Love the star of the show – or not!
26 April 2013 
It’s been a funny old week with a few thought provoking discussions which leads me to my question. Which will be short and sweet. Let’s face it, you don’t always love the main star of the show do you? Come on, you don’t! Or maybe that’s just me! But, as far as I can see the hero or heroine is not always the most easy to get on with character in the story. Alice or the Cheshire Cat? Bilbo or Smeagol?. So, that brings me to five main characters that I don’t really like and five lesser characters that I do:
Five main characters that I don’t really like:
- Frodo – not my favourite character. I love the LoTR but not Frodo – and he’s pretty central to the plot but I just find him too needy!
- Harry Potter – again, he’s a bit meh. I prefer the Weasleys
- Akira from Daughter of Smoke and Bone – didn’t like him at all. Very cruel and cold. I know lots of people will disagree!
- Heathcliff and Catherine – Wuthering Heights – they’re not really that nice as characters (me, me, me!)
- Alexei from Twelve by Jasper Kent – love these books, but Alexei starts off as a very selfish sort of character and you spend a lot of time in his head!
Five lesser characters that I do really like:
- Jean Tannen from The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies- I know that was obvious – and really, is he a lesser character? not really. However, is he the main character? – no, not really. Anyway, any chance to mention Jean is okay with me. I love this guy. He should be in a few more books – not just the Gentlemen Bastards!!
- The Fool from Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice – what a great character. I loved him. He wasn’t in the story a lot but I certainly sat up straighter and paid attention when he was around.
- Bob from the Dresden Files – he only has a bit part (he’s a character living in a skull) but he’s pretty funny not to mention knowledgeable!
- Marquis of Carabas from Neverwhere – I suppose he has a fairly fundamental role to this book but he’s not one of the main characters. I liked him a lot.
- The Wee Free men from Terry Pratchett’s discworld series. I love these guys – you can’t live with them – but you really can’t live without them!
So, let me know who your love and hates are that are not always as you would expect.
Hah! Too true! Let’s see: Pen me in as Bob the Skull fan. Just finished Leona Wisoker’s Secrets of the Sands, and Aleya (main character) is A-OK but I really like Idisio. I read Sherlock Holmes for Watson rather than Holmes.
Ha, I love that you read Sherlock for Watson – he’s so totally wrong that he’s perfectly right! I do love Watson. But actually I love that whole series.
Lynn:D
An excellent point! I do like to pay as much attention to secondary characters in books as the main character, and I love your list of those! I haven’t read Neverwhere (yet) but I’m a big fan of Jean Tannen, and of course Bob – and the Feegles, that goes without saying. 😀
Ah, Jean Tannen, can’t wait for Republic of Thieves!
Lynn 😀
As for my own contribution there, I’d go with Tybalt, the King of Cats from Seanan McGuire’s Toby Daye series. Grumpy, so very readable badass. 😀
Now you’ve made me want to read that book – grumpy and badass 😀
Lynn
Frodo got on my last nerve more than once which is one reason I really liked Sam. To me the TV show Grimm is a good example of how the main character is kinda blah. I really like the Monroe character much better because the writers seemed to have given him several interesting layers.
Hah hah – Frodo, I know – didn’t he get on everyone’s last nerve! Sam was much better – but who cares, there was Aragorn! I haven’t seen the Grimm show – did I miss something good??
Lynn 😀
Grimm is excellent TV. My only complaint is they don’t give Monroe a bigger part. lol Secondary character and all. 🙂
I was just thinking about this same thing today. I’m currently The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron (it’s the first 3 books in the series in an omnibus), and Eli and Miranda are cool and all, but I’m drawn more towards Josef, who isn’t a main character. He’s interesting, and mysterious, and I really like his backstory. Forget Eli, I want to know all about Josef and his sword!
and I think that’s *it* about these supporting characters. Because they aren’t the star of the show, we don’t learn much about them (at least at first), so of course we want to learn more and more. I’ve got to wonder how many “favorite supporting characters” started out as throwaway characters by the author.
