28 January 2019 @ 05:51 pm
Discussion post: Who are your top 7 book characters?  
I saw a reading meme on tumblr, and I thought this question sounded like a lot of fun, so I thought I'd post it over here.

Please make sure to list what book and/or series they're from in case others want to check them out. If you'd like to tell us why they're your favorites, all the more better!
 
 
( Post a new comment )
kelsrealm: Chris 3[personal profile] keli on January 29th, 2019 02:26 am (UTC)
This is really hard because I will love love love a character and then I read another book and fall in love with that character and might forget the character I loved. lol

These are off the top of my head!

1. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley from Harry Potter by JK Rowling
2. Eomir and Faramir from Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
3. Will Trent from the Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter
4. Gabriel Walsh from the Cainsville series by Kelley Armstrong
5. Jon Snow from Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
6. Louisa Clark from the Me Before You series by Jojo Moyes
7. Ripley Todd from the Three Sisters Trilogy by Nora Roberts


(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
[identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 02:16 am (UTC)
I loved Hermoine! It was so good to see someone kicking butt with book power. :D And Harry.

Eomir and Faramir are the brothers?

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [personal profile] keli on February 2nd, 2019 01:21 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on February 3rd, 2019 06:31 am (UTC)
[identity profile] honor-reid.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 05:13 am (UTC)
I have such a soft spot for Ron.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [personal profile] keli on February 2nd, 2019 01:25 am (UTC)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:09 pm (UTC)
Ron is on my list, too.

Also, I'm going to have to dig out my copies of the Three Sisters Trilogy. It's been so long since I've read them that I don't really remember much about them!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [personal profile] keli on February 2nd, 2019 01:25 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:54 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] keli on February 2nd, 2019 11:47 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 3rd, 2019 12:43 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] keli on February 3rd, 2019 01:01 am (UTC)
JustJo2u: Window[personal profile] justjo2u on February 2nd, 2019 01:28 pm (UTC)
Awesome list. I think we may have some in common!

Edited 2019-02-02 02:12 pm (UTC)
(Reply) (Parent) (Link)
JustJo2u: Window[personal profile] justjo2u on January 29th, 2019 10:45 am (UTC)
I'm gonna have to think long and hard about this. I have a few in my head.
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:09 pm (UTC)
It took me some time to compile a list, too.
(Reply) (Parent) (Link)
kelsrealm: Chris 3[personal profile] keli on February 2nd, 2019 01:25 am (UTC)
Looking forward to your list!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 2nd, 2019 01:28 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] gilda-elise.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2019 02:00 pm (UTC)
Oh, wow, what a wonderful discussion post. Okay, here goes. Not in any sort of order.

1. Rix Usher from Usher's Passing by Robert McCammon
2. Johnny Smith from The Dead Zone by Stephen King
3. Hosteen Storm from The Beast Master by Andre Norton
4. Thomas Covenant from the ten books in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever series by Stephen R. Donaldson
5. Captain Francis Crozier, a real person fictionalized in the novel The Terror, by Dan Simmons
6. Glaeken, from the Adversary Cycle series by F. Paul Wison
7. Phoenix and Coconino from the Coconino trilogy by Catherine Wells

I think what I really like about all the characters is that they're more than ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
[identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 05:51 pm (UTC)
Oh, I remember Thomas Covenant - I loved those books! Apart from Crozier, I don't think I know any of the others!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] gilda-elise.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 05:44 pm (UTC)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:11 pm (UTC)
I've not read any of these, but I am interested in The Terror.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] gilda-elise.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 05:45 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 06:04 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:46 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on January 29th, 2019 07:13 pm (UTC)
Oh yes, fun meme! Let's see...

1 - Jonah Pastern
2 - Ben Spenser
Both from Jackdaw (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34861586-jackdaw) by K.J. Charles. They're both incredibly human and ordinary, thrust into extraordinary circumstances (partly based on the alternative England that they live in, where magic does exist in a very practical way), and yet their capacity for sheer joy is just exhilarating! But before reading this book it would be helpful to meet my next two favourite characters, from the same universe...

3 - Stephen Day
4 - Lucien Vaudrey
Both from The Charm of Magpies series (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34715150-the-magpie-lord) (of which Jackdaw is a slightly tangential part). Neither of them are at all ordinary, but they sound as if they are and that's the same thing. It doesn't hurt that they're perfect for each other by being so very opposite. Again, by K.J. Charles.

