Character Assassination

If you write speculative fiction, you’ve probably committed a ghastly murder or two—of fictional characters, that is. For the dastardly among us spec-fic writers, the more bizarre the kill, the better.

It’s also a great vehicle for sublimating rage against real life antagonists, right?

I recently found myself thinking about it and wow. There are some seriously twisted things crawling up from the murky depths of my mind.

Case and point: listed below are three examples of awful ways in which I’ve...