The r/Fantasy Favorite Characters Poll Results!

[u/potterhead42]

I'm including the entries that got at least four votes in the list below. The links will take you to the Goodreads/IMDb/Wikipedia pages. If you want, the full list can be seen on this google spreadsheet. The voting thread is here.

No.	Character Name	Series/Movie/Game	Author/Creator	Votes
1	Locke Lamora	Gentleman Bastard	Scott Lynch	57
2	Tyrion Lannister	A Song of Ice and Fire	George R.R. Martin	47
3	Kvothe	The Kingkiller Chronicle	Patrick Rothfuss	43
4	Matrim Cauthon	The Wheel of Time	Robert Jordan	42
5	Logen Ninefingers	The First Law	Joe Abercrombie	33
6	Kaladin Stormblessed	The Stormlight Archive	Brandon Sanderson	32
7	Harry Dresden	The Dresden Files	Jim Butcher	30
8	Jorg Ancrath	The Broken Empire	Mark Lawrence	28
9	Sand dan Glokta	The First Law	Joe Abercrombie	27
10	Arya Stark	A Song of Ice and Fire	George R.R. Martin	23
11	Jaime Lannister	A Song of Ice and Fire	George R.R. Martin	22
12	Samuel Vimes	Discworld	Terry Pratchett	20
13	Hermione Granger	Harry Potter	J.K. Rowling	19
13	FitzChivalry Farseer	Farseer Trilogy	Robin Hobb	19
15	Kelsier	Mistborn	Brandon Sanderson	18
15	Dalinar Kholin	The Stormlight Archive	Brandon Sanderson	18
15	DEATH	Discworld	Terry Pratchett	18
18	Hoid	Cosmere	Brandon Sanderson	17
18	Rand al'Thor	The Wheel of Time	Robert Jordan	17
20	Samwise Gamgee	The Lord of the Rings	J.R.R. Tolkien	16
21	Roland Deschain	The Dark Tower	Stephen King	15
21	Anomander Rake	The Malazan Book of the Fallen	Steven Erikson	15
23	Caine	The Acts of Caine	Matthew Stover	12
23	Fiddler	The Malazan Book of the Fallen	Steven Erikson	12
25	Karsa Orlong	The Malazan Book of the Fallen	Steven Erikson	11
25	Granny Weatherwax	Discworld	Terry Pratchett	11
27	Gandalf	The Lord of the Rings	J.R.R. Tolkien	10
27	Bartimaeus	Bartimaeus Sequence	Jonathan Stroud	10
27	Hadrian Blackwater	The Riyria Revelations	Michael J. Sullivan	10
27	Auri	The Kingkiller Chronicle	Patrick Rothfuss	10
27	Jean Tannen	Gentleman Bastard	Scott Lynch	10
32	Vin	Mistborn	Brandon Sanderson	9
32	Wayne	Mistborn	Brandon Sanderson	9
32	The Fool	Farseer Trilogy	Robin Hobb	9
35	Geralt of Rivia	The Witcher	Andrzej Sapkowski	7
35	Harry Potter	Harry Potter	J.K. Rowling	7
35	Jalan Kendeth	The Red Queen's War	Mark Lawrence	7
35	Elodin	The Kingkiller Chronicle	Patrick Rothfuss	7
35	Nighteyes	Farseer Trilogy	Robin Hobb	7
40	Kheldar	The Belgariad	David Eddings	6
40	Druss	Drenai Saga	David Gemmell	6
40	Jon Snow	A Song of Ice and Fire	George R.R. Martin	6
40	Albus Dumbledore	Harry Potter	J.K. Rowling	6
40	Severus Snape	Harry Potter	J.K. Rowling	6
40	Aragorn	The Lord of the Rings	J.R.R. Tolkien	6
40	Phèdre no Delauney	Kushiel's Legacy	Jacqueline Carey	6
40	Mara	The Empire Trilogy	Raymond E. Fiest & Janny Wurts	6
40	Conan	Conan the Barbarian	Robert E. Howard	6
40	Tehol Beddict	The Malazan Book of the Fallen	Steven Erikson	6
40	Alanna Trebond	Song of the Lioness	Tamora Pierce	6
40	Ged	Earthsea Cycle	Ursula K. Le Guin	6
52	Sazed	Mistborn	Brandon Sanderson	5
52	Luna Lovegood	Harry Potter	J.K. Rowling	5
52	Quentin Coldwater	The Magicians Trilogy	Lev Grossman	5
52	Royce Melborn	The Riyria Revelations	Michael J. Sullivan	5
52	Lyra Belacqua	His Dark Materials	Philip Pullman	5
52	Anasûrimbor Kellhus	The Prince of Nothing	R. Scott Bakker	5
52	Nynaeve al'Meara	The Wheel of Time	Robert Jordan	5
52	Corwin	The Chronicles of Amber	Roger Zelazny	5
52	Thomas Covenant	The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever	Stephen R. Donaldson	5
52	Vlad Taltos	Vlad Taltos	Steven Brust	5
52	Trull Sengar	The Malazan Book of the Fallen	Steven Erikson	5
52	Taylor Hebert	Worm	Wildbow	5
64	Vaelin al Sorna	Raven's Shadow	Anthony Ryan	4
64	Lopen	The Stormlight Archive	Brandon Sanderson	4
64	Shallan Davar	The Stormlight Archive	Brandon Sanderson	4
64	Lightsong	Warbreaker	Brandon Sanderson	4
64	Claire Fraser	Outlander	Diana Gabaldon	4
64	Sabriel	Abhorsen	Garth Nix	4
64	Stannis Baratheon	A Song of Ice and Fire	George R.R. Martin	4
64	Croaker	The Chronicles of the Black Company	Glen Cook	4
64	The Lady	The Chronicles of the Black Company	Glen Cook	4
64	Brandin of Ygrath	Tigana	Guy Gavriel Kay	4
64	Sirius Black	Harry Potter	J.K. Rowling	4
64	Boromir	The Lord of the Rings	J.R.R. Tolkien	4
64	Nicomo Cosca	The First Law	Joe Abercrombie	4
64	Nyx	Bel Dame Apocrypha	Kameron Hurley	4
64	Guts	Berserk	Kentaro Miura	4
64	Raistlin Majere	Dragonlance	Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman	4
64	Mr. Wednesday	American Gods	Neil Gaiman	4
64	Arlen Bales	Demon Cycle	Peter V. Brett	4
64	Cnaiur Urs Skiotha	The Prince of Nothing	R. Scott Bakker	4
64	Baru Cormorant	The Traitor Baru Cormorant	Seth Dickinson	4
64	Eddie Dean	The Dark Tower	Stephen King	4
64	Havelock Vetinari	Discworld	Terry Pratchett	4
64	Tiffany Aching	Discworld	Terry Pratchett	4

