This is my first attempt at starting a thread. If it sucks the let me know and I'll let you fuck me in the ass. Agreed? *shakes hand* Alrighty...

Who is your favorite character in a Sci-Fi or fantasy novel or series? And don't just post..."My fave is Drizzt!" Tell us all why...

I have two that are tied...Wulfgar from Salvatore's Forgotten Realms books (beause he is big ass barbarian who isn't a dumbass...I think this is a first in fantasy novels...affirmative action for barbarians) and Raistlin from the Weis and Hickman Dragonlance books (because he is fucking evil...and yet somehow he still is likable...great writing is all I can say).

Molly Millions from Neuromancer. A badass chick with mirror eyes. Thats HOTT!!

Min from Jordan's Wheel of Time... i like Tomboys

The first books of this genre that I ever read were the Dealing With Dragons series when I was about 10 years old.
I still love them. My favorite character has always been Cimorene, this really hot very unprincessy princess.
With the way I grew up, I could really relate to her.

And she was fucking hot.

Silk from David Eddings' Belgariad. I love his Drasnian-ness, his cunning and his wit.
Burrich in Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, because of the way he helps Fitz grow up without him realising it. As well, of course, as the Fool from the same series.
And too many Pratchett characters to choose from!

ooh good one! that is my favorite series of all time. but my favorite character would be someone like lan. or padan fain.

though i think my favorite character in any series would be rei toei in "all tomorrow's parties".

I too thought of Padan Fain at first, then Thom Merrilin, Mat, or even Verin (there is just something about her that has not been revealed yet).. not to mention Rand

but i stick with Min... she is one of the most simplistic of the main characters and i miss her when she is absent from the books for long passages... One of Jordan's strengths as a writer is character development, it's hard to pick just one from that series

MARVIN the PARANOID ANDROID

"`The first ten million years were the worst,' said Marvin, `and the second ten million, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn't enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline.'"
-- Marvin reflecting back on his 576,000,003,579 year career as Milliways' car park attendent.

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As far as the Wheel of Time goes I hope that Perrin and his stupid wife die. They're ruining the story.

Does Star Wars and Star Trek count as Sci-Fi/Fantasy in your minds? If so then I like Admiral Thrawn from Timothy Zahn's books. An Admiral who studies his conquest's art to understand their military strategy.

I also really like Aragorn from Tolkien's LOTR books. He is just such an all around rounded character.

Duncan Idaho

I liked duncan because of his dramatic changes as a person, and the role that he played. At first he was the loyal servant, then failed assasin, then loyal servant again, to being the expendable/replaceable servant, and finally stepping out of servitude to take the limelight so to speak.

nice call on the Zahn trilogy. I really enjoyed those books, they were really written well and overall, kept a nice story going with the end of ROtJ in terms of pacing.

Although this might be out of the realm of Science Fiction, Roland the Gunslinger from the Dark Tower Saga is just an awesome character. i cant read those books fast enough.

IMO, Legolas runs Aragorn's shit.

James Bolivar DiGriz, or "Slippery Jim" DiGriz from the famous "Stainless Steel Rat" novels...oldschool yet classic...

Ah... but would he still be your favorite if he hadn't been played by Orlando Bloom in the film adaptation?

In the novels, Legolas really wasn't as strong a character as Aragorn. Aragorn also has the disadvantage of being of the race of man with much less life experience. Even with less life under his belit, his character is compassionate, yet tough. Young (compared to legolas and the other leves), yet full of wisdom. Brave, yet afraid for his charges, the hobbits.

Don't misunderstand, Legolas is also sacrificing much by accompanying the fellowship on their quest. His people are leaving Middle Earth, yet he is risking his life on a quest which will have no effect on the future of his people. He is a strong character, but lacks the nobility and strength of Aragorn.

That being said, my favorite character isn't either of the above. It's Granny Weatherwax from Pratchett's DiscWorld.

Ender Wiggin. Period.

The ultimate reluctant badass. Cross him once he lets it go. Cross him twice he wishes you would like him or just leave him alone. Cross him thrice, he kills you.

