Holden Carver - Characterization

Characterization

In the Sleeper Series, Holden Carver is a morally ambiguous character who is uncertain about his identity and mission as a double agent. As the series progresses, we see Holden forced to commit increasingly violent crimes to maintain his cover, all while forming friendships with criminal associates and growing more disillusioned with the mission.

Early in the series, Holden claims to believe in the mission’s cause, citing this belief as a reason for accepting the job in the first place. But while infiltrating Tao’s organization, Holden is forced to kill agents from the other side and participate in enemy operations destabilizing world governments. He also bonds with the members of his team, referring to them as his new friends and even falling in love. The disturbing similarities between how his old boss Jack Lynch and new boss Tao operate, both being similarly ruthless in how they manipulate others to their own purpose, cause Holden to see himself as a pawn in their own personal war against each other; and by the end of the series, Holden is simply trying to find away out of the conflict alive.

Holden’s character is a somewhat grim and cynical secret agent who is, as other characters in the series note, willing to do whatever it takes to survive. He is extremely capable when it comes to physical confrontation and does not appear to be bothered by the violent nature of his actions as much as their moral implications. He struggles with the dichotomy of good guys vs bad guys and his inability define either category. The character carries a great deal of guilt about things he’s done in the past and appears to be punishing himself to deal with it, which makes the character come off as a pretty severe masochist. It becomes obvious later in the story that Holden is desperate to find a way to experience pain again, risking his life for the chance to remove the alien artifact embedded in his nervous system and falling in love with a dominatrix female character.