Kat with a K

Booking Through Thursday: Hero

Today's question:

Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?

I first looked at this question a few hours ago, and thought "Oh, I have no idea," but then I just looked at it again and the answer(s) seemed clear: Cadfael and Gregor Demarkian.

Cadfael is the main character in the series of the same name by Ellis Peters. The books are set in the 12th century, around the English/Welsh border. Cadfael is a former Crusader and adventurer who become a monk late in life. The books themselves are wonderful, and I could go on, but the question was about the hero. I like Cadfael because of his ability to blend all of the disparate parts of his life into a cohesive whole, and because of his devotion to both faith and intellect.

Gregor Demarkian is the main character in Jane Haddam's mystery series. He's a retired FBI agent who is now a somewhat famous consultant for various high-profile murder cases. I like him because of his incredible intellect (seeing a pattern?), as well as his basic human decency and loyalty to the Armenian-American neighborhood in which he grew up. And just as a character, he's very complex in a believable way.