Favorite Hero/Heroine Part 2!

I agree with KAK, this week’s topic is too close to asking ‘what’s your favorite book’ to which the answer always takes at minimum 15 min to talk about my top ten faves. We’re supposed to talk about who is my favorite fictional hero, that’s not one I wrote, and why.

In January we picked our favorite heroines we didn’t write…but I picked a favorite hero/heroine which ended up being Kvothe from Name the Wind. So I guess I’ll do the same thing, be contradictory to the topic, and pick another favorite hero/heroine…ugh, this is so hard!

Violet.

Violet from Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen was the most recent hero/heroine that really gave me pause. Violet is the savior of her country, gifted with the ability to glimpse the future she is plucked from the slums and provides prophecies directly to the king. Except, her moral compass is kinked at an early age and Violet is never the same after that. She is at odds with the crown prince and activates a curse that ensnares them both. 

What I loved about Violet was that she wasn’t the antagonist, there’s a greater evil out there, but she’s also not the shining heroine who will triumph over all to save the day. She is clever. And she has crazy ideas. you should definitely check out her story if you’re in the mood for a morally gray fantasy character. 

Violet Made of Thorns

by Gina Chen

Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased—and not always true—divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so-not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he’s crowned at the end of the summer—unless Violet does something about it.

But when the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus’s love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse, one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom—all depending on the prince’s choice of future bride. Violet faces her own choice: Seize an opportunity to gain control of her own destiny, no matter the cost, or give in to the ill-fated attraction that’s growing between her and Cyrus.

Violet’s wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can’t change her fate. And as the boundary between hatred and love grows ever thinner with the prince, Violet must untangle a wicked web of deceit in order to save herself and the kingdom—or doom them all.

A Heroine to Aspire to

You would think, when I suggest a topic, I’d have a response to my own question in mind. You would think incorrectly. So, apparently, do I.

Like Jeffe, I very much dislike picking a favorite anything, so I’ll claim I haven’t. I’ve just selected a heroine I really wish I was good enough to have written. There are plenty of those, but in the spirit of playing by my own rule, I’m just picking one.

I wish I’d written Charlotte Holmes from Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series. She’s autistic. She’s brilliant, logical, and driven. She’s focused and her energy propels her story. The key to her humanity, though, is that she’s deeply unwilling to face or admit her vulnerabilities. I love the combination of clever intellect and sloppy emotion that she refuses to process. She stonewalls almost all tender feeling, and her reactions are predictable enough that she leaves herself open to being manipulated (by people she believes she’s manipulating.) I love her because she plays a long, long game. It’s fun.

The thing is, I don’t know if it’s the character I admire, or Sherry Thomas’s exquisite writing. Her facility with Charlotte’s character is exhilarating. I admire the heck out of how lightweight the craft feels when I’m reading the stories. I want to learn how to do that – to create someone complex, filled with contradictions that make complete sense within the story. I still have a lot to learn.

What makes your favorite hero/heroine?

We love gushing about things we’re fans of because what’s better than loving something? Sharing it with someone and loving it together! And this week we’re talking about our favorite fictional heroine that we didn’t write. 

The topic says heroine, and I’ve read some truly amazing heroines! But I don’t want to limit my character pool, so I’m going to go with favorite hero/heroine! 

Please let me introduce to you: Kvothe. 

If you’re scratching your head a bit, the author, Patrick Rothfuss, explains this name here. If you’re cheering at your screen, I see you. You’ve got great taste in books. 

Kvothe is a young man who makes dumb, young person mistakes. He had a wonderful childhood, which was stolen from him in a moment of voilence. He learned how to live on the streets. Then he pulled himself out of the gutter and managed to get himself into the most prestigious school. Kvothe isn’t some tough bad-ass strong-man, though he’s gone up against gods and walked away. He’s a lute player. And with those strings he makes magic. 

I picked Kvothe because of all those reasons listed above, but more importantly because he is a young man who has been molded by his circumstances, turned around, and said he wanted to make himself. And he didn’t do it by twirling swords and bashing skulls. He willed his world to be different, closed his eyes, and threw his entire being into making it so. 

I want to live like Kvothe. And yes, I absolutely wish I’d written Kvothe. If you’re in the mood for a thick epic fantasy, check out The Name of the Wind. 

How about you? Who is your favorite hero/heroine and why?

The Heroine I Wished I'd Written

 This week at the SFF Seven, we're talking about our favorite heroines that we didn't write. 

I think you all know me by now, and thus know I don't much like picking favorite anythings. There's a lot of room in my universe for all the stuff I love and I don't really think in terms of ranking. All that said, I just completed a reread of Patricia McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, one of my most cherished books of all time. It's a brilliant fantasy novel and one I wished I'd written. The heroine and protagonist is a wizard woman named Sybel. 

Don't pay attention to the stupid listings that call this book young adult (YA). First of all, in 1974 when this book was first published, there wasn't a YA category. Secondly, the only reason this is listed as YA, I assume, is because it's written by a woman with a female protagonist. If this deeply layered, fucking brilliant fantasy novel is YA, then so is The Lord of the Rings. 

ANYWAY.

Sybel is simply a brilliantly drawn heroine. She is a product of her upbringing, isolated physically and in her immense power. Living among the magical, nigh-mythical creatures she cares for, Sybel has to learn to deal with human beings. She is unflinchingly strong throughout the story, cleaving to her own sense of self, even when others try to rip that away from her. In her learning to first love, then to hate, then to move past both, she achieves her own mythic status. Even as the reader follows her self-destructive path, dreading the inevitable outcome, we also believe totally in her reasons, never failing to cheer her on. Sybel is the awkward, bookish, shy girl in all of us, who wrestles with the tumult of the wider world. 

In rereading, I found so many ways this story has infused my own work, though I despair of ever reaching this level. And Sybel is in all of my heroines. Maybe even a bit in myself. 

3 Fav Webcomic Heroines

This Week's Topic: Favorite Heroine (who's not one of my creations) and Why?

I've a deep love for heroines who are competent and compassionate. Funny is a bonus, but humor is subjective so I'll glom on to the straight man (as in the comedy definition, not the CIShet meaning) just as quickly. Flaws are great when rooted in character dev and an untold backstory, but I'll chuck a book if she's pointlessly bitchy, whiney, or TDTL. I just...can't. Maybe I'm too old (reaches for fiber supplements). Maybe I'm too inundated by pop culture's "strong female protagonists" who can slaughter a hundred monsters as an "oopsie, I didn't know I was so powerful" then regress to total ineptitude the moment the dude shows up. That's not to say I need the heroine to be a mature expert from the start. I'm game for a clueless n00b as long as she's not...stupid. I love heroines who stand up for themselves. They don't have to do it with their fists. A concise verbal setdown is a thing of beauty too. (NGL, I stan swordmasters and assassins as well.) Gimme a gal who can apologize as well as show relationship awareness and gratitude while we're at it.  A woman who can outsmart, outthink, out plan, out strategize the opposition? I want her story in my grubby mitts.

So, which fictional ladies have me hooked?  Here are three from my current webcomic must-reads:

1. Empress Navier Trovi from Alpha Tart, Sumpul's The Remarried Empress webcomic
2. Martina/Astina from The Lady and the Beast webcomic by Maginot and Hongseul
3. Vivi from Little Rabbit and the Big Bad Leopard webcomic by Yasik, Sadam, and Mogin 
• the hilarity of the bunny's expressions is worth every paid ep