Recent content by Lucas

One of my characters is psychotic and has violent murder and disembowelling fantasies about his own mother, but she deserves it too.

I would say that some good authors engage a little bit too much in gratuitous violence. Take George R R Martin for example, and the entire Vargo Hoat vs Sandor Clegane arc. Entirely pointless, and ultra-violent even beyond the standards of the medieval age.

The glorification of violence is basically when violence serves primarily an aesthetic purpose or to increase the pace of the story, and the heroes come out unscathed out from a hundred battles. In my recently finished novel, the heroes are basically refugee kids trying mostly to avoid the Dark...

Sounds like me, though I dislike Harry Potter.

The most important part for me is to avoid the glorification of violence. Though my current story is High Fantasy, the violence depicted has some grimdark undertones, and most military losses are incurred, partially "on-screen" by untreated, infected wounds and diseases.

No, but it does need suspension. A lot of sci fi novels have no violence at all.

The cover. ^^

Middle Ages Trade & Commerce

That is almost Pythonesque. Especially as there probably are those members of Vox's camarilla who are corrupt or treasonous (even for idealistic reasons, like believing that Vox is going too far), and how should he then be able to expose them, if those who can do the exposing are afraid to speak...

That would make his followers even more keen on finding corruption amongst themselves, to get rid of competitors, no matter if they are old comrades. At least one of them would primarily focus on getting rid of the others by having them accused of corruption.

Creates an internal dynamic within the regime. In most authoritarian states, the dictator is forced to balance the interests of various social classes against one another, but also to balance their key followers against one another. Especially as Vox cannot rely on dynastic legitimacy and has...

IMHO, Vox should have a right-hand man (or woman) who is far more corrupt, doing the dictator's dirty work and aims at becoming the new dictator.

Study Lenin and de Robespierre. They were similar "incorruptible" leaders.

Slaves, salt, silver, gold. Europe lacked gold and silver, which partially explained European Feudalism.

Is he supposed to be a villain. I don't know, but he seems pretty sympathetic :P Given that, totalitarian dictatorships are only interesting settings when the protagonists are rebels trying to overthrow the dictator. Failing, half-assed dictatorships are funnier. This is the perfect example of...