Very Bad Deaths

A 2006 novel by Spider Robinson. Russell Walker is a political columnist for a Canadian newspaper. He is inadvertently dragged into the hunt for a serial killer when an old friend who happens to be a telepath shows up at his door one night.


 * Author On Board: The narrative occasionally lapses into lectures on why marijuana is great and conservatives are evil. Fortunately it's not too distracting for the most part.
 * Battle in the Center of the Mind:
 * Blessed with Suck: See A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read below.
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: Alan's repertoire includes drugs to enhance pain, drugs to prevent his victims from passing out, a perfect painkiller that lets him break every bone in someone's body then allows them to contemplate the excruciating pain they're about to experience.
 * Complete Monster: Alan, the killer they're hunting, is a wealthy hyper-sadist. At one point he boasted that his record is keeping someone dying horribly for 22 days. He makes Hannibal Lecter look like a friendly old grandfather.
 * A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: Zander, the telepath, finds close proximity to almost anyone distinctly uncomfortable. When he finally comes in close contact with Alan, this becomes a distinct disadvantage. Merely being close to a mind that viciously demented is torture for him.
 * Most Writers Are Writers: Russell, the main character, is a political columnist for a Canadian newspaper.
 * Mutant Draft Board: Apart from his difficulty dealing with the mental noise most people generate, Zander is also in hiding to avoid being drafted by any number of intelligence agencies.
 * Police Are Useless: When Russell gets a police officer to listen to him, she can only help him as a civilian because the police can't legally act on any of the (scant) information he has on Alan.
 * Police Are Useless: When Russell gets a police officer to listen to him, she can only help him as a civilian because the police can't legally act on any of the (scant) information he has on Alan.