For this week’s Top
5 Tuesday, I let Justin pick again. I think he’s out to get me, though, since
he doesn’t think I can keep this short and sweet. I’ll show him, though!
Alright folks, this
week I bring you my Top 5 Favorite Characters! I’m going to try and do this
spoiler free…We’ll see how that goes!
1.
Sirius Black (Harry Potter)
Say what you want about him, but I LOVE
Sirius Black. He is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite fictional character.
Sirius was really the first character that made a long-lasting personal impact
on me. I get way too invested in fiction, for sure, but Sirius was my “first
love” of fiction, in a lot of ways. He was the first character to really stick
with me, and the things that happened to him (especially in Order of the Phoenix) affected me more
strongly than anything I’d read up to that point. I could spend days telling
you why Sirius Black is amazing, but I’ll break it down for you to one very
simple trait – his heart. While Sirius might not be the best all-around person,
you’re very hard-pressed to find someone more dedicated to doing what needs to
be done to help those he loves. Actually, you could sum my love for Sirius up
with this line, from Order of the Phoenix:
“Sirius had never kept him waiting
before.... Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him”.
2.
Roland Deschain (The Dark Tower)
Sometimes, when I think about Roland, all I
can do is sigh. If I’d gotten to know him first, I think I could love him more
than Sirius. However, my first attempt at The
Dark Tower wasn’t successful, and I’ve only come to know and love Roland
son of Steven in the last several years. There’s something about being the last
one of your people on an impossible quest to save the world (or maybe to
destroy it) that is endearing, especially to me. But then I got to Wizard and Glass. Finishing that book
(which delves deeply into Roland’s backstory) broke something inside of me and
made me realize just how amazing Roland is as a character. Again, I could
expound on Roland for days, but I’ll stick to the one thing I love the most.
Roland Deschain is not a good person, but he has the nerve to do what needs to
be done, no matter how distasteful. Roland is so focused on his purpose –
reaching the Tower – that he is willing to put aside everything else (well,
almost everything – his ka-tet do help change him along the way) to reach that
goal. Also, if you’ve read to the end of the series, you’ll understand what it
is about Roland that I just can’t quit.
3.
Dimitri Belikov (Vampire Academy)
Dimitri is the character on this list that
has most recently entered my “inner sanctum” of characters I adore. Reading
this series sent my heart all aflutter for Dimitri in a way only matched by
Sirius, Roland, and Daniel (see “Honorable Mention”). I know I said this in my
posts on the series, but it’s like Mead took the things I love most about those
three characters and rolled them into one. Like Sirius, Dimitri is fiercely
loyal to his loved ones and incredibly brave, throwing himself into countless dangerous
situations to protect those closest to him. At the same time, Dimitri has an
incredibly strong sense of purpose and fairness (in the sense that he’s fair
and balanced, no matter the circumstances), like Roland. Plus, he wears a
duster and reads westerns, so he practically is a gunslinger. Finally, like Daniel, Dimitri places an incredible
amount of his self-worth on honor and is very passionate about everything in
his life. Basically, Dimitri is my perfect man (sorry, Justin!).
4.
Sam Vimes (Discworld)
So, by now, you may have noticed that I have
a think for “bad boys”. Well, not bad, per se, but I do like characters that
aren’t necessarily good people, but have some other redeeming characteristic
that elevates them, at least in my mind. Sam Vimes is another one of those
characters. City Watch Commander Vimes is a little gritty, a little rough
around the edges, but he is the kind of man who can get the job done. At his
heart, Vimes is an idealist, believing unflinchingly in justice. At the same
time, he’s deeply cynical, and it’s that disconnect between the good he
believes he can bring to Ankh-Morpork and the crime and depravity he sees that
makes him such an interesting character.
5.
Gale Hawthorne (The Hunger Games)
Gale is kind of a divisive character among Hunger Games fans, in that you either
hate him or love him. While most of my other friends were fawning over Peeta
(who everyone – except me – likes), I was falling in love with Gale. I admire
principle and dedication, and Gale certainly exemplifies those qualities. He is
incredibly dedicated to his cause – so dedicated, in fact, that people he cares
about are pushed away from him. I think a lot of readers can’t get into that
kind of character. Peeta is a lot more welcoming, which is why so many people
love the boy with the bread. I, on the other hand, am really drawn in by Gale’s
dedication. Also, it helps his case that I couldn’t stop thinking about how sad
he must have been watching Katniss and Peeta “fall in love” during the Games.
And, I’d like to leave you with my strongest opinion about Gale (mostly because
this is what people fight me the most on when I say how much I love him).
Blaming Gale for what happens at the end of Mockingjay
is like blaming Einstein for Hiroshima. Yes, it was his idea, but he didn’t
pull the trigger (nor did he have any way of knowing his idea was going to be
used in that way). Gale is awesome, and Peeta sucks. The end.
Honorable Mention: Daniel
Jackson (Stargate)
Yes, I know, it’s a Top 5. BUT, Daniel
deserves this. Besides, I’m limiting myself strictly to the written word in the
Top 5, and while Daniel has been in Stargate
books, he’s from the television. Also, I wanted to prove that I can love good men, and Daniel is
definitely a good man. There are only two moments that I can think of in all of
SG:1 that make me angry at Daniel (Past and Present and Undending, if you were wondering), and
even then, I can understand where he’s coming from. Basically, if Daniel
Jackson were a real-live person, I would leave my husband for him, no questions
asked.
Mischief Managed,
Slim Pearl
Silver-Feather
Currently Reading: Bloodlines, Richelle Mead (I know I’m on “hiatus”, but I’m blaming
Sierra for lending me the first book in this Vampire Academy spinoff series.
Books Read in 2012:
20
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