Antiheroes

Heroes, Villains, and the Fine Line Between

Description

The most interesting characters are almost never the good guys. Doing the right thing is great and all, but a little bit of darkness—or a lot of it—often makes for a more engaging story. Antiheroes: Heroes, Villains, and the Fine Line Between is dedicated to the dark heroes and sympathetic villains we love.

Find out why William McKinley High's agonist Sue Sylvester is essential to Glee. Discover where your favorite comic book character falls on the continuum of good and evil. Weigh in on Twilight's very dangerous boy Edward Cullen: romantic, sparkly hero, or sociopath suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder? Plus other essays on:

  • The Vampire Diaries' most antiheroic antihero, Damon Salvatore

  • America's favorite serial killer, Dexter Morgan, and the nature (and nurture) of evil

  • The curious appeal of Alias' Arvin Sloane

  • Supernatural's vampire hunter-cum-vampire Gordon Walker

  • The shared monstrosity of Spider-Man, Doc Ock, and the Green Goblin

  • Gun-slinging necromancer Anita Blake, and the benefits (and pitfalls) of embracing the monster within

    This brand new, e-book only collection of essays—"remixed" from previous Smart Pop series titles—gives a funny and thought-provoking in-depth look at the antihero, from the villains just a little too good to be unequivocal bad guys, and the heroes just a bit too bad to be truly good.
  • About the author(s)

    Jennifer Crusie is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include Bet Me, Faking It, and Don't Look Down (with Bob Mayer). She is a frequent contributor to the Smart Pop series, and editor of Flirting with Pride and Prejudice and Totally Charmed. She holds an M.A. in women's lit and an M.F.A. in fiction.

    Adam-Troy Castro is a well-known author of science fiction, fantasy, and horror whose short stories have received five nominations for the Nebula Award, two for the Hugo Award, and one for the Stoker. In 2007 he and collaborator Jerry Oltion shared the Seiun Award for best work translated into Japanese, for their acclaimed novella The Astronaut from Wyoming. His prior books include Emissaries from the Dead, the Sinister Six trilogy, and nonfiction volumes examining the Harry Potter phenomenon and the television show The Amazing Race. A full-time writer when he isn't procrastinating, Adam lives in Miami with his wife Judi and a motley assortment of anarchist cats that includes Meow Farrow and Uma Furman.

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