Behind The Text’ Part 21_Villains
‘That One May Smile And Smile And Be A Villain.’
(Shakespeare: ‘Hamlet’)
Hi,
In much of
the 'Jonas Forbes Saga' the opposition might be termed ‘competition’ – and that
includes various security Services (e.g. KGB, Mossad and Mukhabarat). Those
styled ‘femmes fatales’ elsewhere may illustrate the above heading but the
three villains here most certainly do not.
James Bonus (aka János
Beneŝ) in ‘Dare Call It Treason’’(Book 2
of the series) is an employee who
strives to excess. He surely has a massive chip on his shoulder because of his
immigrant status and consequent(?) failure to make his mark legitimately. Does he
enjoy his work? Certainly, note he never kills by treachery but face to
face. Does he kill for money? Mainly, that’s why he disposes of Michael Stevens
& Serge Petrovsky. But he also kills for his own security (Tom Reynolds
& a failed attempt on Jonas). Most interestingly he murders Dmitry Komovsky
(and misses his chance with Ivan Alekseev) because he feels cheated and
betrayed. So the first motive is ‘professional’ but the last is the emotional
outpouring of an amateur. His gang prove both ill-assorted and ineffective,
revealing a poor judge of character – also true of his dealings with the
Russians. One murder, that of Natasha Rykov, is hard to explain. Did he fear
her exposure of the plot or of his gang? A better motivation appears to be just
pure spite against Jonas who was upsetting his schemes.
Plato (aka
John Stewart Peel) appears in ‘And Death
Will Have His day’, (Book 11), Plato kills to fund
his academic studies into Milton’s ‘Paradise
Lost’. He’s ruthless, careful and crafty – feared rather than respected by
his ‘associates’. He works alone, because he trusts nobody; he tortures Paul
Taillard, because he betrays him; and he’s used to decoy Jonas Forbes because
the gang fear and loathe him. The gang mock him (BEHIND his back) because they
neither can understand nor hope to match him. Jonas is impressed when he explores
Plato’s flat – the vast number of books (by Descartes, Hobbes etc.), his
dedication to neatness, cleanliness and effeteness. He’s the professional ‘par
excellence’ and it’s so fitting for him to die in Kings College, London. I’m
still wondering what his academic masterpiece would have looked like.
Shaidan
appears in ‘So Few Come Out’ (Book 15 ). Put very simply the effect of the Biafran War is to drive him
insane, so I won’t give his proper name because the real man, on the verge of
recovery, is so shocked at what he’d become he turns his back on any hope and, in
effect, commits suicide trying to save a follower. He dominates his military
unit & even his C-in-C President Chukwuemeka Ojukwu by his physique,
his military ability but mostly by a reputation for ruthless cruelty. From
butchering an entire village to selling women into slavery to murdering
helpless prisoners there is no limit to his atrocities. When Biafra surrenders
Shaidan fights on, fuelled by hate and determined to escape the rage tearing at
his vitals by death. Neither of his corporals, Iheannacho or Eze
understand him – the former obeys through fear, the latter through habitual
loyalty. His fiancée, Nneka Eze, would never have understood. And yet, in the
end, Jonas is prepared to lie for him and to honour his obscurity.
Bob Hyslop
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