# Top 10 Characters



## Violanthe (May 23, 2006)

Thanks to everyone who contributed their votes, opinions, and feedback to this project. I hope you will find that the final list was worth your while. If you're willing to do it all again, then stop by and vote for our newest list, the Top 10 SF Films. Without further ado, here they are, the top 10 characters in alternative reality fiction:

1. *Elric of Melnibone*
from The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock

2. *Darth Vader*
from Star Wars by George Lucas

3. *Gandalf*
from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

4. *Caine (Hari Michaelson)*
from Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover

4. *Merlin*
from Arthurian legend told and retold by various authors

6. *Frankenstein's Monster*
from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

7. *C'thulhu*
from C'thulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft

7. *FitzChivalry Farseer*
from The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

9. *HAL 9000*
from 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

10. *Gollum (Smeagol)*
from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

If you're interested to see further results (books ranked 11-75), as well as reader commentary on this Top Ten, please feel free to check out the full article.

So, what do you think of the list? Do you find it an accurate representation? Who would you add? Who would you take away? Who got unfairly ignored? What characters were ranked too high? Do you find this list predictable? Does it contain any surprises?


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## Rhiannon (May 23, 2006)

I noticed first that out of a list of 75 only a handful were female characters--not at all unexpected, of course. I think that mainstream genre fantasy is still male dominated (I can't say for sure, because I haven't been reading it lately), but in YA fantasy I see a very strong trend towards novels about female protaganists. I would say the majority of YA fantasy being put out now is being directed at young women, and that the bulk of it is being written by women as well. I think that's an interesting dynamic. 

And I think Eowyn got gypped! Though I'm glad Paksenarrion is on the list.


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## YayGollum (May 24, 2006)

Boring Eowyn. *hides* Anyways, I count poor Smeagol as being on the top ten list twice, since Darth Vader is on there, too, and that guy is totally the same thing. But then, even if I put them together, he's still only as good as Frankenstein's monster. Evil torturer Gandalf, higher up on the list than poor Smeagol! Makes no sense, man. 

I don't mind the list overly much, mayhaps mostly because I don't recognize anything from the number one spot.  Yes, I would believe that it is an accurate representation of what many people's opinions would look like if they were tallied. My list would be different, if I cared to make one, but oh well. No other characters come directly to brain that Gollum doesn't outshine by a lot, at least at the moment.  I would take away the characters that I don't know, of course. The characters who were unfairly ignored were the ones that haven't come to my brain yet. Everyone above poor Smeagol is rated far too high. Yes, it does look pretty predictable and contains no surprises. Not all understand that poor Smeagol is cooler than Merlin. *hides*


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## Goldberry344 (May 24, 2006)

Eowyn...no way! What about Morganna? The Lady of the Lake? Cassandra? Helen of Troy? Eve? Gwenevere (sp?)? and the list goes on.


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## Rhiannon (May 24, 2006)

Pffft. All of those are two dimensional figures, unless you cite a specific treatment of them. Eowyn is a complex, realistic, and carefully drawn character. And there are lots of other female characters I would put ahead of your list--Sybel in _The Forgotten Beasts of Eld_, Sabriel from Garth Nix's book of the same name, Aerin from _The Hero and the Crown_, Sunshine from Robin McKinley's book of the same name, Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, Death from Neil Gaiman's Sandman, and so on. I don't think you can really call archetypal figures great characters. 

And there is no real canon spelling of Gwenevere, but I think Guinevere is the most common one. And she wasn't even an original part of the Arthurian legend--she and Lancelot were added by the French, I think in the 16th century.


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## Aulë (May 25, 2006)

A very nice list covering a broad range of media.

I was surprised at how high up the list Aviendha (now _there's_ an interesting female character for you, Rhi) and Mat Cauthon were (from the Wheel of Time), whilst Rand al'Thor only just snuck into 75th position.

Pleasing was the lack of Harry Potter characters in the top 74 positions... Although the fact that I had no idea who the #1 character was is a cause for concern..


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## Rhiannon (May 25, 2006)

Aulë said:


> A very nice list covering a broad range of media.
> 
> I was surprised at how high up the list Aviendha (now _there's_ an interesting female character for you, Rhi) and Mat Cauthon were (from the Wheel of Time), whilst Rand al'Thor only just snuck into 75th position.
> 
> Pleasing was the lack of Harry Potter characters in the top 74 positions... Although the fact that I had no idea who the #1 character was is a cause for concern..


 
I lost interest in The Wheel of Time series around book six, when it started to suck. I kept reading because I liked Nynaeve and Lan, but when they dropped out of the picture I stopped. I was never particularly interested in Aviendha because she's a walking fantasy genre stereotype, like most of the characters in WoT. As my brother just said, looking at the list: "Rand's basically just Frodo Baggins turned into Elric of Melnibone, and Mat, while cool, isn't much more than a walking Trickster archetype. Perrin's the only one of the three who's really much of a human character." 

I haven't actually read Michael Moorcock yet, but I _do_ know enough about Elric of Melnibone to know that he deserves to be #1 on the list.