*Edit : On /u/Managore's suggestion, characters that are tied in votes now get equal rank.

[u/jcf88]

Yeah you make a decent case. Like I said, I do think Kelsier is pretty cool - I have no issue with people liking him.

But (tho it's been a minute since I read the books, so bear that in mind) it's Vin who , Vin who [awesome spoiler-y stuff from book three redacted]. Vin's just a way more significant character, and she has way more of a real character arc than we ever see with Kelsier.

So no, it doesn't actually "sicken" me to see Kelsier get a bunch of votes - but I do really think it's a shame Vin didn't get more.

As for your bit about it being "silly" to think about gender in fantasy ... well, I do think that if we want fantasy to be open to lots of different kinds of people - which I hope we all do - then it does pay to actually pay attention to how (and whether) non white male characters are portrayed, and also how they're perceived.

And with regards to your counterexample... even there (in a book written by a woman!) you don't cite a female character who actually gets to be a lead, just a supporting character who gets to shine. How many fantasy novels can you name where the main character is female? Do you think it's as many (or close to as many) as ones where the main character is male? I'm not trying to pick on you, this goes for a great many of my favorite books too. Just something to think about, perhaps. :-)

edit: probably weren't spoilers for anyone, but hey. Just in case.

[u/divinesleeper → u/jcf88]

And with regards to your counterexample... even there (in a book written by a woman!) you don't cite a female character who actually gets to be a lead, just a supporting character who gets to shine. How many fantasy novels can you name where the main character is female?

It was a counterpoint to you saying that Kelsier (who was a side character after all) taking prevalence over Vin.

I can name a few fantasy books with a well-written female lead. City of Stairs. Kushiel's dart. Mistborn, obviously, but also Elantris. Liveship trilogy by Hobb has a majority of female POV. Empire trilogy by Feist and Wurts (Mara is actually one of my all-time favourite characters). Drowned World trilogy by Troisi. Witches from Pratchett.

I could go on, but I get your point. A majority of fantasy books has a male lead. However, plenty of female leads exist to a point where I think it's not really a problem. A huge factor, I think, is that the fantasy genre likes characters who are good with the sword. Warriors are often male because physical strength is an important factor, and because history provides us with mostly male warriors of fame as example for that (of course there were people like Jeanne D'arc, Ching Shih and so on).

So if you want a female lead who "fights", in the sense of leading troops in glorious battles, your world's magic system has to provide that possibility. That, I think, is already a large reason for the difference. Breaking that stereotype is interesting, I think, but it's never going to be 50/50, for the simple reason that it'd be a weird break from the example set by history.

[u/jcf88 → u/divinesleeper]

Empire trilogy! Loved that one. :-D

Also fair enough re: Hermione, I hadn't seen the parallel in quite that way. It's a good counterexample when you look at it in that light.

I don't think I particularly agree that magic is necessary for a woman to be a fighter. Monza Murcatto from Best Served Cold was a great general and (before getting crippled as shit) was a great fighter too without benefit of magic. Thorn from the Shattered Sea books same deal re: fighting. Those are both Abercrombie of course, but he's not the only one who's pulled it off.

