Redemption

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I've just had a chat abot Coldfire, and one point that came up was Gerald and his redemption. More specifically, whether we want to see him redeemed.

I was arguing that I don't really want to. Redemption, for him, would mean giving up all the things that make him a fascinating character. Strip away all that is evil about him and you end up with a boring shell. It's his calculating ruthlessness and the willingness to do anything to serve his own goals that draw me to writing him. Besides, he's a wonderful counterpoint to Damien's inherent goodness.

My friend is of the opinion that redemption should happen at some point since it would mean closure and a final goal for Gerald to aim for, now that he seems willing to accept the fact that he might actually die at some point.

Thoughts? Do you want him to stay the bad guy he's been in the books? Do you imagine him on the way to goodness?