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## Violanthe (May 25, 2006)

A lot of people have complained that they've never heard of Elric. He's something of a classic, and apparently has a lot of fans among those who elected to vote.

I, too, was troubled by the lack of female characters. Ender and Peter Wiggin, but no Valentine?


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## e.Blackstar (May 25, 2006)

Valentine's a supporting character; Peter has his own large role on Earth, and Ender in the stars, but Valentine's biggest role is in Ender's life. She simply isn't a big enough character to sit with those on that list.


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## Rhiannon (May 26, 2006)

I wouldn't say I'm _troubled_ by the lack of female characters; it doesn't surprise me at all. The list represents what I would call an old school fantasy readership--there's a definite tendecy towards long, epic series that tend to span 10+ books, archetypal characters, quasi-medieval European setting, quests, political machinations, curses, emotional torturing, and either nothing is resolved or it takes forever. Very well done by a few, very badly done by many, and a tragic few start out good and then dive-bomb (like Robert Jordan). The female characters, even when well-written and interesting, definitely tend to take a back seat. 

A newer school of fantasy readers (and writers) are represented (I think) in YA fantasy, and in things not marketed as standard fantasy fare--not tied down to stereotypes and quest stories and looooooong series that go on ad nauseum with the same core of characters. The list neglected YA fantasy entirely, not recognizing it as the new beating heart of a previously desiccated genre, and not a single Neil Gaiman character made the list, even though he's easily the biggest name in modern fantasy (urban fantasy...horror...stuff...the point being that the best in contemporary fiction transcends genre, hence the newish term 'speculative fiction').


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## Turgon (May 26, 2006)

Elric at number one? I find that quite shocking really. I used to love Elric as a teenager, but after re-reading his saga a few months back, he left me rather cold. I don't think he has the depth people seem to think he has, and the Elric novels themselves are of rather poor quality - I love some of Moorcocks other writings. I've begun to believe people like the idea of Elric rather than the character himself. Overrated. Just like Turin. Both fellows followed an unlikely path... victims of their own self-importance.

No Tanith Lee characters in the top 100/75 either (I could only see up to 75) which is a real shame. She is the only Fantasy author I can stomach these days... aside from Tolkien. Sadly over looked. Good to see Steerpike in there though... even if he is joint eighteenth with some guys I have never heard of.

Vader, though, is in a worthy place. If you take away Lucas' pathetic attempts to make a convincing Anakin in the filthy, depraved, drivel-spouting prequels, you have an amazing character.


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## Rhiannon (May 26, 2006)

I think Elric makes the list because he was such an influential figure in the genre--Michael Moorcock has had a huge impact on modern fantasy writers.

Tanith Lee is very hit or miss with me--I love _Red as Blood_, was 'eh' about _The Silver Metal Lover_ and hated _White as Snow_. I read her short stories in anthologies from time to time, but I don't pick up her novels.


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## Violanthe (Jun 1, 2006)

> Valentine's a supporting character; Peter has his own large role on Earth, and Ender in the stars, but Valentine's biggest role is in Ender's life. She simply isn't a big enough character to sit with those on that list.


 
For one, I disagree, because most of the scenes with Peter are actually from Valentine's point of view, and thus our understanding of him is filtered through her Point of View, her perspective, her character.

But even putting that aside, you have to consider that Peter ends after Ender's Game, but Valentine continues into other books of the Ender Saga, and thus has a larger role as a whole


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## Persephone (Jun 28, 2006)

*My top 10 characters*


1. Will Parry - His Dark materials
2. Crowly - Good Omens
3. Dave Lister - Red Dwarf
4. Silas - Da Vinci Code
5. Gandalf - LOTR
6. Beorn - The Hobbit
7. Ron Weasley - Harry Potter series
8. Aisling - in the country of the young
9. Eragon - Eragon
10. Sam Gamgee - LOTR


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## Halasían (Jun 28, 2006)

Narya, you're a couple months late.


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## Mike (Jun 28, 2006)

I say Elric deserves his position as #1. While the first book is, er, quite bad ("Elric of Melnibone"--don't read it), there are moments throughout the rest of his saga which are purely brilliant. 

We must remember that Elric was the first anti-hero to really take centre stage in a universe (or, should I say, MULTIverse) not ruled by good and evil but by law and chaos--a place where the main character is morally ambiguous and does quite a few pretty nasty things in his life. He's not perfect, and sometimes he's just plain scary, but in the end he's altogether realistic.

I was quite surprised by the lack of Taran assistant pigkeeper. Who'd of thought...and where's King Arthur (from the Once and future King)? Robin Hood? Ged (A wizard of Earthsea)? Conan? Fafrh/The Grey Mouser?

But personallyI would see Geralt of Rivii in slot #1 for "coolness." Now there's a character deserving of that postion--even more so than Elric.

(Check out my Avatar if you don't know who he is...though this comment will probably be invalid when I decide to change it.)


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## Persephone (Jun 29, 2006)

Halasían said:


> Narya, you're a couple months late.



Meaning? I'm sorry, but I don't quite get it...was there a time constraint on this thread?


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## Halasían (Jul 14, 2006)

No, just for voting on ARWZ where the list was compiled.


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