1. adamant

    adamant Contributor Contributor

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    Favorite Literary Characters

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by adamant, Aug 2, 2007.

    I thought to create this thread due to PrincessGarnet's disappointment from another post. So have at it people.

    EDIT: Despite the fact that this is named 'Favorite Literary Characters', I don't really mind what media they come from.


    One of my favorite characters is Spike Spiegel of Cowboy Bebop. He has a really laid back attitude, he's quite stubborn, and can be pretty uncaring. So I guess he reminds me of myself at times, haha.
     
  2. dushechka

    dushechka New Member

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    Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables
    Roark from The Fountainhead
    Winston Smith from Nineteen Eighty-Four
    Robert Neville from I Am Legend

    I find these character's to be human, which is why I love them.
     
  3. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    Roland Deschain, from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.
    Jaxom, from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series.
    Odd Thomas, from Dean Koontz's eponymous Odd Thomas novels.
     
  4. adamant

    adamant Contributor Contributor

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    ...and your reasons?
     
  5. Bick

    Bick New Member

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    Erm. I can't remember her name. She was in cell, her looks reminded me of a friend named Rachael, though I know that's not her name. She was kind, clingy and I dunno. I really liked her. She just seemed like a child trapped in an young womans body. (though i think she was a teenager, but she just seemed older.)
     
  6. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    Oh, right, reasons.

    Well, Roland because he scared the **** out of me in the first book, all the way through to the last one.

    Jaxom because when I read the series, I could relate to him as an adolescent pissed off at the world.

    And Odd Thomas because of his...well, odd sense of humour :p
     
  7. Bick

    Bick New Member

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    Ah, How could I forget. I really like Fred and George from HP. Goofy, silly and red hair. What more can I say? :p
     
  8. Crazy Ivan

    Crazy Ivan New Member

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    This field is instantly, without question, dominated by Discworld characters. It's inevitable-- they're just all too good. A basic runthrough of the highlights: Rincewind, the Bursar, Mustrum Ridcully, Death, Death of Rats, Susan, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat, Agnes Nitt, Twoflower, The Canting Crew, Sam Vimes, Carrot, Angua, Nobby Nobbs, Sergeant Colon, Sybil Vimes, Walter Plinge, Otto van Chriek, Cohen the Barbarian, the Nac Mac Feegle, Moist Von Lipwig, Tiffany Aching, and so, so many more.....


    But I digress.
    Beyond the field of Terry Pratchettism, here are some of my other favorites (Although this is by no means an all-encompassing list):


    Odd Thomas- because you can't go wrong with a guy who's first name is odd. =P

    Bartimaeus of The Bartimaeus Trilogy, because there's something about a highly hilarious demon who can blast your face off or just defeat you in fatally witty conversation that you can't not love. Same with Skulduggery Pleasant of the book by the same name.

    Elphaba from Wicked is probably one of the better heroines out there for her spikiness and non-conformism.

    Maximum Ride dominates the girls in action field for her hilariously deadpan delivery and...oh yeah...the fact that she's a half-bird, half-human, all-awesome, person.

    Dairene Callahan of the Young Wizards series- long live the clever younger sibling! (The same goes for Damp Strega-Borgia of the Pure Dead books.)

    Artemis Fowl of the books of the same name. Delightfully devious.

    Marvin, the sad little robot of Hitchhiker's fame. How can't you love him?

    Crowley and Aziraphale from Good Omens. Best angel-demon duo ever. EVER.
     
  9. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    :eek: Definitely! Marvin the paranoid android!
     
  10. adamant

    adamant Contributor Contributor

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    Paranoid Android is the only song by Radiohead that I like... tight beat
     
  11. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Nessus, the mad Pierson's Puppeteer from Larry Niven's Known Space stories (including Ringworld). The species itself is both funny and terrifying, with an interesting attack mode they refuse to recognise as such, because they believe in cowardice as a virtue.
    Nessus, judged insane by his species is probably the most sane Puppeteer by human standards.

    The ever-resourceful Stile of Piers Anthony's Split Infinity series. Serf and gameplayer extraordinaire in the science-based Proton, and the unstoppable Blue Adept in the parallel, magic-based world of Phase.
     
  12. Domoviye

    Domoviye New Member

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    Fat Charlie from Neil Gaimen's, "Anansi Boys".
    He starts off as so mediocre it's pathetic. He's not good, bad, weak, strong, or anything. He's just a shy, weak-willed, ordinary person who has a few things going for him. Then he slowly becomes a guy you can respect, without becoming an unstoppable machine of authors intent.
     
  13. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Anansi Boys? Is there a spider metaphor there?
     
  14. Domoviye

    Domoviye New Member

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    Oh yeah.
    Fat Charlies brother is called Spider, and old and new Gods walk the Earth. Excellent book.
    If you ever read the dark fantasy "American God's" by Gaimen, this is set in the same world. It's just the funnier side of it.
     
  15. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I know OF Gaimen's work, but have never actually read him.
     
  16. adamant

    adamant Contributor Contributor

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    Nor have I, but I've wanted to. There's a lot of stuff I want to read... though, admittedly, I don't like doing it until I'm sucked into the story. Feels like a chore.
     
