You have to read David Montgomery's appreciation of my favorite fictional character (well, outside of Mr Toad) Travis McGee.

Travis McGee always seemed to be one of the realest protagonists from a mystery series. Not because there's actually anyone like him, but because MacDonald knew him so well and wrote about him so powerfully, that he came to life on the page in a way that most characters don't.

I discovered John D. MacDonald's McGee novels late, read them all, and then, just as Travis was beginning to worry about getting a step too slow, there were no more. So at least Travis never did lose that last half step. Which is probably just as well.