Fantasy Friday is my own feature, posted every other Friday. It’s pretty self-explanatory: I do a feature on something to do with the genre. Sometimes it will be a book recommendation, sometimes showcasing a book or series I’ve loved and other times it might be a discussion post. You’re more than welcome to join in with this feature, let me know if you make your own Fantasy Friday post!
Today I want to talk about: my favourite fantasy characters.
1. Tyrion Lannister (from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire)
I pretty much loved Tyrion from the moment I first read about him in A Game of Thrones, and that grew with every chapter, every book of the series. It’s a series without any clear-cut good characters or bad characters; everyone is pretty much in the ‘grey area’ (with perhaps the exception of the Boltons…). You might think someone is evil, but you can guarantee that a later chapter will reveal WHY they acted as they did. Tyrion seems like the lesser evil of the Lannisters, despite his own family’s attempts to portray him otherwise. He may make some questionable choices later on in the series, but ultimately he’s just doing what he needs to in order to survive. His wit and intelligence are a shield blocking out the constant insults and prejudice he’s had to put up with for his entire life – and these are the sorts of characters I like. Ones that don’t have it easy, but they push on through and make the most of a situation.
2. Frodo Baggins (from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings)
I’ve previously discussed in this feature why I have so much love for The Lord of the Rings, but I never really went into much depth about the characters. I don’t like it when people say Frodo whined the whole time, and that he wasn’t the hero of the story. Samwise may have carried him up Mount Doom in the end, but Frodo volunteered to take the Ring to Mordor – he didn’t have to. He completely turned his life on its head, going from a comfortable life of leisure to one of perilous adventure. And then, after everything he went through to get to Rivendell, he was still prepared to carry the Ring further, even knowing that the path would be much more treacherous. A wimp? No, I don’t think so. More like a completely selfless hero.
3. Luna Lovegood (from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series)
There are a LOT of lovable characters in the Harry Potter series, but Luna has got to be my favourite. She’s adorable, funny and she really doesn’t care what other people think of her. She’s totally herself, even if that means a lot of her peers find her strange, and that is something I really admire. I wish I could be more like Luna, and just not care when I think people are judging me (I think that a lot…). She’s not only honest to herself, but also her friends, and one of the loyalest people you could ever hope to know.
4. Alistair Theirin (from Dragon Age: Origins)
Ahh sweet sweet Alistair… apart from being completely gorgeous and lovable, as well as complete klutz in social situations, Alistair is someone who isn’t afraid to accept their own destiny, even if it’s not what they really want. For the good of the people, Alistair will make so many sacrifices. But actually, the main reason he’s one of my favourites is because of the romance you can pursue with him on Dragon Age: Origins… it gives me the warm fuzzies. You sort of forget he’s a video game character, because so much thought has been put into how he reacts to everything your character does. Like Luna, he’s loyal to the extreme.
5. Morrigan (from Dragon Age: Origins)
Morrigan is a bit of a dark horse. She reluctantly joins your party near the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins, and responds to most of your questions with a dry wit. She’s not exactly easy to warm to and she certainly tries to distance herself, but like Alistair, she is prepared to make some big sacrifices if it means saving thousands of lives. She’s also an incredibly skilled mage (watch her in action in the Dragon Age: Origins cinematic trailer) and is just generally awesome in every way. Earning her respect is tough, but worth it.
Rinn Reads 
Hmm, tough question!
I’d go with Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch), Auri (Patrick Rothfuss), Hermione Granger (J.K. Rowling) and Perrin (Robert Jordan). 🙂
Auri always reminded me of Luna a little bit! 😀
Yay, Tyrion! I really love his character as well. And his actor in the TV show is probably my favorite out of everybody. Honestly, though, my favorite character of the series is Cersei haha. I feel like everybody always thinks I’m really weird when I say that, but I’m just really drawn to her character. I don’t always like her very much, and sometimes she’s really really stupid…but her motivations are intriguing and the way she goes about things is always different than I’d expect. And I just LOVED getting to see her perspective in A Feast for Crows.
I always loved Tyrion from the moment I first read the books, even before we really knew him – but I’m so glad that more and more people love him now as the series goes on 🙂 I get what you mean about Cersei though! There are no real good or bad characters in GoT/ASoIaF, people are just out to protect themselves or their family. I mean, Cersei just wants to protect her children.
Good list! I’d agree on Tyrion.
I’d agree with Kaja on Auri from The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss) (on a side note, she sort of reminds me of Luna). Locke Lamora too (Scott Lynch).
I might also go with Syl in the Stormlight Archives books (Brandon Sanderson).
I’m supposed to pick 5? I don’t know.
While I love the Demon Cycle books (Peter V Brett), I don’t think I’d pick anyone from them.
Maybe Gavin from the Lightbringer books (Brent Weeks).
Or Holden from the Expanse books (James SA Corey).
That last spot is a tough one. Not sure.
Yes, exactly, Auri reminds me of Luna too! 😀 I’ve still not read the Stormlight Archives so can’t say anything on that one.
Doesn’t have to be five, can be more or less – I just chose that number because it seemed like a good one 😛
I also considered people from the Demon Cycle, but nope, don’t have a real favourite from any of those books even though I really like them.
I LOVE Tyrion Lannister, he is my hero. What I love about George R. Martin’s characters is that they are all flawed and Tyrion is certainly no exception..yet even when he does some deplorable things you still like and care about him!
Exactly! And no-one is really truly evil or truly good. Everyone’s trying to protect themselves or their family, or they might appear good and then have some hidden motive 😛
Tyrion is probably my favorite character of the entire asoiaf series. He’s freaking smart and I think he really isn’t all that ‘bad’. He’s the underdog and I’m hoping he’ll get his moment to shine sooner of later on in this series.
Exactly 😀 I think Peter Dinklage plays him perfectly as well 🙂
I loved this post, because I have sort of a crush on Alistair. I’m most of the way through Dragon Age: Origins. I’m not much of a gamer so I don’t know how these game relationships work… but by the time I got up the nerve to invite him to my tent, he said he’d rather be friends. I liked the rest of your list too!
Me too, he is adorable and also hot 😉 Oh no! Have you met his sister yet, and if so what decision did you make?