And Alexei from Twelve? he IS a total selfish bastard. but I do like him. and once you get past book 3 he’s not a main character anymore, so it’s better.
OMG I’ve got The Legend of Eli – just waiting tbr! Is it good??? It’s been getting good reviews. You’re right about these secondary characters – it is because we don’t get enough info – not enough rope to hang them with!! I’m sure I read somewhere that Seth didn’t start out as the main character – was it your interview?
Yeah, Alexei got on my nerves at first, he definitely improved in later books! Iuda was such a good character.
Lynn 😀
oh Iuda was just a creepy disgusting character! have you read the 3rd book yet? Iuda totally screws everything up for Alexei.
Legend of Eli is very very fun. A smidgen fluffy, a smidgen silly, but insanely fun. and who are my favorite characters? Josef and Nico, who i barely know a darn thing about!
Yes, I read the third book – it wasn’t my favourite of the series to be honest and just to totally turn about face I think it’s because I missed Alexsei! Iuda was is usual brilliantly horrible self though and I’m really looking forward to the next book. I do love this series. I think the combination of setting, history and horror are just perfect.
Lynn 😀
Who could not love The Wee Free men from Terry Pratchett’s discworld series?!?!?!? -grin-
I know, that’s not answering the question but… I’m still in love with The Wee Free men!!! So I had to write it. -grin-
“Auntie”
So happy you love the Wee Free men too. You’d think I’d wrote them wouldn’t you? I just love it when others feel the same about characters as I do.
Lynn 😀
Also off topic-ish, but….. Is it really true that “Daughter Of Smoke And Bone” will be filmed???? Just saw this blurb about ‘DoSaB’ getting screen writer….
Well, thanks for that link – it certainly looks as though a film will be made – I haven’t read the second one of this series yet – have you?
Lynn 😀
Yikes, I don’t think I have either!
We’re both very bad!!!
Lynn 😀
Great discussion Lynn 🙂 It seems we think a like a lot. I totally agree with Harry Potter the Weasleys are so much funnier and cooler. I wouldn’t say I dislike Frodo but he certainly isn’t my favourite character that has to go to his faithful friend Sam! I would also agree that Heathcliff and Cathy are not likeable at all! Although I’m not sure they were written to be liked 😛
Yeah, I’m always a bit harsh on poor Frodo – I suppose he was carrying a terrible burden after all! But, I still prefer Sam.
Wuthering Heights is one of those strange phenomena (for me) where I actually prefer the film to the book – I love the old B&W version with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. And, even so, they’re still pretty horrible selfish characters!
Lynn 😀
I’ve seen the 1992 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche which I really enjoyed. I didn’t know their was an earlier one starring Laurence Olivier I would really like to see that now 🙂
Cool. I enjoy reading your blog. Its worth to share with my friends.
Thank you 😀
Lynn
This is such an interesting topic for discussion. I’ve been thinking about this lately because I’ve read a few books recently with unreliable narrators that you just can’t help but love to hate. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell whether the author actually wants the main character to be likeable or not!
It is an interesting theme – I was thinking the other day about it again. I’d read Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life and the author manages during the course of the book to make you do a complete turn around on two of the main characters. You start off the story really liking Sylvie and thinking her step-sister Izzy is just very unreliable and reckless but by the end you’re sort of left with this feeling that Sylvie is a tremendous snob and Izzy is quite stalwart! Of course those feelings differ dependent upon which particular version of Ursula’s life you happen to be reading. Charlaine Harris is another good example of an author who manages to change her characters over the course of her books so that, for example, in the Sookie stories – you start off really liking Bill, but then you end up really liking Eric and Bill seems all wishy washy or just unfaithful, and then there’s Sam – and you can’t help wondering in what direction she will take him in – or more to the point us the readers!
Lynn 😀