5 - Nicolas Rathe
6 - Philip Eslingen
Both from the Astreiant (https://www.goodreads.com/series/62432-astreiant) series by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett. Nico is a very ordinary policeman (pointsman) and Phillip a very ordinary ex-mercenary soldier, and their characters are just so gently and perfectly drawn that you can't help but like them. He might be a soldier but Philip can't help but check his horoscope every day (they live on a planet with two suns where horoscopes are science and there's a ghost-tide twice a year... *g*), and Nico might be a pointsman, but he can't resist Eslingen.

There's a bit of a pattern here, isn't there - I've picked all m/m couples, because they're my current favourite books. So for the last character...

7 - Georgina Kirrin of the Famous Five (https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/famous-five.php) books by Enid Blyton, because she didn't let anything about the ridiculously patriarchal society of her times stop her doing what she thought was right. Go George!

Edited 2019-01-29 11:07 pm (UTC)
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
[identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 02:17 am (UTC)
Ghost tide? :O
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 05:49 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on February 1st, 2019 05:31 am (UTC)
[identity profile] just-ann-now.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 05:41 pm (UTC)
Astreiant! Those two, and Istre as well *loves*
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 05:45 pm (UTC)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:14 pm (UTC)
One of my friends really enjoyed the Charm of Magpies series. I've not read any K.J. Charles yet myself, though.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 06:01 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:46 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] deinonychus-1.livejournal.com on February 1st, 2019 04:43 pm (UTC)
Ooh! I enjoyed the Charm of Magpies series as well! I keep meaning to get that spin-off series, Jackdaw, as well, but have never quite got round to it.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on February 1st, 2019 04:54 pm (UTC)
JustJo2u: Window[personal profile] justjo2u on February 2nd, 2019 01:30 pm (UTC)
I adored George from the Famous Five books. I so wanted to be her wheh I was little. I was the tomboy who refused to let people tell me there were things I couldn't do/be/wear/enjoy simply because I was a girl. I'm still like that today.
(Reply) (Parent) (Link)
[identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 02:12 am (UTC)
It's so hard to remember them all..and to narrow..
These are definitely characters that stick into my head the most.

Briar, Alanna, George Cooper, Alianne, Nawat from Tamora Pierce's books. She writes two universes and Briar is from a different one. He's awesome. The rest come from the same universe but different time periods. She is my oldest favorite author. I have all her books & she is my number one rec!
Artemis Fowl & Conor Broekhart from Eoin Colfer. Fowl has his own series with a new one (related to him) pending! Conor is from a stand alone Airman. <3
Ben & Ned from Brian Jacques from the Castaways series. I read book 1 in one night. It totally sucked me in. I wish there were more.
Makoto Narita from WJuliet by Emura. She has a couple series with them and cross over's so I love seeing them over and over.
Duo Maxwell & Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing.

Haha guess that's more than 7. I like my series. :3

Edited 2019-01-30 02:13 am (UTC)
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
[identity profile] byslantedlight.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 05:52 pm (UTC)
I haven't read any of those books ! I'm gonna take them as recs, and add them to my list... *g*
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on February 1st, 2019 05:26 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:14 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on February 1st, 2019 05:21 am (UTC)
cordeliadelayne: [stock] book collector[personal profile] cordeliadelayne on January 30th, 2019 02:15 am (UTC)
This is a fun meme!

1. Jo March - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
2. Peter Grant & Thomas Nightingale - Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch
3. Jane Eyre - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4. Elinor Dashwood - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
5. Susan Calvin - I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
6. Hermione Granger - Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
7. Frodo Baggins - Lord of the Rings series by JRR Tolkien

I think what they all have in common is though they're not perfect, they each have integrity and will always choose to do the right thing in the end.
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
[identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 02:20 am (UTC)
I second Jo, Jane & Hermoine. They were all great, strong characters.
I read Jane Eyre when I was 12 for the first time and I was surprised how much I liked her. :3

