Wattpad brings you a guest post from David Callinan, our newest Featured Story writer. His mystery thriller, The Immortality, stars Ex-US government assassin and Hong Kong Police martial arts enforcer Mike Delaney. Check out what he thinks of assassins and his top 3 favorites below:
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My Three Favorite Assassins
by Mike Delaney
Assassins exert an almost primeval fascination for many people, especially when characterised in fiction.
Which got me thinking and pondering.
I tried to think of a few literary assassins that still lived in my memory. The very idea of a ‘favorite’ assassin does beg a few interesting questions. Some folks like to glamorize these types of characters so you can see why they have such a visceral attraction.
Partly, I realised, trying to come up with a list of favorite assassins had more to do with those I could remember. I went to an online source and was staggered at the sheer number of so-called assassins that confronted me - most of whom I had never heard of.
Then again, I suppose people will confuse murder for assassination, well, yes, it’s still murder…but not quite the same. I had to make sure that I wasn’t using the term ‘favorite’ in the wrong way. The assassins I selected had to be convinced that what they were doing was justified or that they were gaining something for themselves whether it be money, glory or the satisfaction of exercising their professional skills. Oh, and not getting caught (although self-sacrifice is acceptable).
I couldn’t put comic book heroes into the ‘great assassin’ category. If you have superpowers and you obliterate ordinary folk that haven’t that’s not quite the same thing. I would have included The Terminator but he does have futuristic powers that give him a supreme advantage. Ditto The League Of Assassins.
In no particular order of preference the three assassins I have selected are:
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1. Silas (Da Vinci Code) - Paul Bettany brought obsession and tormented realism to the Catholic Opus Dei assassin.
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2. The Jackal (The Day Of The Jackal) - The ultimate professional who manages to elicit sympathy and admiration as well as praying he never comes after you.
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3. John Keller (Lawrence Block) - There is something beguilingly human about the stamp collecting hit man that I find hard to resist.
Want to read more about assassins? Check out The Immortality.
