fajrdrako | The best protagonists... (Reply)

March 6, 2008:
You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?

This one's a no-brainer. I bet most of my flist could answer this one. Who is my favourite hero in fiction?

Francis Crawford of Lymond.

He has been since I first read The Game of Kings when I was fifteen. I would be very surprised if any hero ever manages to surpass him. It's just not possible. Why? Well, because he has every attribute I like in a hero: and then some. Atheltic, bisexual, caustic, a disguise-master, elegant, flippant, gorgeous (thanks for that one to Danny Hislop), honourable, inscrutible, jocular, kenspeckle, lissome, machiavellian, noble, ontological, polyglot, questing, rebellious, a swordmaster, troubled, undaunted, versatile, wanchancy, exotic (had to cheat there), yare and and zetetic.

But of course I have many beloved fictional heroes. Others who stand out:

Aral Vorkosigan (Lois McMaster Bujold)¹
Cairo Azarcon (Karin Lowachee)
Eugenides (Megan Whalen Turner)
Philip Marlowe (Raymond Chandler)
Aragorn son of Arathorn (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Mr Rochester (Charlotte Bronte)
Justin Alastair, Duke of Avon (Georgette Heyer)²
Rupert Campbell-Black (Jilly Cooper)
Marcus Didius Falco (Lindsey Davis)

I should perhaps add: any one of the Dick Francis heroes. It wouldn't matter which one.

¹ I rather think Miles Vorkosigan might belong on this list as well; Aral has precedence, but Miles is terrific.

² I am also exceedingly and improbably fond of the hero of a Georgette Heyer short story, "Hazard". I believe his name was Carleton Carleton, but I'd have to look it up to be sure.