A movie I will want to see

When I was in high school, one of my favourite teachers introduced me to a short story by Kurt Vonnegut called "Harrison Bergeron." (Click for the full text of the story.) Shortly afterwards, I found a made-for-TV movie of the same name, starring Sean Astin, based on Vonnegut's story. (Click here for the complete video... I think.)

Between them, they have been some of the most influential fiction I've ever been exposed to. Perhaps not the best fiction, but the ideas in them have influenced me for years. The basic premise can be summed up by a quote from the movie: it is a world in which "everyone is not created equal; it is the government's duty to render them so." People who are extraordinary or above-average in any way -- physically or intellectually -- are handicapped down to the level of the lowest common denominator.

Now I find out that there's a movie in post-production, called 2081, inspired by "Harrison Bergeron." You can see a trailer here. It should be out sometime in 2009. I'll definitely be going. The trailer only shows scenes from the short story, and I'm not sure how they're going to extend it into feature-film length, but I'll be interested in seeing it first-hand.

(As an aside, my high school teacher deserves credit only for introducing me to the piece, not for its analysis. When I submitted by report on it, full of a discussion about equality vs. similarity, she graded it rather poorly. She thought that the main takeaway from the short story was about the influence of TV. Personally, I find that to be a rather minor theme, but sometimes there's just no arguing with authority, especially when they're grading your papers.)

Can anyone help me identify this book?

Okay, I'm calling on the help of the great LJ-brain.

I once read a book -- both the title and name of the author have been lost in the recesses of my mind -- about an interrogator. It's a series that spans several books. It's hard-fantasy enough that it involves multiple worlds, space travel, etc. The basic idea is that the protagonist, a state-sponsored interrogator or inquisitioner (whose name I've also forgotten) is generally adverse to torture (now sanctioned under the state), but discovers that he has an amazing knack for it. Furthermore, when he's actually involved in the interrogations, a certain bloodlust comes over him that he greatly regrets whenever a session is over. The first book involves his training, later books involve his career.

Does anyone have any idea what the heck I'm talking about?