Then in Speaker for the Dead he becomes the all knowing voice of reason and practicality. The most interesting character evolution ever. Except possibly that of the affor mentioned Duncan Idaho.

First I was going to bring up Raistlin Majere from Dragonlance, but then he was already mentioned.
Then, I was going to bring up Ender Wiggin who, hands down, is very bad-ass. But then he got mentioned (although I only really enjoyed him in Ender's Game).

So heres a newbie:


Tyrion Lannister from Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. This guy has everything going against him--he's deformed and a midget, and the son of the most powerful man in the country and uncle to a King, yet no one respects him.
He fell in love with a girl who turned out to be a whore bought for him by his twin brother, the magnificent, gold-haired knight Jaime.
This guy fights for every ounce of respect he has, and he's still a likeable character.
Like Raistlin, the reader's never sure about whether or not he's evil or not-he's a person, with his good sides and his bad sides.

Favorite scifi/fantasy character?
touch call my friend. Tough call indeed. I'd have to go with Roland Deschain.

Just because he's a badassmotherfucker in the Sam Jackson use of the word.

Skarekrow

Because this computer and forum are all results of mushroom induced hallucinations. I'm really in the 1920's. And Skarekrow is huggable, just look at his cute avatar.

my choice would have to be... flesh gordon!!!

Lazarus Long

Pros - lives forever
Cons - fucks his own mother

damn. the farseer trilogy. it's been forever since i read that. i think i read assassin's apprentice in the hardcover when it first came out. burrich was an interesting character. but as far as fantasy novel characters, I go with Ned Stark from Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. Sure, he died early on in the first book, but he still ended up with more background development than almost any other character. As far as scifi goes, I'm going with Miles Vorkosigan by Lois Bujold. The mofo is unstoppable.

I've always been an Artemis Entreri fan. Of all of R.A. Salvatore's characters, Entreri has easily gone through the most growth and remains the the most interesting of all.

You would think that I would agree with you. Look at my handle. However Im gonna go with Eddie Dean, another Gunslinger. I still get all choked up thinking about him

Actaully after re-reading Wizard and Glass I'm gonna have to change mine to Cuthbert.

I loved cuthbert but over the long run I would go with eddie.

I would love to read more about the times leading up to Jericho Hill.

I dont know if anyone here ever read the Death Gate Cycle, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, but one of my favorite characters is from that series. Haplo, the Patryn, what a guy. Plus he had a cool dog. The other main character was very interesting, but not my favorite.

I could be really cheesy here and go with someone from HP, as I love that series... but it's too new imo to warrant this distinction.

There are sooooo many to choose from... and once I make a choice, I'm sure someone else will pop into my head that's even better... but for now I'm gonna go with...

Shea from Sword of Shannaharrannaabananawhateva (I'm not looking it up, but you should be able to figure it out from that...)

I know this book is a somewhat pale rip-off of Tolkien more often than not, but it's also an easier read... and still quite enjoyable (imagine a world where you hadn't read Tolkien first... ) ... and for some reason, I liked a lot of the characters... particularly the lead, Shea (NuFrodo).

Amongst the 'cast' I also liked his step-brother(NuSam), their rich best friend(a NuAragorn/NuLegolas combo of sorts, as I envision him -- although much more naive... maybe as they were when they were much younger), the all-powerful dude(NuGandalf) ... the Dwarf(nuGimli) ... and many, many more... it has been long enough since I read it that all the character names are not popping into my head(I'm sure if Peter Jackson made the movie, I'd remember them better )

A close second would be Ender.

Susan Calvin, in Asimov's robot novels/stories.

That woman has the brain of a machine and solves the problem which no man can. Now if only I can picture her without a bun in her hair....

Mine would be Richard, from the Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series.

A second would be Ender.

Beyond that, it gets muddier. I agree that Eddie the Gunslinger would be a choice. Alvin from the Alvin Maker series is another. There's also alot of ongoing Sci-Fi/Erotica stories that have good characters.

