Characters in Literature

You thought I forgot, didn't ya?! Well I didn't, here's part one of three for Character Week.

I'm going back to my old Top Five style, where the order doesn't matter except for the last slot meaning best of the best.

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Scarlet Spider/Ben Reilly 

(Several comic books series)

Hopefully making a comeback!

If you didn't except to see some Scarlet Spider love here, you're new. I love Spider-Man. I love that Peter Parker is a relatable guy who just happens to be able to do whatever a spider can. He has girl problems, money problems, and bad guy problems.

Ben Reilly, if you didn't know, is his clone. During the '90s, when Marvel was trying to retire Peter Parker (the first time, anyway), they brought in Ben. He has a tormented past and, due to more plot twists than you can shake a stick at, identity issues. Marvel played around with him being the real Peter Parker, just replaced years prior.

I espeically enjoyed Ben because he was everything Peter was, but with a darker tint. When he fought characters like Venom or Carnage, he had his own reasons for doing so and his own approach. He was a damaged character that did his damnedest to do right.

Also, I loved his Scarlet Spider AND Spider-Man costumes.

Corwin of Amber 

(The Amber Chronicles)
If you have no idea who this is, I forgive you. The Amber Chronicles are a series of books written by Roger Zelazny. One of his other characters, Jack of Shadows, almost took this spot, but Corwin pulled ahead by having one of the most interesting introductions ever.

Gotta love that cover art.

Well. Most interesting cliche introduction, anyway, because we meet Corwin when he's waking up in a hospital bed with amnesia. The thing is, amnesia doesn't stop our boy from being suspicious of everything, and we follow him along as he breaks out of the hospital and, using proto-Jason Bourne skills, slowly discovers the truth about who he is.

And THAT'S when shit really hits the fan. Corwin is a Prince of Amber, one of the two "real" worlds. Everywhere else, including our Earth, is a "shadow," a twisted, shaped reflection or refraction of the two real worlds. And we learnt his all through Corwin as he stumbles blindly into a fantastical world of literally infinite possibility.

When Corwin does get his memories back, we find out that he actually blows Jason Bourne out of the water in regards to awesomeness. His character continues to evolve in the five novels that follow him (and the others he appears in) and, while it does get pretty weird, it still makes for an engaging character you support the entire journey, even when he's a revenge-seeking tyrany-wannabe. Or a blind prisoner, confined for years. Or when he... Well... I don't want to spoil anything more. Read the books, they're amazing, and 90% of that awesomeness is pure Corwin.

David Rice 

(Jumper)

David as I know him, sorry Hayden.

While the movie ruined the character, it still didn't tarnish my love for the literary David Rice. This is another example of a damaged boy getting great powers, but the novel follows David in such a way that it feels completely new.

David's father is abusive. This and David's attempt at running away cause him to "jump" for the first time. Then we get to follow a broken boy on a journey by himself to discover himself and a world where he can, maybe, be happy. It's not always easy, but it is always interesting.

Teleportation is my power of choice, and this novel sets up a character that will explore this ability, his past, and the future with a wonderful sense of reality.

And, in the two books of the series that I've read (have yet to read the recently released third), there are no Paladins, no Samuel L. Jackson character, and there IS an engaging romance.

The novel, mainly due to David, is also an easy read targeted to young adults. I'd suggest this for anyone at any age, however.

Lazarus Long 

(Multiple novels by Robert A. Heinlein)
Lazarus is a strange character. He has an excessively long lifespan that allows him to go on many adventures (and create enough progeny that he's almost related to everyone). I wouldn't want to pin him down in one novel, simply because his story is so widespread, but Time Enough for Love is a good sample of the strange character and the even stranger settings he's put in.

Yeah, they're probably related.

The biggest draw to Lazarus is his completely unapologetic outlook on life. He does what he wants, when he wants to and, as long as it fits with his arbitrarily defined morals, it's all kosher. His life, lasting over thousands of years, has had lots of impacts, and the best part about the character is watching him as he bounces along the universe like a stone across water, leaving spreading ripples in his wake.