Is that I, Robot the same story as the movie with Will Smith?
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [personal profile] cordeliadelayne on January 31st, 2019 12:51 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] blackjackcat.livejournal.com on February 1st, 2019 05:15 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:15 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 2nd, 2019 01:37 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] bellatrix.livejournal.com on February 19th, 2019 11:28 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] honor-reid.livejournal.com on January 30th, 2019 05:13 am (UTC)
These are all off the top of my head and I am sure as soon as I hit enter I will think of more but here goes:

1. Jane Eyre~ From Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. Maskelle~ From Wheel of the Infinite
3. Anne Eliot~ From Persuasion by Jane Austen
4. Nancy Drew~ From the Caroline Keene novels
5. Hercule Poirot~ From Agatha Christie novels
6. Ron Wesley~ From Harry Potter
7. Mary Barton~ From Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:15 pm (UTC)
Ron's on my list, too!

And Poirot is a wonderful character, too!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] honor-reid.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 04:59 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] bellatrix.livejournal.com on February 19th, 2019 11:29 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] honor-reid.livejournal.com on February 20th, 2019 05:24 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] bellatrix.livejournal.com on February 21st, 2019 08:58 am (UTC)
stellar_raven: Fragonard_TheReader[personal profile] stellar_raven on January 30th, 2019 11:03 pm (UTC)
I had to think about this a bit, and I actually have 8 characters instead of seven, but for a few of these, I can't post one without the other.

1. Ron Weasley - The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
2. Ponyboy Curtis - The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
3. & 4. Eve Dallas and Roarke - The "In Death" series by J.D. Robb
5. &. 6. Meg Corbyn and Simon Wolfgard - The Others series by Anne Bishop
7. & 8. Harriet and Gideon from Ravished by Amanda Quick

If we were to do this again in six months, I'd likely have a different list.
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
[identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 03:30 am (UTC)
Love all the Weasleys and Eve and Roarke too
(Reply) (Parent) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] honor-reid.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 05:02 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] keli on February 2nd, 2019 01:19 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:50 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:49 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] bellatrix.livejournal.com on February 19th, 2019 11:29 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 20th, 2019 01:40 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] bellatrix.livejournal.com on February 21st, 2019 09:02 am (UTC)
[identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 03:30 am (UTC)
Boy is this hard.

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene As a child I read them all. I loved, even as a kid, how smart and independent she was.

Legalos/Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. I can't chose between them so they go together. I adored them as a kid. By 13 I was sure my first born son would be named Aragorn (I had no kids....)

Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle because he was so smart (do we see a theme)

In more modern books, I like Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files. I love magic and magicians and Harry is fun (but the last couple of books I've liked less)

And lastly Sebastian St. Cyr & Hero Jarvis (another two-fer), in C.S. Harris's Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series. It's one of the best historical mystery series I've ever read and I've read a lot of them.

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on January 31st, 2019 04:21 am (UTC)
I LOVE the Sebastian St. Cyr series! Both Sebastian and Hero are two more of my favorite characters.

If we do revisit this in the future, we definitely need to change it to Top 10, at least.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 04:27 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:52 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on February 2nd, 2019 11:13 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] stellar_raven on February 3rd, 2019 12:43 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on February 3rd, 2019 01:28 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] honor-reid.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 05:08 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on January 31st, 2019 05:14 am (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 2nd, 2019 01:38 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on February 2nd, 2019 04:51 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 3rd, 2019 12:25 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] cornerofmadness.livejournal.com on February 3rd, 2019 08:52 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] deinonychus-1.livejournal.com on February 1st, 2019 05:04 pm (UTC)
Oh, this is going to be hard! It's like the literary equivalent of asking someone to choose their favourite child, lol! And no matter what list I come up with, I'll no doubt think of someone who I missed about five minutes after I've logged off. Anyway, here we go...

Macro and Cato from the Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow. Action adventure historical fiction set in Roman Britain and the Roman empire of the 1st century AD. I *love* the bromance between these two polar opposite characters - Macro the older, experienced, straightforward and straight-talking soldier, Cato who is younger, educated, intelligent, prone to self-doubt and introspection. They look like two people who should never have become friends, but when it comes to it, they'd both die to save the other.

Derfel from the Warlord trilogy by Bernard Cornwell (historical fiction about Arthur set in Dark Age Britain). Brave, loyal warrior, but also a romantic and believes in the old magic.

