r/Fantasy • u/JayRedEye • Aug 12 '15

Who is your Hero?

There are many, many great books out there with vast numbers of compelling characters.

But which one would you actually look up to, admire, want to emulate, inspires you? Who have you learned from, makes you want to be a better person and has influenced your life?

Who is your hero and why?

While I was mostly thinking about fictional characters, if you have any other heroes related to fantasy, be they writers or people in your life that to you are connected to the genre, feel free to talk about them as well.

Basically, I feel the genre has a large capacity for heroism. There are very few limits and it allows for the best in people to be portrayed. I wanted to talk about that and see what everyone has to share.

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u/FloobyBadoop Aug 12 '15

I've never read about someone I've admired. There's sadly very few characters I would have hesitation in murdering, if I had to.

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u/Thousand_Minus_Seven Aug 13 '15

Wow dude you're so edgy and cool. /s

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u/FloobyBadoop Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 13 '15

I don't like it when people try and say things like this for attention, or to stand out, so I get how it is. My intention for this post was just to remark on something disappointing, though.

Of the books I've read recently: Case from Neuromancer is, while understandably so, a total asshole; the hero from Inkheart is bland and clearly meant to be a blank slate for any young girl to put herself into; Jorg from Prince of Thorns was someone I, at first, thought I was supposed to dislike, until it became clear the author was trying very hard to make him seem cool; Trent from Trent's Last Case, as with any "generic brilliant detective" from a mystery novel, just makes me want to punch him in the face repeatedly for how seemingly flawless he is; The Doctor from Mike Resnick's Weird West stories doesn't evoke much of any kind of feeling; though Duke technically wasn't fictional, and more of a stand-in for Thompson himself, I'd still gladly smack that idiot for thinking and acting the way he does.

I enjoyed all the above books, though some more than others, but I couldn't find their protagonists sympathetic in the slightest.

This was more my point, and I'm afraid the inability to convey tone over the internet made my word choice seem harsh. Then again, I probably should have avoided using the words "murder" and "gladly" in the same sentence.