If you want an unusual character involved in time travel, parallel dimensions, and the undying pursuit of free love, look no further, you've found your man. And many of his children. And possibly a clone or two. Oh, and his mother who he... oh. Well. Let's leave that at that.

Julian "Bean" Delphiki 

(Ender's series)
I've mentioned this before, but I read Ender's Shadow BEFORE reading Ender's Game. Because of this, I was slightly disappointed by Bean's portrayal in the actual origin novel, and I'm concerned with how my favorite character of all time will be shown on the big screen.

You wish they'd stay this small...

Bean is my favorite character simply because of his precocious personality. His bizarre back story helps, but we get to follow Bean as he grows up (and up and up) and watch his personality shaped by the people and
events around him, even as he knows that he is easily smarter than them all. His intelligence his unparalleled due to a genetic manipulation that also puts him on a quick path to a very young death. We see him in the beginning of the Ender saga, but then he heads back to earth and an entire series follows him, his friends, and his family.

I think I enjoyed Bean so much because I actually felt smarter while reading his thoughts, seeing the way he inferred large amounts of detail with very little evidence and, even more so, catching on to things slightly before this massive intellect given body did, simply due to an almost-unseen naivete.

One other thing that made Bean especially great, even when compared to Ender, was his arch-nemesis, Achilles. Their relation far outshines many rivalries I've come to enjoy, and I voraciously read any scene that promised the two going head to head.

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Well, there you have it. I know I'm leaving out plenty of characters, but I'm very happy with this selection for the first Character Week on the Arbitrary Nerd.


Special shout out to (pretty much) the entire cast of Saga. It's still early in the series life, but I love Marko, Alana, the in-laws, The Will, Lying Cat, and many others. There isn't a single character I dislike popping up across the panels.

Extra! Extra! Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel Edition.

Welcome to this weeks Extra! Extra!

Just a reminder, this is the re-branded "Suggested Reading" weekly Monday post.

For this week, I promised to stray from the comic book path and list five Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels you should read -- I could easily do five from either of those genres, but I'll stick to my absolute favorite five from both. To make this a touch more difficult, I'm going to avoid any series that requires you to read the whole set to get the full story. IE, I'm not including Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings, though I will include other titles that do have sequels and more.

Here goes:

