Introduction: the abomination of desolation: introducing evil, and myth - Defilement - Evil people - Space invaders - The way things are - Couldn't it have happened differently? - Trickster's gameplan - Traumatic initiations - The hero's dragon - Evil under analysis - Laughter and wisdom - Through death to life - The hero victorious - The meaning of war - The end of days - Summing up - Bibliography - Notes - Index