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Thanks Sam! So the first tracer rounds are fired and blood is in the water... Now it's your turn, Tom;)
Samuel wrote: "1) Victor the Assassin's usual weapon of choice is the unique FN 57, that is popular with the USSS and Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher. For those who are new, or have only just started the series, what ..."Before writing the first book I'd never even heard of the FN 5.7, and that's part of the reason why I chose it. I thought if I hadn't come across it before then maybe readers wouldn't have either. Add to that it's unusual rifle-like round, expensive price tag, and large magazine, and I knew I had a special weapon for Victor.
Samuel wrote: "2) Apart from the Krav Maga training, have you ever had a chance to use/test fire weapons before? And for the more interesting and advanced methods of killing, whether it be utilizing a hangman's n..."The short answer is 10% personal experience, 40% research and 50% the product of a warped imagination.
Samuel wrote: "3) The suits and tailoring of Victor and his targets is a minor highlight of the books. Quite a bit of detail is devoted to what men like the late Milan Rados and Robert Lesson wear.. How did you l..."As I've got older I've become something of a fan of suits, perhaps because I've never had a job that required me to wear one on a daily basis. That Victor almost always wears a suit is therefore me living vicariously. When I started out writing I couldn't have told you the difference between single and double breast, but over the years I've picked up a thing or two. I know far more about killing people than I do tailoring... but I'm working on it
Samuel wrote: "4) Here comes mine: You once mentioned that you aim to make each book different from the others and therefore each book becomes more difficult to write. Could you elaborate a little on that?"By now I really should have worked out a formula and stick to it with each book, but I get bored far too easily to do that. So, I always aim to write the next book with a different hook to the last, in a different way stylistically and thematically. For example, after A Time to Die, which is mostly told from Victor's perspective, wherein we know who the bad guys are, what's at stake etc, I deliberately set out with The Final Hour to have lots of different perspectives, with ambiguity over who the bad guys are and what's at stake. The upside to this is pretty obvious, but the downside is that I have to go through an entirely new set of problems with each book. There is no formula to help me when I get stuck; there is no 'ah, this is the point where the villain is introduced' or 'insert set-piece at page 50'.
Samuel wrote: "5) Next one: What were you inspirations for the Consensus as he is depicted in the Final Hour? It reminded me a little of Ludlum's Matarese Circle and the modern version of Spectre."Yeah, the Consensus is inspired by the aforementioned organisations and as well as the desire to make such a group a little more believable. As Spectre found out, having all your top boys meeting around a big table isn't the best way to stay in the shadows. So, the Consensus is more like a collection of terrorist cells, with minimal contact with one another, but aligned in goals, which again will be a little more believable than hijacking nuclear weapons and holding the world to ransom.
Samuel wrote: "6) Could you imagine writing a Raven spinoff someday?"Yes. She's a popular character and very easy for me to write. When I'm writing Victor I'm always thinking 'no, he wouldn't do that' or 'that's too funny; he wouldn't make that joke' and so on. Whereas with Raven I have no such restrictions. She's the classic anti-hero and Victor's more of a villain.
Samuel wrote: "7) Last for today: The Final Hour ties up a lot of threads from previous books and manages to weave it all in a cohesive and ever twisting narrative. How did you accomplish that?"It was... tricky. The book was ever-changing, right up until the very end, much to the dismay of my publishers, and myself. There's no magic here, just elbow grease. I kept editing, polishing and rearranging until all of the pieces worked together. Oh, and having a colour-coded spreadsheet helps!
Tom wrote: "Samuel wrote: "7) Last for today: The Final Hour ties up a lot of threads from previous books and manages to weave it all in a cohesive and ever twisting narrative. How did you accomplish that?"I..."
Great answers! Here comes the next lot;)
The next 3 are from Sam:)1) Victor is a bad man who has made it his mission in life to profit from the pain and suffering of much worse men and women who inhabit the shadow realm along with him. How would you describe the process of conceptualizing the antagonists of the Victor stories? And what would you say is the better kind of antagonist? The kind which is irredeemable and off their rocker? Or the sort which has some humanity left
It can be said that in 21st century spy fiction,Victor is one of the last, pure anti - heroes in spy fiction. Others characters who claim to be anti - heroes in fact, wear their anti - heroic status as a disguise for their good, humanitarian morals and sensibilities. Victor, however, is introduced from the opposite side of the spectrum, a bad man who is tortured by the times he breaks the ice cold mask that gives him the edge over his fellow killers, with acts of humanity. How difficult is it to maintain Victor's ruthlessness and develop him as a character at the same time and what would you say makes the perfect, anti - hero?
