's development of Seneca becomes clear quite quickly in The Skystone as Plautus describes Claudius when saying, "The face of a god, the personality of a pit viper and a lust to be famed as the most degenerate swine in history"(138). Seneca's development as a villain progresses as he picks a fight with Publius, resulting in a victory for Publius, and the accretion of a lifelong enemy in Caesarius Claudius Seneca. As a result of this conflict, Seneca later kills two of Publius' friends while searching for him, adding to the malevolence of his character. To avenge the deaths of his friends, Publius Varrus arranges for Claudius Seneca to be kidnaped. Publius is certain he has killed Seneca once and for all when he says in The Skystone, "I jerked my arm back hard, wrenching my blade from his chest, and watched as he fell, first to his knees and then forward onto his face"(346). Jack Whyte develops Seneca as a villain that seems superhuman when he is discovered to have survived the stab wound. Seneca commits his final deed of treachery when he goes to Publius' house and kills his friends Caius, Plautus and Enid. In that room of death, Publius describes how he kills Seneca in The Singing Sword by saying, "I raised Excalibur high above my head and swung it down with all my strength, striking Caesarius Claudius Seneca's head from his body"(599). The dislike the reader has for Claudius Seneca throughout The Skystone and The Singing Sword, and the lack of remorse the reader feels during his death demonstrates how effective Jack Whyte is at developing Seneca as a villain.Jack Whyte is effective at catching the attention of the reader because of his ability to position particular parts of the plot strategically. An example of his strategical writing is how he begins both books in the midst of a very exciting moment. The Skystone begins as Publius Varrus describes in graphic detail the ambush which he acquired the injury to his leg that forced him to...
