Some fans, especially those desperate for any content involving their favorite artists (i.e. pretty much every Rammstein fan right now), sometimes start seeing them wherever possible - for example, as characters in books. Personally, I don’t really do that, as I find very few characters deserving enough or fitting. But lately, I’ve found an absolutely perfect character to "cast" Paul for his role. Takeshi Kovacs from Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon (the book - I’ve never seen the series and discovered they even exist accidentally) is a former Envoy: a highly trained elite soldier, genetically and psychologically conditioned to wreak absolute havoc on the most distant planets in the universe.
Badass, intimidating, cold-blooded, but also bitter and cynical, Kovacs is more of an anti-hero type, which corresponds well with how Rammstein in general is perceived, particularly in Germany. Especially Paul’s later portrayals in videos fit him so well that after a while it’s tough not to see him as the book’s protagonist. Not to mention, Kovacs seems incomparably closer to the actual Paul than "fanfiction" portrayals.
So, for his fans, who are particularly unfortunate in this area, Altered Carbon may be a true feast.
To be fair, the reader never actually finds out what Takeshi Kovacs looks like, as human existence is fundamentally separated into mind and body with the first one being downloaded to so-called "cortical stacks". In Altered Carbon, Kovacs has three bodies, including a female one*, and none of them is his. But since it’s a book, you can turn a blind eye to that. I have no idea how it was portrayed in the series, but I recall that in similar cases you may see one and the same actor, while you’re supposed to have in mind that other characters see him in different bodies, different bodies are shown in mirrors etc.
By the way, I may also suggest imagining Salma Hayek as Kristin Ortega for what happens in Chapter 27 (you’ll thank me later;)).
Partly a crime novel in which Kovacs tries to find out who killed one of the richest and most powerful people on Earth, Altered Carbon is the first part of Morgan’s trilogy and probably the quickest to read. Broken Angels and Woken Furies, although great books as well, in a way seem bleaker and are more focused on complex existential dilemmas rather than on Kovacs’ personality. However, I’d highly recommend reading them too.
A small disclaimer: the books should probably be age-restricted because of the rather large amount of violence, including torture, and very open (though not vulgar - turns out you can do it like this) erotic scenes, so please be warned.
* - Kovacs - or rather his cortical stack - was placed in the body of a very young woman for torture, which makes it both worse and better to imagine. Worse for the obvious reasons - but better since I’ve never sunk low enough to masturbate to enjoy the idea of my fav rockstar suffering. This mean remark is fully dedicated to the local creep show.
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