Loving Characters That Should Scare The Crap Out Of You

My wife is a librarian. She used to go to the library conferences.

And used to bring me home early reader copies of books that publishers would give out.

One was Lawrence Block’s first novel about his hitman Keller.

I’ve now read all of the novels and short-stories. Including the most recent one released as a Kindle Single.

In the epilogue Block says Keller is a character his fans love, even though they know they should hate him. Or at least be scared of him. Because he kills people for a living.

But Keller is not your typical hitman protagonist.

In fact the killing part is the least interesting part of any of his stories.

They are more about his relationships with his broker Dot and later with his wife and daughter.

And his stamp collecting.

What ends up making you more conflicted is that rarely does Keller kill anyone who is really bad. In contrast to say the Punisher. The Punisher is hard-core violent vigilante but you know the people he whacks are really bad guys.

Who escape justice every other way.

Keller’s are more likely to be more like you. Ordinary guy. Who someone wants dead. Maybe because a business partner wants to eliminate a competitor. Or a politician a whistleblower. Or maybe a jealous spouse.

But yet, Keller is so damn likable — you can’t but help to root for him.

Thus Keller is more of a dark humor series than an action series.

And it’s what makes fiction great. Whether prose or movies or comic book (sequential art if you want to be sophisticated). You get to empathize with someone who is absolutely nothing like you and really would scare the beejesuz out of you in real life.

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