# What made them the most memorable character that you ever met in a novel?



## Mark Young (Dec 13, 2010)

We all have met our favorite characters during a lifetime of reading. Some of the descriptive words that come to mind are: refreshing; brash; brutally honest; funny; irreverent; and,of course, lovable. The list is exhaustive. If you could only pick one character, who would it be? The reason I ask is I tried to pin it down to just one...and couldn't. My world of fiction is populated with a wealth of unforgettable characters, and if I just picked one I would feel treasonous to the others. Can you?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Mark Young said:


> If you could only pick one character, who would it be? The reason I ask is I tried to pin it down to just one...and couldn't. My world of fiction is populated with a wealth of unforgettable characters, and if I just picked one I would feel treasonous to the others. Can you?


Well, if you won't, then why should I? 

In any case, I get sort of mixed signals: are you asking for our favorite characters or our most memorable characters? While it's possible they are one and the same for any given reader, it's also possible they are different characters. In fact, I'm pretty sure that they are different, in my case. Here's a hint: one from each of my two favorite authors.


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm with Nog Dog on this one: not sure if you want favorite or most memorable. So, I will give you both.

Favorite character: Bilbo Baggins from *The Hobbit*. Reason? He started out as a man who was comfortable with his life, craved respectability, and was content to live in peace and security. Instead, he went on an adventure to hunt for a treasure he didn't want and took on a dragon he was terrified of and kept rescuing half-witted bumbling dwarves from danger all because he didn't want people to think he was a coward. The point being that none of it was any of his concern yet he kept doing the right thing from a sense of integrity and responsibility for the welfare of others. Then he sacrificed his own share of the treasure to bring peace between warring factions and make things right for those who had been cheated. This little guy was a BIG man!

Most memorable character: Scarlett O'Hara from *Gone With the Wind * hands down. Never have I read a character so vital in energy, so violent in temper, and yet so vulnerable in innocence. If ever there was a love-hate relationship with a character who was their own worst enemy it's this one!


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## Mark Young (Dec 13, 2010)

NogDog and Imrotth: You are right. I should not ask if I am not willing to do the same. 

Let's stick with "most memorable character." One of my most memorable characters is only identified as  "Santiago" in Ernest Hemingway's last literature triumph, The Old Man And The Sea. Everything about the man and his struggle plays out in the story in such a way that has stayed with me for years. Santiago's struggled against certain failure, and the way his past is woven into the fabric of the story, made this one of my most memorable characters. Throughout the ordeal, back story and history are revealed in small ways that gives depth and meaning to this characters. And the way Santiago shoulders his ordeal, giving respect and dignity to the huge marlin while staving off shark attacks, made this character very compelling.


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## dkgould (Feb 18, 2013)

I think villains are usually more memorable to me than heroes, probably because of the anxiety they produce. I'd say Uriah Heep is the most memorable character to me (though it's hard to pick!) because he was the first _devious_ character I'd read. Every other villain up to that point was openly evil. Something about Uriah and his mother acting friendly and humble made him so much more evil and stressful.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I'll have to go with Corwin from Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series (the original 5 books). Without being any sort of caricature, and even though I generally prefer "common" heroes over those blessed with special abilities, I get totally absorbed in his story every time I read it (maybe 30 times by now?  ), watching his believable progression from self-centered prince who wants nothing more than beating out his brothers for the crown, to eventually become a man who learns to love -- or at least understand -- most of his siblings, while finding out something about what he really wants out of life.

(My runner-up would be the character I'd probably have to say is my favorite character, Sam Vimes, from the City Watch story arc of Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series -- talk about a series with memorable characters!)


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## RussTriceratops (Mar 23, 2014)

Luke Rhinehart from The Dice Man. He manages to retain his humanity whilst doing some rather terrible things.


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

I'd go with NogDog, but since he took Corwin, I'll go with my #2, who is actually a secondary yet pivotal character: Vain, a Demondim-spawn from The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (by Stephen R. Donaldson).

Vain is a construct of the Ur-Viles, in their bid to impact the outcome of the struggle between Thomas Covenant and Lord Foul the Despiser, the latter who they'd previously served. I think this choice reflects that I thought he Ur-Viles were interesting creatures created by Donaldson, but there were no 'individuals' to identify until Vain.

Vain says very little and is a mystery for most of the novel, nearly as indestructible as he was unresponsive, until the end when his purpose became apparent. His statement near the end of the trilogy said much to me with respect to events. Speaking to Findail, an _Elohim_, an immortal being of great power, Vain said: "It is not death. It is purpose. We will redeem the Earth from corruption." (referring to their part/sacrifice in creating a new Staff of Law)


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## jaim101 (Jan 19, 2012)

I pick Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye. Not a likeable character by any means but one I have never forgotten. His voice, his views, his thoughts on life, have stuck with since I first read the book as a teenager.


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## Scott Hsu-Storaker (Feb 14, 2014)

Maggie from Love and Rockets. To watch her grow and change (almost in real time) for the last 30 yeaes has made it feel like she is a real person. Like with a friend, it is frustrating to watch her make mistakes and a revelation when she learns from life. It's been more than two years since I last saw her and it has been a devastatingly long time.


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## lynnfromthesouth (Jun 21, 2012)

Miles Vorkosigan (Warrior's Apprentice, et al) - wry, observant, aware of his physical limitations, charges headlong into problems but has huge misgivings about doing so, makes friends with all sorts of people


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## joyceharmon (May 21, 2012)

Memorable? That would be Special Agent Pendergast, from the series by Preston and Child. He's an FBI agent, independently wealthy, absurdly knowledgeable in a host of arcane subjects. Think Sherlock Holmes if Holmes were from a rich and eccentric (verging too often into outright madness) New Orleans family. Lives in the Dakota, drives a Rolls, and prefers to investigate the bizarre and strange, because he's pretty bizarre and strange himself.


