Holy catfish.. it’s a snarky sidekick!
7 January 2015
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Fantasy Review Barn, Snarky Sidekicks, Tough Travelling
This week over at the Fantasy Review Barn we will be travelling once again through the tropes of fantasy looking at:
SNARKY SIDEKICKS:
Why is everyone so serious all the time? Perhaps they need a friend that is there with a quick bit of wit to liven the day; even if the day is looking to quickly turn to blood. (Not actually found in the Tough Guide).
Well, I thought I had a few – but, to be honest, I think I’ve maybe cheated, just a tad….
Lord Ermenwyr from – The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker. I love Lord Ermenwyr, I’m not sure whether he qualifies as a sidekick but I just don’t care because he’s so good – and, i think he does qualify really!
Tyrion – Game of Thrones by GRRMartin – I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tyrion on lots of lists – so sarcastic! I actually love this character.
Jean Tannen – I just don’t think of him as a sidekick as he’s fairly fundamental BUT I can’t resist giving him a mention and really Locke is the main character so I’m saying that Jean is Robin to Locke’s Batman!! The Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch
Bob – from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files – defo a sidekick character – yes!!
The Marquis of Carabas from Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere – is this a cheat? He’s defo not the main character?? Not sure. He’s a great character though. I think this one counts.
Lord Akeldama is Alexia’s foppish eccentric vampire friend from the Parasol Protectorate novels by Gail Carriger
Can I also just say Suzume (MLBrennan’s Generation V) and Wydrin (Jen Williams Copper Promise) – both are massive cheats because they’re not sidekicks – but OMG these two have given me plenty of laughs in my recent reading so they get a mention just for the ‘snark’. I’m calling it quits before I make myself blush with all the cheating!
That’s it for me!
Books and travelling with Lynn 
I really need to get around to reading Dresden at some point – it’s buried deep in Mount TBR.
hahahaha, I’ve only read 5 or 6 (I think!) so I still have some catching up to do. The first isn’t the best one tbh but the rest just get better and better.
Lynn 😀
Oh! The Marquis! And Lord Akeldama! Great picks! 🙂
I love both of those characters – so funny to read.
Lynn 😀
Ya should have remembered The Marquis, who totally counts and has a benefit of being awesome.
This will be the year I read Kage Baker finally, I just know it.
I hope you get to it – I loved the Anvil. Very entertaining.
I said this to Nathan too, there’s nothing wrong with a little cheating. 🙂 Yes, I love Tyrion! haha I didn’t think of Bob, that’s a good one. I just read Generation V and Suzume is such a great character!
I think cheating must make me have a warm feeling or something because I seem to cheat every week! Tyrion is such a crazy character. Did you like Generation V – I think I would read it for Suzume alone but I really like the different things Brennan’s bringing to the vampire myths.
Lynn 😀
Yeah I really liked Generation V! The mystery is a bit predictable but the vampires are so unique and I like all of the characters, including the sociopathic ones!
Haha – and the series gets better! Loving Suzume.
Lynn 😀
Suzume is totally a sidekick, and not just because I chose it too, lol! Look, the Tainted Blood description even says “Even with the help of his foxy kitsune sidekick, Suzume, he’ll need to pull out all the stops to hunt for the paranormal assassin.” HAHA! 😛
Yes *air punch* I was putting my characters and then having second thoughts thinking that they weren’t really sidekicks. Happy about this then!
Lynn 😀
Bob the Skull is the best sidekick! I would also toss in Wit from Brandon Sanderson’s books, but I am not sure he’s really a sidekick to anyone. He is a lot of fun.
OMG how did I forget Wit – I’m going to have to start using you as a consultant and emailing you every week for ideas!! Nice one.
Lynn 😀
I chose Calo and Galdo, but Jean is a total sweetheart! 🙂 I can’t wait for book 4, but it’ll be a long time coming…
Really – is the next book going to be a long time coming? Damn – I had high hopes for this year????
Good choice with Calo and Galdo – I just can’t resist getting a mention of Jean whenever I can.
Lynn 😀
Tyrion is a great choice! He is one of my favourite characters from A Song of Ice and Fire. I would also pick Ron Weasley not sure he’s necessarily a side kick but he is the funny and lovable best friend of Harry Potter (the main character).
Yeah, good choice with Ron – I thought about putting him in here and another blogger had him on the list and made the very true comment – he must be the only sidekick to get the girl!
Lynn 😀
Never thought about it that way, but that’s so true!
Hi, Lynn. Had to drop in and say how much I appreciate this post. I do love the snarky, witty sidekicks, even if they’re not all strictly legit. Bob’s my favorite.
I’ve snared Anvil of the World and The Umbrella League on your recommendation. How did I miss Ms Baker this long? And I need to catch up with Locke.
Hi Paula
Thanks for stopping by – how you doing? Not seen any posts of yours for a while – just wondering if I’ve done something silly as I normally receive email alerts?
I hope you enjoy Anvil of the World – I adored it. It’s got an amazing sense of fun and really great snarky humour. It’s fantasy – just not epic fantasy, more like every day regular fantasy with the odd catastrophe thrown in for good measure. Quite makes me want to read it again.
Lynn 😀
No, nothing silly and no problems. Thanks for asking. Holiday travels plus an out of town wedding on top of yanking up all our carpets and putting down wood. (Just say no :-\ ) I’ll be back very soon.
Anvil is near the top of my TBRP. Can’t wait!
Paula
Yanking up all the carpets sounds like one of those jobs that you start and then think why? just why? I bet it looks lovely though.
I hope you enjoy Anvil – I think Kage Baker was such a lovely author with a great imagination – well, what I’ve read so far would certainly suggest that anyway!
Lynn 😀
Cheating’s totally fine because then its okay if everyone else is a little outside the lines too! Love Lord Akeldama! That’s a great choice. I think I even considered those books because of the abundance of snark and didn’t think of him. And of course your picks of Jean and Bob are brilliants;0). Adding Anvil of the World to my TBR.
I hope you enjoy it. I thought it was excellent. Most excellent!
Lynn 😀
YES Lord Akeldama! He would snark people up while forcing them to wear only the latest fashions, haha. Bob is a classic choice as well. Love that skull!
I do so like Lord Akeldama.
Lynn 😀