» Sun May 13, 2012 2:40 am I really liked reading them, and I thought they were some of the best speculative fiction books I've ever read when it comes to actually having cool speculative aspects, but in retropspect I have to wonder how many jerkish kids those books turned into complete jerks. I mean, they're all about kids who are smarter than everyone else, use brutal violence to get ahead, refuse to play by the rules, and have openly hostile relationships with major authority figures (plus, OSC is preachy). They also have a character who mutilates animals, abuses his brother, and ends up as leader of the free world (on the good side). All of that is fine... except they're marketed as young advlt fiction. I honestly don't want to start an argument about how much media can influence people, because it's fruitless, but if you already subscribe to the theory that the minds of the youth can be shaped by the media they're exposed to, you might want to take issue with marketing these books towards ages 12+ If you disagree with me on this, that is perfectly fine, I respect your opinion, and hope this doesn't end up de-railing the thread.
Except that page after page you hear about how tormented on the inside many of the characters are. Even Peter has some deep guilt issues later on.
Also, for the most part those who are truly heartless are less intelligent characters compared to the protagonists and they typically get their just deserts.
Lastly, I don't see what's wrong with being hostile to "authority". For the most part, the authority figures are just wrong. From what I see, the message sent across is think for yourself, don't just listen to what you're told. That is a GOOD message. If you disagree with that, then there is probably nothing to talk about.
