I don't know, actually. What about that assassin who tried to inhume Sam Vimes and he outwitted them and left them dangling over a dragon pen? I don't think that one really falls into any of your categories.
I suppose technically they might count under (a) since they didn't actually succeed in killing Vimes, but for moral purposes it's surely enough that they tried. And they're certainly not faceless, since Pratchett gives us a sense of their personality and does a rather good job of making us feel for their plight in much the way one might feel for any hapless low-level employee whose need to make a living has landed them in a difficult position – in spite of the fact that we just watched them attempt to premeditatedly murder the hero.
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Date: 2012-09-03 01:25 pm (UTC)I suppose technically they might count under (a) since they didn't actually succeed in killing Vimes, but for moral purposes it's surely enough that they tried. And they're certainly not faceless, since Pratchett gives us a sense of their personality and does a rather good job of making us feel for their plight in much the way one might feel for any hapless low-level employee whose need to make a living has landed them in a difficult position – in spite of the fact that we just watched them attempt to premeditatedly murder the hero.