Wednesday, October 15, 2014

War as an instrument of justice

While watching last week's episode of Sleepy Hollow, I got wrapped up in one particular line, spoken by Jeremy, the Horseman of War.

"What is war but an instrument of justice?"

Indeed! I'm close to wrapping up the first draft of The Mindstream Chronicles book 2, and need to start planning and outlining book 3. It's helpful to think in terms of theme and premise when starting a new book: what's the story about? What statement does the story attempt to prove true?

Considering the strong themes of justice vs. revenge, doing the right thing, and loyalty in the series, this question was particularly poignant to me. Many wars are about domination or greed, but some are about justice. Attacking terrorists who blow up buildings, killing thousands of people inside is one example.

Then again, is that justice or revenge?