Rabid dog. Maybe.
Hero. Maybe.
Devoted servant. Definitely.
I could go on, but I don’t want to ruin the introduction of the most important character in my world. I call him Aaron the Marked, and when I did the rewrites of Hemlock, the second book in the Manhunter series, I wrote him in.
This guy is terrifying. I mean yeah, really scary. Not because of the darkness within him. Not because of the things he does or his motivation, but because Aaron is black and white. He is extreme, and boy does he have a tendency to make a mess.
Aaron knows what he is. He knows he is a monster. Knows he is burning bright enough to consume the world. He doesn’t care.
When you write a hero like Aaron the Marked, you have to walk a narrow lane. Aaron will say the wrong thing, do the right thing, with the wrong drive, and a disturbing smile on his face. When you hear him think, you witness an unstable man, unhinged and unfettered. When he says the things he says, you can't help but draw back in horror at his methods and his mind. But when you think on his motives, far from his methods, you find yourself agreeing with him.
Aaron is a character that will push his way from the First Act, sixth book published, to the final scene 53 books later. He strides from First Act to Third and he does so with a snarl on his face and rage in his heart. But as dark as he is, Aaron calls out to the reader. He shows us that side of ourselves that will stand up, no matter the means, for the things we depend on and the people we love.
In the heart of any man or woman who would kill the person that harms their child sits the brooding mind of Aaron the Marked. In the heart of the patriot who would fight and die for America, or send their child out to do just that, resides the flaming desire of Aaron the Marked. He shows us what we would do to save the things most precious to us. And that is why he terrifies us so much.
This is why Aaron the Marked is a maniac. But dammit, he is our maniac.
When you read Aaron you will find yourself pulling back in horror and disbelief just as you lean forward in anticipation.
He makes me proud of the things I love. He makes me afraid of the things I might do to defend what I love. And he makes me angry at the ones who would commit the atrocities that make us all burn.
There is one more thing. In this book is a foreshadowing of the last scene of the last book I will ever write about this world. Aaron sits down with his nemesis, years before they become nemeses, and they talk, a simple conversation that will decide the fate of the world in years to come.
But that is decades from now.
For that you have to wait.
Sorry Charlie.