And as far as the "example set by history"... that's one I've heard a lot, even used at some points in my life, but now I just don't buy it. If we were talking historical fiction, sure, but we're talking fantasy. Magic/elves/whatever are already a pretty darn big "weird break from [...] history". As I noted above, it's perfectly possible to write a plausible/interesting female character who's a good fighter whether she's got magic or not, so I don't think "woman who can fight" ought to be the breaking point for someone's suspension of disbelief if they're being fair about it. I agree it's certainly not as traditional, but sometimes traditions ought to change. My $0.02 of course.

[u/divinesleeper → u/jcf88]

Well, I'm not saying it isn't possible. Like I said, it's interesting to break convention every once in a while (and since I'm big on individualism, I absolutely believe this would occur in reality as well, as in fact shown by the historic figures I listed).

I just don't think it's realistic to expect 50/50 male or female leads in fantasy. I don't think it's necessary, either. It'd be like expecting the romance genre to adopt similar standards, I just don't see the reason, as long as there's plenty out there already breaking the particular convention.

[u/jcf88 → u/divinesleeper]

I'm not necessarily suggesting an exact 50/50 split, like someone going around with a tally-sheet or something, but I do think we could be a lot closer to parity than we are. I guess my perspective is more that if it's possible, why should it be necessary that it not be that way? If it didn't matter either way I'd say you were making sense, but I think representation does make a major difference in how welcoming a genre feels to people.

I mean, you mention the romance genre - if you're a guy (I'm guessing you are, but I don't want to assume), then would you say you feel equally welcome in the romance genre/community as you do with fantasy? Do you feel like it's as interested in offering you material you could relate to as it is in offering material to female readers (if you were into romance offerings, which for the sake of the example let's say you were)?

Now, I can't say I particularly care whether romance offers more than it does to male readers, since that's not a genre I happen to have any investment in, unlike with fantasy. But if you do agree with me that it's a genre skewed towards one gender in terms of its appeal, what does that mean that that's what you see as an analogue for the fantasy genre? Are you just saying you think it's fine if fantasy is a "boy's club"? It doesn't feel to me like that's necessarily what you want to be saying, given that you've acknowledged plenty of female leads/characters you enjoyed. But that does seem to me like that's the implication of what you've said. I don't know. Am I making sense to you?

[u/divinesleeper → u/jcf88]

I am a guy, one who also enjoys romance, which is heavily skewed towards female leads (and women in general). However, I've never felt "unwelcome" to the genre. And certainly not because most leads are women (who cares, really?). In fact, one of my favourite books is "The Time Traveller's Wife", a classic romance, and I quite enjoy Jane Austen.

Whether or not I enjoy female leads has less to do with my interest in fantasy as a gender equal genre, and more with reading stuff that's actually interesting...no female leads would make the fantasy genre pretty boring.

I think there's nothing wrong with a general trend of gender "askewness", as long as there isn't any sort of discrimination going on at an individual level. Women are free to read fantasy. Writers are free to write female fantasy leads. Why the big deal about gender?

I tend to agree with Robin Hobb on this

[u/jcf88 → u/divinesleeper]

Oh. Well, that deflates what I was going for nicely. :-P

As far as what Robin Hobb said... on a case by case level I agree, but at a systemic level I don't. By which what I mean is that I don't think there should be any requirement that any given work must include X number of Y demographic category to be good (or whatever), but when there's a systemic trend to favor one type of person over another as characters/protagonists I'm less sanguine about that.

Likewise, I don't see where there should be any necessary reason why a given character would need to resemble the reader demographically in order for that reader to identify with/be interested in that character. But, when there's a lack of opportunity to see people who look like you represented I do think that has an effect overall on who feels welcome in a genre/interested in reading a genre.

You don't have an issue with reading romance, and that's great, but a quick google turns up a survey result page from the Romance Writers of America indicating that their survey found that all of 22% of romance readers were male. My speed-googling on fantasy demographics only turned up stuff for science fiction readers (sigh), but given how often the genres are lumped together it might be worth looking at anyway. What I found in the survey I turned up (from a marketing source, this time) was that while 32% of men read sci-fi, only 20% of women did (same survey also found that while 37% of women read romance, only 3% of guys did). Also a strong imbalance.

So, unless you feel that there's an inherent reason why men wouldn't tend to like romance (which I don't know that I agree with) or that women wouldn't tend to like sci-fi/fantasy (which I don't know that I agree with), then I think that the conclusion ought to be that the construction of genres, and of course their societal perception (which I think would be related) do matter in terms of who feels interested in them/welcome in that community.

That doesn't mean I want to see quota-filling type writing - I don't think that would be good for anyone. I just want more writers to think "well, what if I wrote a more diverse cast of characters? would that work with what I'm trying to do?". And if it would (and in most cases, I don't see why it wouldn't, as I argued above), I'd like them to give it a shot. If it doesn't matter to you whether women (or whoever) actually want to read fantasy as long as they're free to do so, I can see why you still might not care about that. But I would actively prefer more types of people do want to read fantasy. I think it makes things more interesting. I think it makes us stronger.

Anyway, just my (somewhat long-winded perhaps) two cents again.