
create a credible POV, would open the door to a potential story where he is the
hero.
Golden
Chariot and Byzantine Gold, the romantic thrillers, had definite antagonists.
They were cunning and dangerous people who placed the protagonists in perilous
circumstances. These are not characters out of a Criminal Minds episode driven
by blood lust. They’re men with an agenda. They have a goal and what they
consider a logical purpose for their actions. Whether it’s for revenge,
financial gain, or for a cause they believe in, they feel justified in
everything they do.
Golden
Chariot has three antagonists. Two are the masterminds behind the artifact
smuggling operation. The third is a contract killer hired by the other two.
When one of the conspirators orders an government agent murdered without the
other’s knowledge, the co-conspirator is incensed. Their entire scheme nearly
falls apart, a situation the man who ordered the murder can’t afford to have
happen. I needed to give him an extraordinary reason for taking this risk. To
justify his actions, he required a POV. Taking a path less traveled by handing
the antagonist this power can be surprising fun, it can be enlightening for
both the author and the reader. What resulted was suddenly seeing both the man
behind the murder and the victim in a different light. That didn’t change the
fact the killing was wrong, but it helped to understand why the man ordered the
murder.
I also
gave the contract killer a POV. The reader sees him exactly for what he is: a
man who kills for profit. He doesn’t moralize about his business or try to
justify his actions. He is what he is, most
of the time. In addition to POV, I gave him moments of surprise for the
reader. There is one scene where he performs a random act of kindness, totally
unexpected for the amoral and generally cruel man.
In
another scene we see him at home. Through the eyes of the heroine, we see his
taste in furniture, in music, in something as simple as fine crystal. It is
easy to forget the antagonist has a mother, possibly siblings, food he/she
likes, a certain style of décor or clothing. Those reveals can pull a reader
closer to the story. The enemy isn’t an indistinct, vacuous man or woman who is
just evil. They have personality and that personality can go many directions.
This
same killer returns in Byzantine Gold, the sequel to Golden Chariot. For that
story, I took him a step further and gave him a love interest. This is by no
means a man who desires love or even has the capacity to give it in any deep
way. As mentioned, he is amoral and without the warmth of character. That
doesn’t mean there isn’t a woman who finds a way to love him. In this book, he
finds himself attracted to a young woman and he chooses to let her travel with
him. They share moments where he is true to his nature and brutal to her. There
are other moments where he has the opportunity to show an unexpected kinder
side of himself.
Byzantine
Gold also has a political terrorist who shares the role of antagonist. As
horrifying as terrorism is to us, to him, his cause is righteous and he will do
anything he must to achieve his goal.
Giving
the antagonist(s) in these last two books POVs has also generated commentary
from readers and reviewers. They were by no means sympathetic to the characters
(I hadn’t intended them to be) but were intrigued seeing the character fleshed
out in a way where their motivation was not excused but understood. They became
three dimensional for the reader. The antagonist’s POV is not often shown and
as a result these men stood out. One reviewer emailed me privately and said:
the relationship between the killer and the young woman in Byzantine Gold had
him wondering at times what the killer might’ve been like had he met someone
like her sooner. Knowing the killer as well as I do, I’d have to say I doubt
he’d be any different. What was important, in my opinion, was the fact the
question was raised and that he created interest beyond the norm.
To me
one of the great antagonist/villains of recent years was Tony Soprano. He was
the villain you hated to love. Week after week, we’d see him kill people, order
people killed, engage in all sorts of illegal activity, and take every possible
opportunity to cheat on his loving wife. On the face of it, one would think it
unimaginable to like this man. Yet...what else did the writer’s show? The
audience saw a man who loved the ducks who landed in his pool. They saw a man
who suffered anxiety attacks and sought the services of a psychiatrist. They
saw a man who adored and protected his daughter, felt disappointment in the son
he had high hopes for, who looked after his unpleasant mother and annoying
sister. And deep down, at times, we embraced him. When Dr. Melfi was raped and
beaten, and Tony came to his appointment while she was still injured, didn’t
most of us say aloud, “tell him, tell Tony who did this to you. He’ll take care
of the brute.” I, for one, was very disappointed she didn’t.
Antagonists
can be humorous, intelligent, surprising, and have all sorts of quirks. All of
which can make a story much richer, if we give them a voice and POV.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR CHRIS KARLSEN
I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a
history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with
a love of history and books. My parents also love traveling, a passion they
passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and
monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune
to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.
I am a retired police detective. I spent
twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to
write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream.
I write two different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights
in Time. My romantic thriller series is, Dangerous Waters.
I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my
husband, five rescue dogs.
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