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold I will generally like any book if I find myself liking the characters. This story follows probably my favorite character I have ever read: Cazaril. He is a beaten and down trodden war veteran/released POW. He is finally coming back to the only place he ever knew as home, even though he has no reason to expect it to still welcome him after all this time. From there, he gets embroiled in a family's issues and their horrible curse and determines to do whatever it takes to save them, even if it would cost his life. From the very first chapter, I loved the character of Cazaril. He is NOT what you expect as a typical fantasy hero, but he is done perfectly. The supporting cast are all so different and, generally, so un-cliche that they become integral parts of Cazaril. I have read this book many times and enjoy it immensely, I can't recommend it enough for anyone who likes fantasy novels of any kind. I don't want to say more because I would hate to spoil this fantastic story in any way, shape, or form. There is a direct sequel, "Paladin of Souls", and a few novels that take place in the same universe, but none of them star Cazaril and suffer for it. Paladin isn't aweful, but I'd only suggest picking it up if you really loved Bujold's writing.
Ender's Game OR Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card This is an unusual pair. Many people have told me they've read "Ender's Game" in school, and that's awesome. It is a fantastic Sci-Fi that follows a brilliant child, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, as he is sent to the Battle School Space Station and beyond for training to defend/defeat an alien race of intelligent ant-things, known as the Formics or "Buggers". It is an amazing book and easily on of Card's best works -- and I like almost everything I've read by him. "Ender's Shadow" is set in/around the same time and deals with most of the same characters -- the different is that it is from another child at the school's eyes, named Bean. Ender is being groomed as the final hope for humanity, attempting to being turned into the typical hero. Bean is put to the side, but is secretly the back up -- he is the smartest kid on the school but is cold and logical. His background story easily trumps Ender's and makes the character really enduring. I actually read this before I read "Ender's Game", and I was no worse for the wear. I suggest you get them both. Both novels have a series of sequels after them that follow Ender and Bean on their separate paths. You can end with the novels I listed here and be happy with a complete story, but if you find yourself liking either, I suggest you hunt down the rest. I prefer Bean's (stays in the same vein as Shadow) series to Ender's (becomes much more sci-fi), but they are both done well.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman This title is something I struggled with putting here (I was going to go with another Gaiman title, "American Gods", instead). I generally like Gaiman's writing, and I really love the story of Stardust, but this is one of the few stories that I liked better as a movie. That being said, it is a story about a boy who travels to the other side of The Wall, the barrier dividing our real from the magical realm of Stormhold, to find a fallen star and win the affection of his true love. Yes, that sounds like a terrible synopsis. Trust me when I say it is all uphill from there. The major twist that I don't mind telling you here is that the fallen star is a young woman, which is par the course in Stormhold. Oh, and our protagonist, Tristran (Tristan in the movie), isn't the only one looking for her: he's unknowingly racing a trio of evil witches and the fratricidal, homicidal sons of the dead king (and their ghostly brothers). The book is still good, I just love the movie so much more. I think I'll do a post about films that I've liked better than their books soon... it should be short enough, I think.
Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein Let me preface this with stating that I am woefully under-read when it comes to Heinlein, but I'm working from it. He has a unique writing style, and I don't always appreciate it at first glance. Time Enough, however, caught me because I was so interested in the main protagonist, Lazarus Long, who just happens to be the oldest living human (which, at this point, puts him over two thousand years old). This novel is actually a series of short stories that Lazarus is telling his companions. He has decided he doesn't want to live anymore and he is only alive at this moment because he wants to tell these stories. They are all interesting stories and the characters and situations are just plain strange. And, honestly, they're better for it. Check this out even if you aren't a huge Heinlein fan, you want be disappointed if you stick through it to the end.
The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny Ok, so I'm kind of cheating here. Chronicles is actually a collection of ten different novels that make up the two main series (five novels apiece) in the world of Amber. That being said, the individual novels are fairly short, probably better called novellas. This story is a perfect end for this list because it is a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. They are all told in first person and the very beginning has us following the protagonist (of the first five, at least), Corwin, as he wakes up in a strange hospital, having apparently lost his memory in a car accident. He immediately notices something is amiss and flees. We learn along with him many things, but the most important is that he is one of the Princes of Amber, beings able to shape and create new worlds around them. It sounds far fetched buy Zelazny is in rare form and really nails this story and the characters. From the very first moment, the pace is set fast and hard and he manages to keep it up at almost all times. Every revelation is fantastic and this becomes an amazing novel of revenge, one of my favorite themes. I've read at least the first five novels many times and they are well worth it. The second cycle follows a new character, one I won't name to avoid spoilers, but I didn't enjoy it as much, it follows more in line with other works I've read and not enjoyed from Zelazny. They're still worth reading for the continuation of the Amber story, but at least the first five novels are phenomenal. You can get all ten collected in "The Great Big Book of Amber" for easy reading -- I'd suggest you pick it up ASAP!

That was MUCH harder than I expected -- most of the books I wanted to put on their were part of bigger stories. As I'm unpacking (back in to my now-renovated apartment), I'll have to check through my books to see what I missed -- I'm sure there are plenty, but I'm happy with the list here.

Eventually I'll do a Monday post for sci-fi and fantasy series (and I'll even split up the genres), but that will come later.

Next Week: We're going back to comic books, but I'll suggest five Trade Paper Backs I think everyone should have. You could get them as single issues, but these will be titles that I think work best collected.