In 2024, I read two books that became unlikely favorites. One was a historically inaccurate novel, and the other was violent—far more violent than I usually like my fiction to be. Yet both made their way deep into my heart. Why? because they had heroes—idealized and romanticized heroes who were larger than life.
The Scottish Chiefs and Break the Beast are two books that seem to have little in common at first glance. The Scottish Chiefs is a historical fiction on the life of William Wallace. Break the Beast is a fantasy retelling of the epic poem Beowulf. The Scottish Chiefs has a vintage feel (it was published in 1809), taking its time to tell a romantic version of William Wallace. Break the Beast is a fast-paced, modern book with grit and violence. Both books featured an idealized main character who made me crave more hero books.
Heroes are not a popular idea right now. Current book trends favor the morally grey characters - the characters who can be horrible, but you find they have redeeming qualities.
The drunken superhero.
The super handsome boss who adores the girl, but is possessive, obsessive, and rude.
The good girl who falls for the bad boy and realizes being good is boring.
The person willing to sacrifice everything and everyone to achieve a goal.
The fallen good girl, struggling to find redemption.
The man who ignores rules and laws to achieve a 'greater good'.
While we need stories that show redemption and the triumph of the flawed characters doing their best, we also need more. We need the characters that are so good that they inspire us to do better. We need the good boys and girls who stay good through the whole story and win victories because of it. We need stories that tell us that we could be so much more than what we are settling for.
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In The Scottish Chiefs, William Wallace is a man whose life is upended by tragedy, and is forced to fight a war he didn't want. Yet, he does so with character, purpose, and integrity. His noble character is in stark contrast to those he is fighting. No, this is not the book to go to to get the historical facts. However, it is a good book to read to see the beauty of a morally shining character against the black backdrop of corruption.
In Break the Beast, Beowulf is a powerful warrior who can do just about anything on his own. He charges through the story defeating enemies, and offering bold compassion and redemption without compromising his quest to right wrongs. He knows what others need and pours himself out for others through the whole story, keeping his end goal in mind. A morally bright character against the black backdrop of evil.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. Philippians 2:14-16 NIV, emphasis added.
Idealized heroes remind me of the above verse. They shine like stars against a dark sky. They challenge me to think beyond what I am to what I could be. Ultimately, they point me to The Hero, Jesus, who is my ultimate hero and role model.
Do we need realistic, flawed characters in our fiction? Yes! Do we need redemption stories? Absolutely! However, I argue that we also need morally shining characters. We need the unabashedly good heroic character that seems a little too good to be true. We need characters like Beowulf and Wallace. We need characters like the Old Testament Joseph, Daniel, and Ruth; men and women who stand out from the darkness as shining lights of heroic morality and courageous goodness.
We need heroes.
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