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## Paul Reid (Nov 18, 2010)

Harry Flashman from the Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser. An unrepentant cad and coward who would sell his grandmother to save his own skin, yet somehow you can't help loving him.


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## JeanetteRaleigh (Jan 1, 2013)

Oddly the weakest characters seem the most memorable to me.  The Dragons of Pern by Anne McCaffrey is a perfect example.  I read the books years ago and will never forget the way the boy jumped into the hatching ring to break the shell of a dragon that wasn't hatching.  The dragon turned out to be a runt, but that one character made the entire series memorable.


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## Nancy Beck (Jul 1, 2011)

Temeraire, the dragon in the Temeraire books.

Although it took me a while to get into the first book, once I did, I was off and running with the series. And I absolutely adored Temeraire! He loves to read books, speaks well, is fluent in who-knows-how-many languages (and it doesn't take him long to become fluent), and he sticks up for himself and his fellow dragons. A remarkable character I'd love to hang out with, reading books or discussing whatever.


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## sstroble (Dec 16, 2013)

Mark Young said:


> We all have met our favorite characters during a lifetime of reading. Some of the descriptive words that come to mind are: refreshing; brash; brutally honest; funny; irreverent; and,of course, lovable. The list is exhaustive. If you could only pick one character, who would it be? The reason I ask is I tried to pin it down to just one...and couldn't. My world of fiction is populated with a wealth of unforgettable characters, and if I just picked one I would feel treasonous to the others. Can you?


Two stand out: Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian from Mutiny on the Bounty.


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## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

It depends on the mood and the week, but I particularly love Poppy from The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forrester.  She's just so delicate and innocent and sweet, while still being tough as nails when someone she loves is in trouble.  She's also absolutely hopeful.  She's like Pollyanna against supervillains.


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## Alexander Mori (Jun 10, 2014)

Great discussion topic!  The most memorable character for me is Pennywise the Dancing Clown from IT.  I read that book when I was 13 years old and still run past storm drains on the street.  

Runners up include:

Tyrion from Game of Thrones.  This one is probably my favorite character.  Such an interesting and well developed character.  
Augustus McCrae from Lonesome Dove.  Remember him?  Tricky ole Gus?


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## Cactus Lady (Jun 4, 2014)

Lots of favorite and memorable characters, but the one I have to go with here is Valen from the Flesh and Spirit/Breath and Bone duology by Carol Berg. He seemes like a difficult character to like - a runaway sorcerer, drug addict, deserter, thief, con man, womanizer. But he's had such a difficult life, and is fighting to live his life on his own terms instead of on terms dictated by forces beyond his control, by people who care nothing about him, and he has such a cheerful, gracious spirit and good heart that I can't help but like him. One of the few characters that I'm sad aren't real, because I'd love to hang out with him (while keeping a close eye on my purse, of course!)


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## Ergodic Mage (Jan 23, 2012)

Lord Mhoram from the _Chronicles of Thomas Covenant_ is my most memorable. He was a character that displayed compassion, patience, understanding and wisdom which came together to give him the strength and determination to go beyond mastery of lore.

After that it would be Elijah Baley from Asimov's _The Robot Series_. He was just a normal, everyday detective and though he was good at his job there was not much outwardly courageous or anything that stands out. And yet he was one of the most influential and important characters in Asimov's setting.


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## ScottS (Jul 3, 2012)

Agent Pendergast from Still Life with Crows (among others) by Preston/Child. He always stuck with me. He was intelligent and dry, but strangely fun to follow at the same time.


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## Tristan Cruz (Apr 2, 2014)

Alexander Mori said:


> Great discussion topic! The most memorable character for me is Pennywise the Dancing Clown from IT. I read that book when I was 13 years old and still run past storm drains on the street.
> 
> Runners up include:
> 
> ...


_Augustus McCrae!!! I love that answer! _


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## Tristan Cruz (Apr 2, 2014)

Memorable character for me is one that has been through the ringer and then comes out on top. I'm sure there are a lot in many stories, however mine is Edmond Dontes from The Count of Monte Cristo.

"You didn't think I'd make it that easy did you!"


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## Kali.Amanda (Apr 30, 2011)

Peter Lake from "Winter's Tale" -- he was just charming. I cannot go to Grand Central Station look up at the giant windows and look for him up there, hinding from Pearly Soames.


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## Marilyn Peake (Aug 8, 2011)

All the characters in Barbara Kingsolver's *The Poisonwood Bible*. I had read that she wrote pages in each character's voice before even starting work on the novel, so that each character's voice would be developed to the point where a reader would know which character was speaking as soon as they opened to any page in the book, and it took her ten years to write this novel. Each and every one of these characters left a deep impression on me.


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## MMJustus (Jun 28, 2010)

I see someone else beat me to Miles Vorkosigan.  He is, hands down, the most memorable fictional character I've ever read -- and my favorite, too.

But I would like to give an honorable mention to Walter Peabody "Ramses" Emerson, from the Amelia Peabody mysteries by the late lamented Elizabeth Peters.

Someone on an email list I belong to once said she'd like to put young Miles and young Ramses together, and have them babysat by that nice Mr. Crawford.  OTOH, that's something I'd want to watch from a distance.  A long, long distance


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