Is Magnus sympathetic?

Jian for me, was almost on par with Kitty Ping, a character who altered flying empathic reptiles into telepathic dragons.

I was way more upset when Magnus died than Jian. Who needs her, she was a nut case? Magnus on the other hand was strong, fearless, smart, and willing to do what needed to be done, what his sissy brother didn't have the balls to do, and he had the know how and equipment to do it. He was a great man, did great things. A man and his knife, a beautiful thing. The only other besides magnus that I didn't want to see die were the father and son, they were cool too. Just not Magnus cool. I always enjoy someone who is willing to stand up and do what has to be done and not worry about the cosequences that they always threaten you with.

with just a little paranoid psychosis and a smattering of narcissism...The guy was a murderous dick! The ancestors did us a favor

I thought the way he died was appropriate. He died as he had lived for most of his life. Even Steven.

That sick bastard should have suffered long and leisurely. A good old fashioned death like the one dealt to Memeskia also called "Old Britain". If you don't know who he was, google the French and Indian War. Prepare to shudder. Tastes Like Chicken

The Irishman from Ohio"I never Get to Get it!"-Wacko Warner He was a monster...one could say he was as aggressive and violent as an adult alpha chimpanzee. Also he was, in my view a sociopath. He may have not had the best education but his intelligence and reasoning skills were as sharp as his blades. He scariness was a few chromosomes short of Kayla(ms) Meyers(ms).

Magnus was a character I admired at first, right up until he killed Jian. After that my respect for him basically plummeted.

I think that's the brilliance of the character, that you can relate to some of the things that Magnus suffered from. Here was a guy that served his country loyaly, showed loyalty to his father's company despite the fact that his brother was given the reins and fought to keep what his father created viable despite his brother's rather reckless use of capital to save his own life. But then you turn the page and Magnus is cutting himself, cutting someone else, blowing up federal agents, trying to kill the help, etc and you see the monster he truely is. After listening to the podcast and reading the novel, I have to say Magnus reminds me of Dolarhyde from the novel Red Dragon, sympathetic on one page and a horrific monster the next.

I'd have to say that Magnus is about as sympathetic as a rabid bear with a thorn in his paw. Sure, we're all a little sad that Magnus has got a problem with cutting... but let's be serious, if he wasn't cutting on himself, he'd be cutting on some other sucker.
I think he's meant to be an amoral loose cannon, and I think he fits in the story as that character.
To look at him, and think, "He'd be a nice guy my daughter could date if he'd just lose the guns" is a tad unrealisting, IMHO.
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I really don't know, never thought of it. He certainly has paid his dues and doesn't have much to show for it, while his showboating brother gets all the props and the love from pops. At any rate, that's the first time I've used "shmympathetic" in a sentence, and I like it.