Would you classify Victor as a sociopath? A high functioning one perhaps? Because while Victor has had all his empathy torn out of him, he doesn't display sociopathic traits like anger, arrogance and a tendency to look down on people, or lack of impulse control, but that being said, his manipulative abilities are akin to Francis Urqhuart. So would you say, he's a sociopath, but one who can comprehend morals and social norms, but disregards them merely out of professional practicality?
So could you imagine Victor having a love Interest (at least temporarily in future books? We saw his cold veneer crack a little with Raven and Fiona. Rebecca Summer arguably brought him to brake some of his most holy rules...
How do you go about writing action scenes? Do you break them down in sequences? Please pick any scene that comes to mind and describe the process from the first idea up to the finishing touch (only the basics of course)!
Here comes another from Sam.Name five influences, novels, films and TV which could be said to be the primary influences that make up Victor
How does Tom keep a character like Victor fresh when he is also written to have a minimal personality?
Forgive me, I'm using my phone and can't seem to quote the questions, which makes it difficult to answer them. Hopefully I'll work out what to do shortly
Would it help if I send you the questions log via Mail? Then you can just copy the questions into your comments;)
"1) Victor is a bad man who has made it his mission in life to profit from the pain and suffering of much worse men and women who inhabit the shadow realm along with him. How would you describe the process of conceptualizing the antagonists of the Victor stories? And what would you say is the better kind of antagonist? The kind which is irredeemable and off their rocker? Or the sort which has some humanity left"Creating antagonist's can be a real struggle given Victor is our 'hero'. They're generally worse than he is, but not always. Sometimes the line between them is very narrow. I remember when I was working on Reed in The Killer/The Hunter; I wanted him to be essentially the same character as Victor, just working for the opposition. I would say that all villains benefit from a little humanity. Even characters like Rados and Kasakov, who are monstrous, have more to them than simply their villainy.
"It can be said that in 21st century spy fiction,Victor is one of the last, pure anti - heroes in spy fiction. Others characters who claim to be anti - heroes in fact, wear their anti - heroic status as a disguise for their good, humanitarian morals and sensibilities. Victor, however, is introduced from the opposite side of the spectrum, a bad man who is tortured by the times he breaks the ice cold mask that gives him the edge over his fellow killers, with acts of humanity. How difficult is it to maintain Victor's ruthlessness and develop him as a character at the same time and what would you say makes the perfect, anti - hero?"I think what makes a perfect anti-hero is the same thing that makes the perfect hero, and that is being flawed. As you have pointed out, the hero is tortured by doing the occasional bad whereas Victor is tortured by doing the occasional good. That is his flaw. To be the perfect assassin he needs to be utterly emotionless and lacking in humanity, but try as he might, he can't quite suppress that humanity entirely.
Tom wrote: ""It can be said that in 21st century spy fiction,Victor is one of the last, pure anti - heroes in spy fiction. Others characters who claim to be anti - heroes in fact, wear their anti - heroic stat..."Fantastic answer! Sums Victor up perfectly!
"Would you classify Victor as a sociopath? A high functioning one perhaps? Because while Victor has had all his empathy torn out of him, he doesn't display sociopathic traits like anger, arrogance and a tendency to look down on people, or lack of impulse control, but that being said, his manipulative abilities are akin to Francis Urqhuart. So would you say, he's a sociopath, but one who can comprehend morals and social norms, but disregards them merely out of professional practicality?"I have a theory that what we classify as personality disorders are in fact deliberate and necessary from an evolutionary perspective. They are the natural warriors, if you will, who are necessary for the tribe's survival, to meet threats head on for the good of all. Victor would put himself in that category. To him morality is a social construct born out of the need to survive. He can be manipulative, but as you say he doesn't display the other traits; is has incredible self control, rarely angers etc. So, no. He's not a sociopath by that definition.
'o could you imagine Victor having a love Interest (at least temporarily in future books? We saw his cold veneer crack a little with Raven and Fiona. Rebecca Summer arguably brought him to brake some of his most holy rules..."I'm a thriller novelist, not a romance writer, so I have no plans to tell a traditional love story and I don't think my readers would want that. But, he's a man, so there is the occasional romantic involvement. Yes, his association with Rebecca did lead him astray, but surely someone like Victor would only make that mistake once...
"How do you go about writing action scenes? Do you break them down in sequences? Please pick any scene that comes to mind and describe the process from the first idea up to the finishing touch (only the basics of course)!"There are so many of them it's hard to answer in a way that covers them all. However, I tend to write them as a series of actions and reactions. I'll give you an example from The Enemy. When Victor is preparing to shoot Kasakov and is ambushed by the American mercenary outfit I didn't plan it out, I had the characters act and react in turn. So, when Victor realises he's not alone I asked. myself 'right, so what does he do now?' and I worked out he's going to miss on purpose and act like he doesn't know they're there in order to lure them out. Then, the mercenaries react to this, and Victor reacts to them and so on and so on. Victor's working out what to do at the same time I'm working it out. When he realises he has enemies in front and behind and he's thinking how the hell he's going to get out of it, I'm thinking the same thing! The moment Victor realises what to do--go back to the guy he's shot and steal his headset--is the moment I realised that's what he needs to do next.
Tom wrote: ""How do you go about writing action scenes? Do you break them down in sequences? Please pick any scene that comes to mind and describe the process from the first idea up to the finishing touch (onl..."Cool!
You're one of the few authors I know of, who's really able to transport the reader directly to the location he is reading about. What is most important to you when describing a setting and how do you manage to get "the feel" of a country or city right if you have never actually visited it in person?
You once told me that you think like Victor but that he is both willing and able to put those thoughts into action. So... when did you first realize that you are perhaps a little more perceptive and aware of your surroundings than the average Joe and would you say that it is a useful skill to have in your day to day life or does it just help to pass the time now and then?
You seem to have a critical stance when it comes to multi book story arcs. However you do slip some subtle references to past events into your books from time to time. Is this your way of rewarding long time readers for their loyalty? And how important is it to you to give the reader some sense of closure at the end of each book and why?
"Name five influences, novels, films and TV which could be said to be the primary influences that make up Victor"Star Wars, The Brotherhood of the Rose, The Shield, The Mechanic, and The Day of the Jackal
How did you do the research for someone like Victor?
"How does Tom keep a character like Victor fresh when he is also written to have a minimal personality?" I wouldn't necessarily agree that Victor has minimal personality, but I think the key to keeping him, or any other character, fresh, is to put them in different situations and to ensure they don't always act as expected.
"You're one of the few authors I know of, who's really able to transport the reader directly to the location he is reading about. What is most important to you when describing a setting and how do you manage to get "the feel" of a country or city right if you have never actually visited it in person?"That's because I almost try not to get 'the feel' right. In my own reading experience most authors go overboard describing a place, either because they've been there and want to share every single detail they've experienced, else hey haven't been and are overcompensating. Either way, the setting is just that. The characters and the story are the important part and I make sure not to forget that. Less is more
"You once told me that you think like Victor but that he is both willing and able to put those thoughts into action. So... when did you first realize that you are perhaps a little more perceptive and aware of your surroundings than the average Joe and would you say that it is a useful skill to have in your day to day life or does it just help to pass the time now and then?"It's really not a useful skill when one isn't at constant threat. As for when I realised it... I guess I forget I'm like this, but am often reminded. Recently, after the London Bridge attack I said to someone 'From now on we should probably try and walk facing traffic when in central London to keep an eye on oncoming vehicles' and they looked at me like I was crazy.
"You seem to have a critical stance when it comes to multi book story arcs. However you do slip some subtle references to past events into your books from time to time. Is this your way of rewarding long time readers for their loyalty? And how important is it to you to give the reader some sense of closure at the end of each book and why?"I've been adding those kind of references in since book two, so it's just habit now. I guess it's part reward to readers and partly because it wouldn't make sense for each book to exist in a vacuum. As for the second question: an end should be an end. There needs to be closure. That said, not every single thread needs to be closed. I think that approaches is too unnatural and too neat. As long as the main storyline ends properly then that's enough. I hate cliffhangers
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