I was always kind of partial to the incarnation of death in Piers Anthony's " The Incarnation of Immortality" series. And I know most of you are too young, but does anyone remember the "Retief" series??? Another good one is Alinon from The Swords of Shannara series.

eh, you mean the retief written by keith laumer? the guy who did the bolo stories?

Mt favourite is Mykkael from To Ride Hells Chasm by Janny Wurts. He is a bad ass, but yet compassionate to his charge even when judged harshly by those around him.

Dont mean to be bandwagonish here, but id have to go with hobbits. Not just any one hobbit, mind you, but the race in general. If i wanted to assert my individuality and go with a lesser known type (like all the cool people are doing these days) id have to go with the tarus (see avatar) from FFXI. Not just any one taru, mind you.

Why?

I'm not disagreeing with you, I just wonder what it is you find compelling about hobbits. Is it their lifestyle, their outlook on life, their general strength of constitutional?

I'm not sure what the "taru" refers to, so I can't say much about those (is it a bull headed mythological creature--just guessing). But again, why?

They are small and peaceful, and most people are unaware of their existence, yet they still managed to save the world while other 'stronger' races failed miserably. The whole "Even the smallest person can change the course of history" thing appeals to me for some reason.

Tarus are about 1/4 the size of the next smallest race and look alot like teddy bears. They are super cute, physically weak and speak a kind of baby-talk language, but at the same time they are magical powerhouses and can pretty much destroy anyone or anything they want to. Its the same thing about hobbits here...theres nothing like seeing my walking teddy bear destroy something six times its size in one spell.

I hate these kinds of posts cause they remind me how much a dork i am.

Edit: oops jumped the gun, thought this was a tv thread

hobbits are extrodinary creatures

Damn hard question...probably going to go with Sam from Zelazny's Lord of Light because while he may not have had all the answers he sure made everyone else think he did.
Waylander from David Gemmell's book of the same name is up there too, just because of his sheer overall dangerousness.
And Pham Nuwen from Vernor Vinge's a Deepness in the Sky, i like the way he hides who he is behind a bumbling fool while still masterminding the resistance.

so many other contenders too....

Just picture her as bridgette moynahan(sp) from the new I Robot movie. Now that's hot.

anyone read Thief of Time by Pratchett? gotta say I liked Lu-Tze the sweeper the best.

You don't get any cooler or scarier than HAL 9000.

Marc Remillard. brilliant scientist, innovator, and entrepreneur. paramount metapsychic. leader of the metapsychic rebellion and murderer of over 16 million fellow citizens, including his father, brother, and sister-in-law. possessor of a rejuvenating immortality gene. remembered by society as the angel of the abyss. sentenced to exile five million years in the past, where he survived and created civilization as we know it.

great damn series. one of the first real scifi books i got my hands on was jack the bodiless.

Wow. Sorry for the necro but I wanted to add that I now have a new favorite fantasy character: Pony from the Demon War books by Salvatore. I like a lady that can handle a sword.

Anyone else have any faves (or new faves)?

Holy crap. This has to be a record.



I stand by my Eddie Dean.

Four years and two months...pretty damn impressive!

I would also say that Artemis Entreri (the character, not the dumbass member) is an awesome creation by Salvatore too.

Michael Havel aka Lord Bear from the Dies the Fire trilogy.

Fiddler, from Steven Erikson's "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series.

I've gotta go with Jubal Hershaw from Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land".

That man is a stone-cold pimp.

Ender Wiggin is a very close second.

Even I am impressed with your knowledge of teh internets for your age.

FC is ~~~~~~~~~~~>

I think this is the second time I've told you, but I get all of you fuckbag douchetards confused with one another.


Jarlaxle is my favorite character.



He has something for every occasion it seems. Epic wits and a legendary sense of humor. He also upholds firm standing with the ladies, all of them.

And that he is bald in a society where hair is a sign of status.

Given the years that have passed, Ender has surpassed Shea in my minds eye... I almost responded Captain Kirk to this thread, until I went back and checked the first post to see it is novel related (yes, Kirk has lots of novels, but he's not a "novel" character).

I'd have to agree with Rick in regards to Ender Wiggin.

Or Johnny Rico.

Or The Mule.