Seth Paul, the least central member of The Chain, is described frequently as "perfect", in many respects: personality, physical features, academic, sporting and social achievements. It is this very reputation, and the pressure induced by it, that is his deepest burden: Seth is a hopeless alcoholic, blindly alienated, emotionally weak and without any concernable self-esteem. He is apparently, and unrequitedly in love with Nissa and in Chapter 18 he attempts to commit suicide. His father is the head of the Cheshunt Police Division and reports to Mr. Karle. Seth is consequently under consistent pressure to side with his father and join the Dark, which he ultimately does, but at the last minute redeems himself, to the prompting and forgiveness of The Chain. He is the eye that seeks. Fascism and World Society References Despite exploration into the nature of evil in philosophical and fantasy terms, Carmody's depiction of evil as an authoritarian dictatorship society is very realistic and socially significant and more than one or two parallels can be drawn with such societies as Nazi Germany. Comparisons such as these are even specifically referenced in the book; for example, where Nathanial, enraged at his mother for calling the police on him, tells her "they acted like Nazis!" (page 59). While the ideas of evil in The Gathering do not involve the systematic extermination of any one people, the intimation of a society ruled strictly and brutally by one dictator is integral to the story's stress on the importance of individualism and independent thought in modern civilisation. Career In 1987, Carmody began writing her epic fantasy series, the Obernewtyn Chronicles, set in a post-apocalyptic realm of social disarray. While her principal focus still remains on society, in many forms, The Gathering was the first of her novels to be set in a time and place that exist in reality (early '90s Australia), an approach that immediately gives it a stark realism. Another unusual technique used in the book is that of an author narrating their story from the perspective of a member of the opposite gender (see the Tomorrow series, by John Marsden). There were no wide criticisms of her choice to do so; the voice of Nathanial was not, strangely, targeted as being unauthentic. These two basic writing techniques set The Gathering apart from almost any of Carmody's other work. Awards and nominations Joint winner – Children's Peace Literature Award: