Character Analysis
What's the best way to describe the nefarious Mr. Grin? Take one part Oddjob, stir in a little bit of Heath Ledger's Joker, and then top it off with just a dash of the always-silent Darth Maul—minus the face paint and lightsaber, of course.
Mr. Grin is the baddest of all the baddies. Herod Sayle? Sure, he plans the mass murder of millions, but he's really just a sensitive guy on the inside. Even Yassen Gregorovich—the most feared assassin in the world—only kills for business reasons. Mr. Grin, however, is so sadistic that he begins "grinning" and "enjoying himself" (12.42) as he beats Alex up.
This love of violence is embodied in Mr. Grin's grin: "two horrendous scars […] twisting up all the way to his ears" (7.40). Did he get captured and tortured while on assignment with Sayle? Or did he do it to himself? Regardless of its origins, the scar provides the perfect symbol for Mr. Grin's unsettling love for violence—it literally makes him smile.