Sunday, January 31, 2010

Discussion Question: Bad Seed, Revenge and Evil

Some of the characters in Rush were not the nice kind by any stretch of the imagination. Some characters were so obviously evil while others were simply flawed by their beliefs. I didn't expect the many twists and turns in the storyline and was so surprised by the chain of events- many things I absolutely did not see coming!

Bad Seed Brothers: Elroy Jordan (aka Elroy the Perv aka The CCK aka E) is the killer that Heather seeks but he is also so much more. Part of a secret government project that created sociopaths, he is vicious and disturbed, and has ties to Dante that nobody can anticipate. He is recruited by Ronin to catch Dante's attention which is why his usual MO changed from previous murders. He kidnaps Dante and reveals to him very painful parts of the past, along with a healthy dose of torture. He is also the one responsible for Gina's death.

Etienne and Ronin: Ronin is Nightkind, only he doesn't hang with Dante's group. He is involved with Johanna and also Elroy. He wants Dante to wake up and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Etienne, also Nightkind, believes that Dante killed his family and he wants revenge. He brings the message that the Council is investigating and then threatens Dante. He is later approached by Ronin and they team up (using Jay as bait) to try and harm Dante.

Johanna: Johanna is the mother of all evil and Bad Seed is her pet project. She uses her position within the FBI to hide her work and takes pills to help her resist Sleep. Dante has no memories of her, but she is the reason for what he has done. She is responsible for his painful past. Eventually her involvement is discovered and she is 'unmade' by Dante.

Was the storyline about Bad Seed confusing to follow? Did you like the tension and intrique? What are your thoughts on these characters? How did you feel about the resolution of that aspect of the story?

3 comments:

Cyd said...

I love the intrique.
Complete devolution of Johanna was an excellent resolution.

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

Bad Seed's storyline wasn't hard to follow. It was interesting watching the puzzle come together. It was like going down a really warped and twisted rabbit hole. At times it's hard to read but, like a car wreck, you can't help but look at it. The tension was crazy. I had to put the book down a few times to work the kinks out of my shoulders. I think the bad guys got what was coming to them. Sure it was gruesome and horrific but they deserved every painful second of it for what they did to Dante and those closest to him.

Anonymous said...

Bad Seed was such a cool aspect of the story- conspiracy theory, intrigue, betrayal- it had it all. It's scary to think that someone, or something, so evil could exist...and yet they do. I think that some authors would have a hard time pulling that kind of story off but Adrian was consistent throughout the story. Really liked it.

Johanna got what she deserved but it was a trip to read it. Very visual.