[Dragaera] SKZB, and the Mafia

[skzb]

I would have used the word "infatuation."  Nor, for that matter, 
disillusionment.  I was doing very intense research, and I found what I 
was learning fascinating. When Tom was killed, it was, indeed, something 
of a shock to me, and some of that shock, and some of thinking that 
resulting from it, made its way into the books.

Davdi Silverrock wrote:
> I was reading Steve's wikipedia page, and noticed the line saying "An
> infatuation with, and, following the murder of a friend, subsequent
> disillusionment with the Mafia".
>
> Could Steve, or someone who knows him personally (Chica, DDB, etc)
> please expand on whether, in their opinion, Steve's knowledge of or
> interest in the Mafia could actually be called "an infatuation"?
>
> I do recall Steve saying that Vlad Taltos was meant to be someone
> "respected but not liked" (in contrast to being liked but not
> respected).  My recollection of what he said about his disillusionment
> was realizing, some years into the series, that he was indeed writing
> about a quasi-Mafioso assassin - and some years before this
> realization, a socialist activist friend had indeed been murdered by a
> real, genuine Mafia assassin -- Steve had just never drawn the
> connection between his fictional character, and the real-world Mafia.
> That does not sound like he ever had an actual "infatuation" to me,
> but what do I know?
>
> Checking the article's history, I see that the line about
> "infatuation" dates back to a change on 2004-May-16, by IP address
> 65.95.67.197.  Really, that could be anyone.
>
> Anyway, I think the Wikipedia page could do with some editing on this
> topic (so this is sort of a [citation needed], I guess).
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-- 
Steven Brust
skzb at dreamcafe.com
MENTES INDIGNORVM FRANGERE