Since it's my birthday, I'm highlighting one of my favorite characters from my own work. As much as my mind and heart are currently immersed in the sequel to my most recent novel, Lost Harvest, there's something special about your first. Minotaur was a labor of love over a period of years, and as much as it shows all the warts of the rookie author, I cherish it. And as much as all the characters are my children and I love them all, my favorite among them is Cadmus.
Writing villains is great fun, and I set out to create a real nasty one. Not content to be a powerful telepath and brilliant genetic engineer, driven by the utter conviction that he is the pinnacle of humanity, Cadmus sets out to unlock the secrets of his own cells, and life itself. And when he succeeds, he sets his sights next on the galaxy itself. I didn't give him much in the way of sympathetic nuance, or grant much insight into his hidden pain. There's not much redeeming about him. He's largely indifferent to the political and philosophical struggles going on around him - he's not interested in order or chaos or democracy or freedom. Those are playthings for lesser creatures. Cadmus is ambition and greed and hunger, a breathing quest for domination and immortality. And boy, was he fun to write.
By including one of my own characters on this list, I make no claims to equivalence with the other masterful creations I've profiled. But hey, if you can't like your own stuff, how can you expect anyone else to?
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