We have reached Number One in my Top Five Literary Badass List. The Top FIve were chosen partly out of consideration for where the hero stands in the  socio-sexual hierarchy; partly for how much fun it is to read them.

I used to apply the term “guilty pleasure” to men’s fiction such as what I’m referring to. But guilt (in this context) is for manginas and others overly concerned about what people think.

1. The Sergeant

The Top Dude-LIt Badass is Master Sergeant Clarence Mahoney–the worst nightmare of German soldiers (and plenty of American lower enlisted as well).

Through nine novels, countless firefights, bayonet duels, and plenty of cheap, meaningless fornication, the picture we have of Mahoney is crystal-clear: he’s an alpha male to his very core, who rose up through the ranks in a very competitive (dog-eat-dog is more accurate) environment purely by merit. He wants to be in charge and usually is. The betas in his platoon (especially sidekick Corporal Cranepool) are fanatically loyal to him/want to be him.

Ladies and other civilized people tend to think of him as a barbaric brute, yet he’s got enough game to make notches out of those same ladies anyway. And pretty much any other broad who conveniently becomes available on his blood-splattered path through wartime Europe.

Amidst all the mayhem in the series, you also get some nice slices of historic facts. Author Len Levinson did his research, resulting in much more historical accuracy than you might expect from war pulp.