--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The characters you refer to as predatory…" description: "\"The characters you refer to as predatory and unsavory are useful. They're the ones who make a novel into a thriller. They're active, and most of the co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/thomas-perry-17897_active_the-characters-you-refer-to-as-predatory_2794299.jpg" --- # The characters you refer to as predatory and unsavory are… ![“The characters you refer to as predatory and unsavory are useful. They're the ones who make a novel into a thriller. They're active, and most of the common virtues, the signs of a good person, are not.” quote by Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/thomas-perry-17897_active_the-characters-you-refer-to-as-predatory_2794299.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/thomas-perry-17897_active_the-characters-you-refer-to-as-predatory_2794299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a04/thomas-perry-17897_active_the-characters-you-refer-to-as-predatory_2794299.jpg) > “The characters you refer to as predatory and unsavory are useful. They're the ones who make a novel into a thriller. They're active, and most of the common virtues, the signs of a good person, are not.” [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Antagonistic characters add tension and drive narratives, while conventional virtues are less compelling in thrillers. **In simple terms:** Villains make stories thrilling; typical virtues less so. Key Takeaway Embrace complex, flawed characters for tension. Themes storytelling character archetypes thriller genre Mood creative strategic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - film script development - game design - character studies Key Concepts literary analysis psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you create morally ambiguous characters? - What virtues can be compelling when subverted? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on villains can oversimplify moral nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Good person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-person/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Predatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predatory/) [Predatory Unsavory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predatory-unsavory-3402616/) [Thrillers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrillers/) [Unsavory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsavory-507594/) [Unsavory Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsavory-useful-3402617/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? The Bible, Job 6:6](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-a-clark-2/can-that-which-is-unsavory-be-eaten-without-salt-or-is-there-any/) [Frank A Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-a-clark-2/) > [“The fact that he might have other things to do with his time than spend it shepherding his master's head-strong, thousand-ducat-a-night anguisette through one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/the-fact-that-he-might-have-other-things-to-do-with-his-time-than/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [I don't approach a role by saying I'll be unsavory or unlikable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rooker/i-don-t-approach-a-role-by-saying-i-ll-be-unsavory-or-unlikable/) [Michael Rooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rooker/) > [It is abhorrent to me when a fine intelligence is paired with an unsavory character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-is-abhorrent-to-me-when-a-fine-intelligence-is-paired-with-an/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Politics is like sausage being made. It is unsavory, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/politics-is-like-sausage-being-made-it-is-unsavory-and-it-always-has/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Yeah, you know, within the context of TV families, these are pretty unsavory characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-arnett/yeah-you-know-within-the-context-of-tv-families-these-are-pretty/) [Will Arnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-arnett/) > [“I don't much like it when people commit unsavory acts and try to shift the blame onto me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lee-byers/i-don-t-much-like-it-when-people-commit-unsavory-acts-and-try-to/) [Richard Lee Byers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lee-byers/) > [“Come on. What woman hasn't had to wrap her lips around something unsavory and sell it to the croud?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-myles/come-on-what-woman-hasn-t-had-to-wrap-her-lips-around-something/) [Jill Myles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-myles/) > [One thing I turn my back on totally is the unsavory atmosphere at most discos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-rogers/one-thing-i-turn-my-back-on-totally-is-the-unsavory-atmosphere-at/) [Ginger Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-rogers/) > [“Have you ever been faced with the clear certainty that the culinary arts have a great propensity to rendering themselves unsavory?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-sager/have-you-ever-been-faced-with-the-clear-certainty-that-the-culinary/) [Nicole Sager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-sager/) > [Man alone, during his brief existence on this earth, is free to examine, to know, to criticize, and to create. In this freedom lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-nanda-anshen/man-alone-during-his-brief-existence-on-this-earth-is-free-to-examine/) [Ruth Nanda Anshen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-nanda-anshen/) > [It's a terrible cruelty of predatory capitalism: both parents now have to work. A family has to have two incomes in order to buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/it-s-a-terrible-cruelty-of-predatory-capitalism-both-parents-now-have/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I will always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pulitzer/i-will-always-fight-for-progress-and-reform-never-tolerate-injustice/) [Joseph Pulitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pulitzer/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) ## More by Thomas Perry > [You have very accurately described the difficulty of presenting my books on film: many of my characters are alone most of the time, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/you-have-very-accurately-described-the-difficulty-of-presenting-my/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [“I love you' is what people say when they have run out of words and can't say anything else. It is like reaching out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/i-love-you-is-what-people-say-when-they-have-run-out-of-words-and-can/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [It's important, I think, for a writer of fiction to maintain an awareness of the pace and shape of the book as he's writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/it-s-important-i-think-for-a-writer-of-fiction-to-maintain-an/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [Yes, in my books I do edit myself to keep from becoming the Village Explainer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/yes-in-my-books-i-do-edit-myself-to-keep-from-becoming-the-village/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [“The women sang the Ohgiwe and danced together as the grandmothers had, for the brave, and the unselfish, for the protectors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/the-women-sang-the-ohgiwe-and-danced-together-as-the-grandmothers-had/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [“he said. But he also”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/he-said-but-he-also/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [Once you have invented a character with three dimensions and a voice, you begin to realize that some of the things you'd like him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/once-you-have-invented-a-character-with-three-dimensions-and-a-voice/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [All writers are mimics, and I'm not interested in picking up somebody else's style or voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/all-writers-are-mimics-and-i-m-not-interested-in-picking-up-somebody/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [I had been writing fiction since I was in eighth grade, because I loved it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/i-had-been-writing-fiction-since-i-was-in-eighth-grade-because-i/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [There are days when I intentionally don't write. For instance, I never write when I'm traveling, because travel is a situation where I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/there-are-days-when-i-intentionally-don-t-write-for-instance-i-never/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [But at the same time, the commonplace statement about them is true: every character is the hero of his own story. Each has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/but-at-the-same-time-the-commonplace-statement-about-them-is-true/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [Tod Goldberg has long been one of the most interesting writers around, and Gangsterland is his biggest and best book so far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/tod-goldberg-has-long-been-one-of-the-most-interesting-writers-around/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [When I write a book, I'm making it the best book I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/when-i-write-a-book-i-m-making-it-the-best-book-i-can/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [I don't have dry seasons, because I don't allow them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/i-don-t-have-dry-seasons-because-i-don-t-allow-them/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) > [I do like to explore evil characters in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-perry/i-do-like-to-explore-evil-characters-in-my-books/) [Thomas Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) [Explore all 35 Thomas Perry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-perry/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. 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