Max and Markham from The Chronicles of St Marys series by Jodi Taylor. Max is awesome and Markham is only slightly less awesome. And they're both also very funny. You need to read the books to see why.

Mark Watney from The Martian, by Andy Weir. A man who becomes a hero by being smart and resourceful and bloody stubborn, and keeping a sense of humour at (nearly) all times.

Now it's getting really hard to choose! So I'll go for Harry, Ron and Hermione, because I can't choose between them.

Edit: Bugger! *knew* this would happen! As soon as I hit post I thought of another one!

Adrien English from the Adrien English mysteries series by Josh Lanyon. M/M romance, Adrien is smart, sarcastic, and has a worrying knack for getting himself involved in murder mysteries, much to the annoyance of cop (and eventual partner) Jake Riordan.

I think the theme here is that nearly all of my favourites come from book series, where we have the chance to get to know them over several books. The Martian is the only one where it only takes a single book for me to love the character.

Edited 2019-02-01 05:07 pm (UTC)
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:53 pm (UTC)
Ahhhhh, yes! I love Mark Watney, too!
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [identity profile] deinonychus-1.livejournal.com on February 4th, 2019 06:17 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 3rd, 2019 12:10 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [identity profile] deinonychus-1.livejournal.com on February 4th, 2019 06:21 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 6th, 2019 11:31 am (UTC)
JustJo2u: Window[personal profile] justjo2u on February 2nd, 2019 02:57 pm (UTC)
1. Faramir from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien. The ultimate loyal son andbrother.

2. Samwise Gamgee, also from The Lord of the Rings. So Frodo takes the ring to Mount Doom. Sure, But Sam is the heart of the book. It's true that Frodo wouldn't have got very far without him. His loyalty never wavers, even when Frodo sends him away. Sam is the true hero.

2. Silas, from The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Bod's mysterious guardian figure. It's not made clear initially that Silas is a vampire, but you soon figure it out.

3. Patrick Melrose, from The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn. Troubled man who hits rock bottom, but comes out OK in the end. Patrick goes through hell at times yet he never seems to lose his optimism for long, and he seldom comes across as dislikeable, although it would have been easy to become so.

4. Lizzie Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It was a toss up between Lizzie and Jo so i'm combining them into one. Both intelligent young women with minds of their own and taking no shit from anyone in a time when women were seen as possessions. It's no mistake that I prefer my name shortened to Jo.

5. Sherlock Holmes from all the Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Arthur Conan Doyle, and any other authors who write him well! I cut my literary teeth on Holmes, thanks to my Gran.

6. Adam Black from The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning. I love the whole Highlander series even though they are mostly fluff (or Highland Smut as my family so lovingly call them). This one particularly stood out though as it focused on a character who is instrumental in all the other books, yet we never knew his story. (This is one of the few books that has EVER made me cry!)

7. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (later Richard III) in Philippa Gregory's Plantagenet and Tudor novels, mostly in The Kingmaker's Daughter. I've never subscribed to Richard being the one dimensional, evil child-murdering uncle. Philippa writes him as far more complex than that, truly making him come alive.

This list could be totally different tomorrow or next week but that's how it stands today.

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on February 2nd, 2019 10:54 pm (UTC)
I love Lizzie Bennet, too!

I have The Kingmaker's Daughter, but I haven't read it yet.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 3rd, 2019 12:09 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] keli on February 2nd, 2019 10:58 pm (UTC)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 3rd, 2019 12:06 pm (UTC)
[identity profile] bellatrix.livejournal.com on February 21st, 2019 09:54 am (UTC)
Extremely hard question because there are so many. I'm leaving out Harry Potter characters, because there are so many I could make a list relating to them alone!

1. Hannibal Lecter from Red Dragon etc
2. Clarice Starling from The Silence of the Lambs
3. Madame Thérèse Defarge from A Tale of Two Cities.
4. Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights
5. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights
6. Hamlet from Hamlet
7. Jane Eyre from Jane Eyre




Edited 2019-02-21 09:59 am (UTC)
(Reply) (Thread) (Link)
stellar_raven: SB_Mikey_4.01Bike[personal profile] stellar_raven on February 22nd, 2019 01:06 am (UTC)
Those are all great choices!
(Reply) (Parent) (Link)
(no subject) - [personal profile] justjo2u on February 23rd, 2019 07:49 pm (UTC)