Heros and Heroines…
7 April 2013
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book characters, Favourite heros and heroines
This month the Classics Club came up with a really good question (link here):
“Who is hands-down the best literary hero, in your opinion? Likewise, who is the best heroine?”
I think this is a toughie – because I find it difficult to restrict myself to one answer for each and also it depends on how you’re making your decision. For example, your favourite literary hero, should I plump for someone who is a bit of mind candy or am I going to go for a hero in the true sense of the word? Plus do I just think of a book I love and pick that character – it’s not necessarily the case that just because you love a book the main character will be your favourite is it? I mean, I don’t particularly love the character Frodo and he’s fairly central to the whole Lord of the Rings story!
Hero: nominations – Jean Tannen from Scott Lynch’s Lies of Locke Lamorra/Red Seas Under Red Skies – because I have a crush on him, ditto Aragorn out of Lord of the Rings, Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files – because he can’t say no to a lady in distress, Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre, Sir Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernell
Hero : Sir Percy Blakeney from Baroness Orczy’s the Scarlet Pimpernell. Reason – it’s a classic book so thought it was quite fitting, plus his character plays a tremendous fop (‘sink me the place is a mausoleum’, etc, etc) and yet underneath it all is planning dangerous and dramatic escapes of French Aristocrats who are about to meet Madame Guillotine.
Heroines: Nominations. Jane Eyre – because I love that book and think Jane is a great character, Lisbeth Salander from Stieg Larsson’s Girl With a Dragon Tattoo – because she’s so kickass! Scarlett O’Hara from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind because she won’t conform to society’s expectations, Dany or Arya from Game of Thrones (would probably pick Arya in a pinch although Dany does have 3 dragons!)
Heroine: Lisbeth Salander – I really did enjoy all three books and think Lisbeth is a great character
So, although I’ve only chosen one of each I have written a few others down here as nominations (bit of a cheat really, but there you go!)
Come over and share your knights in shining armour and dashing damsels.
Hero : Toru Okada from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle– his passivity reminds me of me… Oh, you want a sword swinging hero… Harry Keogh a.k.a. Necroscope. He’s a relatively normal guy apart from his ability to talk to the dead and transport himself to anywhere in the universe through the Möbius Continuum. What I like about him is that he’s still pretty human and approaches things through intelligence.
Manga: Zoichi Kanoe from Biomega. He’s got super-strength, super-speed, a super AI and a super bike and he can survive an apocalypse. Most importantly Tsutomu Nihei draws him looking so damn cool!
Heroine: Monza Murcatto from Best Served Cold. She’s smart, sexy, and tough as nails. She begins the book near death’s door and fights her way back in the bloodiest and most revenged packed manner going.
Manga: Nishu Mizunoe from Biomega. She’s got super-strength, super-speed, a super AI and a super bike (WITH CLAW LIKE WHIPS!!!) and she too can survive an apocalypse. Like Zoichi, she is a synthetic human created by Toa Heavy Industry and she’s so damn cool. Epic jumps here and there!
All-time favourite character: Kino – I love the anime and have recently started reading the light novels. The character will totally catch you off-guard in terms of behaviour, actions and back story. An existentialist hero who packs two guns and rides a talking motorcycle across lands just to experience life as a traveller.
Wow Jason, some great suggestions here. Just been checking out the artwork for Zoichi Kanoe – you’re not wrong! Very cool. I haven’t read Joe Abercrombie yet – I must read soon (in fact I really can’t believe that I haven’t read his books – what’s that all about??)
Lynn 😀
Best Served Cold is the first of a trilogy (I’ve read the second The Heroes) and it’s set in Styria which is like Renaissance Italy, squabbling states and regional powers interfering and invading while armies of mercenaries battle each other and families like the Medici’s funding the whole thing. Main character Monza is the best mercenary general in the army of Duke Orso and he betrays her at the very beginning! She recovers and has a number of men to kill including Orso and so she assembles a group of nutters – a fantasy Dirty Dozen who follow her from region to region as she makes her comeback. There are sieges and sex and torture and assassinations and every situation gets very complicated.
I think it was the second book I wrote about on my blog… After World War Z.
Those are great nominations. Really glad to see Lisbeth Salander there. Loved those books.
I really enjoyed Mike – the AI – from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress; William Mandela from Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman was a very approachable, human character; Aerin from The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley is probably one of the best female heroines of all times. Agh! I could go on and on with this question.
I was really pleased that I remembered Lisbeth. It’s surprising just how difficult it is to think of these characters when you really want to. I mean, sure, you can think of interesting characters or characters that you just love reading about but are they heros? I loved the character of Lisbeth though.
Lynn 😀
See, you are right! I couldn’t think of Vin and Elend from Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson while I was commenting, but it came to me later.
Double damn!! Ditto.
Lynn 😀
Lisbeth is a great character. I still haven’t read the third book in that installment. At one of the pubs we frequent there’s a gal that looks like Lisbeth. Actually we call it the Dragon pub now even though that isn’t the name.
I love the character. Book three is great. I found the start a little slow but ultimately it’s such a satisfying book! I love it – The Dragon Pub. It’s the sort of thing I would do – give something a nickname, before you know it you’ve forgotten the ‘actual’ name!
Lynn 😀
We have nicknamed several of our usual pubs and there are times when I can’t remember the actual name. It makes it difficult when I write my reviews 🙂
Years ago I nicknamed my next door neighbour Leo – after a singer who he reminded me of – of course, I didn’t tell him! But then I completely forgot his actual name. I just used to head in the opposite direction whenever I saw him because I knew I was going to slip up and call him my nickname!
Lynn 😀
Ha, we’ve done that with our annoying neighbors. It can be a dangerous habit–but funny
Definitely amusing – but you’re probably better sticking to nick naming your pubs! (not as embarrassing as when you call somebody the wrong name!)
Lynn 😀
Great choices and nominations! I’ve just finished reading A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin. Arya and Daenarys were two of my favourite characters!
Game of Thrones is an amazing novel. I really need to read book 2!
Lynn 😀