One of the main characters in my book is Søren Kierkegaard. He was a philosopher from Denmark. Born 1813. Died 1855. He’s often referred to as the father of existentialism, although he would have hated that. A more accurate description would be the father of the existential, at least in modern philosophical terms.

Some have heard of him. Many more haven’t. Perhaps it’s fair to say he’s an acquired taste, although his influence is as profound as any of the more well-known names often bandied about—Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Descartes, and Kant. They’re all characters in the book, too. Except Kant. Read it if you want to know why.

I have introduced him as Søren Kierkegaard, but he used over a dozen pseudonyms, including such delightful examples as Johannes de Silentio, Johannes Climacus, Anti-Climacus, Victor Eremita, Nicolaus Notabene, Constantin Constantius, Hilarius Bookbinder, Vigilius Haufniensis, and Frater Taciturnus. Each of these became a distinctive voice of their own, with individual opinions that often contradicted each other. In fact, there is a direct link between him and someone like Marshall Mathers, with his use of the Slim Shady and Eminem pseudonyms.

He’s known for his emphasis on subjective truth and the individual. This explains the association with the existential. He had views on the mass media of his day—the press—which are still pertinent now, as are his comments on organised religion. And he was, to use his own words, the most dialectical of thinkers, even though he only had contempt for the philosopher often most associated with the term ‘dialectic’— Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

I first meet him when he appears in a dream as the ghost of Hamlet's father, demanding that I go on an existential quest to avenge him by slaying the usurper king, Hegel, and keeping a journal while I’m at it. Several scenes from the play follow, including the one where Hamlet stabs Polonius in his mother’s bedroom and then tries to hide the body under the stairs, as well as the big swordfight finale with Laertes. Along the way, I try to punch him in a pub. We finally end up in Copenhagen for an emotional showdown.