  17. Domoviye

    Domoviye New Member

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    Fair enough.
    I'd recommend him to almost anyone though. As long as you like fantasy, he probably has something you like.
     
  18. PrincessGarnet

    PrincessGarnet New Member

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    Holden Caulfield (catcher in the rye) - i like that he contradicts himself. He's very 'human' whatever that means... I think it's also quite sweet the way that he talks about his brother.

    Notes from the underground (unnamed narrator) - I think in some ways he's similar to Caulfield but much more extreme. He's a loner. I just love the way he humiliates himself - probably not explaining this right, he's just very bad tempered at times and irrational, but it's very believable and i guess makes a point about humans. There's one part in the novel which makes me laugh so much. He's sitting in the carriage getting a ride and these passionate enraging thoughts are running through his head and he loses his temper and lashes out and hits the driver.

    Nastasya Filippovna (The idiot) - I like her because she's hard to figure out. She annoys me at times but still is interesting. She can't let things to work out all right. I don't know if she suffering some psych. disorder - i suspect so. She seems to make things scandelous and hurt people - but in a way sees this out of her control.
     
  19. JetBlack

    JetBlack Banned

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    Well, i love the idea of heroism and villainy. So that inspires most of my choices. My list goes:
    (Ooh, ill add you tube links too, because some of them have some CGI scenes)

    High Lord Saurfang - His unending rage is known across all of Azeroth. The great defender of the Horde, the first line of defense against invasion of Orgrimmar, High Lord Saurfang will give his life in the name of the warchief.

    Broxxigar - Hero of the horde. A tear in time caused him to go back 4000 years into the past. He was captured by the night elves and was treated poorly, but refused to cause them any harm. After being freed by a young druid he helped fight at the War of the Ancients, a massive invasion of Demon hordes attracted by the Well of Eternity, a well of vast titanic magical power.
    The demons tried using the well as portal to harbor in their gargantuan god Sargeras, but Broxxigar gave his life and jumped into the portal, fighting off thousands of demons before he fell. He gave his life to help those that had enslaved him.

    Pug- (from the riftwar saga) His powers are just too badass.

    Grom Hellscream- Leader of the Warsong clan. He tainted his Orcish brothers by getting them to drink the blood of the Demonic Pit lord Mannoroth. To stop the blood curse Thrall and himself went to seek out Mannoroth. I shant ruin it, see it for yourselves at: YouTube - Warcraft 3 Reign Of Chaos - The Death Of Hellscream

    Spawn - Best Anti hero ever.

    Medihv- A wizard of immeasurable power, possessed by the dark god Sargeras in his youth, he opened the portals that allowed the orcs to invade Azeroth from Draenor. Now he is free of sargeras but knows of his attempts to invade Azeroth. A clip of him is here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBnOpe7WNjU
     
  20. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    Oops, I forgot to mention Hannibal Lecter- scariest of scaries. Although Anthony Hopkins did a great job, he never scared me as much as Thomas Harris's character :p Plus, his intelligent insults and cultured personality is something which pretty much idolise. The cannibalism and the murder is just a bonus extra, really :p
     
  21. HeinleinFan

    HeinleinFan Banned

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    Here's another hat tip to Bartamaeous from his trilogy. His disdain for humans, coupled with a surprisingly sympathetic personality, outrageous ego, and tendency to joke himself into a worse situation, make him entertaining from the start. He only gets better as the series goes on.

    Beauty, from Black Beauty. What can I say? It's a classic because it's good, and Beauty makes for a good, sympathetic, descriptive narrator.

    Juan Rico, from Starship Troopers. Also Zim from Starship Troopers. Also Captain Frankel from Starship Troopers. Lastly, Razchak (I know I mispelled it, sorry) from Starship Troopers. I can't explain it, but the characters are so good that I quite literally have to re-read the book every six months or I get antsy. The best part is that the main character is really just a good, if average, Joe - his math skills aren't even good enough for what he has to do; he has to study extra-hard to catch up. But he is a decent guy, and that, coupled with a good supporting cast, makes him an interesting read.

    Manny, from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

    Lazarus Long, from several of Robert Heinlein's books. He is a scoundrel and lucky that he has not yet been shot, but his adventures are interesting and his morals, while skewed, are still fun to read about. "Always keep your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark." - L. Long
     
  22. Crazy Ivan

    Crazy Ivan New Member

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    I'd like to add to the Gaiman praise-fest. I'll be subtle: READ HIS BOOKS.
     
  23. Princes

    Princes Banned

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    The Vampire Lestat. What a guy.
     
  24. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Wendell Urth, the agorophobic, overweight genius featured in several science fiction mystery short stories by Isaac Asimov.

    Carlotta Carlisle, the Boston-based private investigator who also drives a cab to make ends meet. The author, Linda Barnes is about as tall as her character and also lives in the Boston area (I worked with her husband for several years), but unlike her character, she is soft spoken and does not have flaming red hair.
     
  25. Raven

    Raven Banned

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    Captain Garro from the flight Of The Eisenstien
     

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