rcarson@rcarson.com wrote:
Gary forgot one of the most noteworthy tendencies of the ANC - Ruben
has a curse, a quasi-Nyannichuan curse, to be precise, probably the most
common variant.
True, that does tend to be a characteristic of ANCs. But I don't think the curse
in and of itself is a bad thing -- look at Pantyhose, Lukkosai, Rouge, etc. all
of whom are cursed and none of whom are annoying in this sense. The problem, I
think, is more the fact that Rubie's curse doesn't serve any purpose in the
story. Okay, he claims he wants to get cured, but in practice it doesn't really
seem like it's that big a deal to him, and that the curse is just there because
the author thought it would be neato.
As far as the character of Ruben goes - frankly, when I read about
a mage who runs around casting compulsion spells and love spells and
brainwashing people, I tend to peg him as the villain. I mean, if there
were really mages running around, the very last thing I'd want one doing
is directly messing with my mind. Don't magic users from his time have
any ethical constraints about that sort of thing?
Yes, and that seems to be another hallmark of an ANC: complete trustworthiness.
The series characters may or may not trust an ANC -- most often they do, at
least more than they should -- but it seems evident from the story that we
readers are meant to trust Rube, to believe everything he tells us and that his
intentions are completely benevolent.
[snip other good points on characterization]
Gary