Unlike traditional heroes, antiheroes are not as fabulous as the traditional ones. They are generally corrupt, oppressive, etc. They are not villains but not necessarily heroes. They may do bad things but are not evil. They usually fight villains, but not for the reason of justice. Their actions are motivated by their own personal desires, such as revenge. For example, an antihero may steal, vandalize, and perform other "bad" acts but may do so for a good cause.
First, let me say I disagree with the first sentence. Anti-heroes are actually MORE fabulous than heroes. I love rooting for the bad guy and if an author can make me fall in love with a character who does terrible things, then I am a fan for life.
My favorite anti-hero is Cassel from Holly Black's Curse Worker Series. Cassel is a teenager who grew up surrounded by criminals and struggles to be a good person when his first instinct is to lie and cheat and con. In short... I love him. And I want to read more chraracters like him.
For this mini-challenge, I want you to tell me about your favorite unlikely hero, troublemaker, or anti-hero. Recommend some books with some shady characters and tell me why you love them!
Post the answer on your blog (and leave a link) or in the comments. I will pick one random winner to receive copies of the entire Curse Worker Series (two paperbacks and one hardcover with the beautiful new covers!). I will ship through The Book Depository, so the challenge is open to anywhere they ship. And if you prefer e-copies for your kindle or nook, we can work that out, too! Covers link to GoodReads.
This is an excerpt from my White Cat review, that sums up why I love Cassel so much: "...even though this book is dark, it is still an emblem for hope. Cassel knows he's a terrible person, but he still lives his life in the hopes of being good. He is betrayed in mind-blowing ways and he still forgives. He is a light in a dark world and I love his story."
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Hmmm I've never read any of these books, which is hard to believe since I love Holly Black... but since her writing has a sharp edge to it, I can totally see how she would do the perfect anti-hero! For some reason I'm having a hard time coming up with an anti-hero of my own...
ReplyDeleteArtemis Fowl from the series of the same name. He's been brought up to lie, steal and basically do whatever it takes to get whatever he wants. Yet he obviously loves his parents and as the series progresses it's clear that he cares about Holly, Butler and Butler's sister as well.
ReplyDeleteHe's the kind of anti-hero who almost has to be talked into doing the right thing - yet when push comes to shove, we all know he'd do it anyway.
Well I am reading the Mercy Thompson Series and I like Stefan! I know he is a vampire so that makes him shady to the wolves but I like him. I don't know if he will turn out good or bad but hey so far he is fun with his scooby doo ring tone and vw van :)
ReplyDeleteYou know what, I am not sure that I have read any books with an anti-hero. But I like that you recommend Holly Black's Curse Worker series. I will need to read that so I can say that I have read a book with an anti-hero!
ReplyDeleteI'm debating if he'd be an anti-hero, but Tod from the Soul Screamer books is who came to mind for me first. If it weren't for that character I probably wouldn't read the other books. He's a sarcastic reaper and even though he deals with death, I find his character to be the most interesting. He just has this personality about him that I don't think you can hate.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.onthewingsofbooks.com//
ReplyDeleteSo funny, as I started reading the post, I immediately thought of Cassel too!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many! But one that springs to mind is Howl from Howl's Moving Castle. He's cowardly and a heartbreaker, and in the end, it's finding real love that has him changing his ways.
ReplyDeleteAlso, of course, there's the titular Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Yay for Eugenides!
My favorite anti-hero?
ReplyDeleteThat's easy - Terrible from Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series.
He's just such an amazing character & when I met him for the first time in Unholy Ghosts, I wasn't expecting that... He's working for a the drug lord Bump & he does everything he has to, he's his enforcer & everyone is so scared of him, but he's actually quite amazing & one of my all-time favorite characters. Both Terrible & Chess are the biggest anti-heroes I've ever read about & that you can't help but love :) You just have to try the series & see for yourself :)
p.s. I love Cassel, he's such an amazing character :) and also one of my favs.
I would argue that Hannah in The House at Riverton by Kate Morton is an anti-hero. She's brought up in early 20th centuary to be a respectable, subordinate daughter and wife, but she continually defies convention, family, and morals to achieve the life she wants. And you know what? I was rooting for her all the way.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I've read this book too and totally didn't even think of her. You're right though! She is an anti-hero!
DeleteGood choice!!
Aw man, I LOVE Cassel. I'm actually reading Black Heart as we speak. (On my Kindle. I would still loooooove to own a set of the physical books, especially with the gorgeous new covers! So good!)
ReplyDeleteFor books I've read this year so far, I would highly recommend the Company series by Kage Baker--most of the main characters are scoundrels of some sort or another, but the one who particularly fits this theme is Alec, a character who appears in the 5th book The Life of the World to Come. He's a smuggler in the 2300s who dreams of old-fashion pirates and adventure on the high seas. Very charming and roguish. (Belimai Sykes from Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale is also an antihero of a different sort; very brooding and sulky and a drug addict. That one's a M/M romance novel, though, just so you know!)
I'm having a seriously hard time thinking of anti-heroes, since I swear most the characters that I actually pay attention to are the villains themselves, who just do evil things to be pricks. <3 (yes, I may have a slight fetish going there). But I WILL try and pass Hannibal Lecter (series by Thomas Harris) off as an anti-hero because he does do a good job of doing his own devious deeds while still being able to help stop the bad guys, and remain all suave and charming while doing it.
ReplyDeleteHere is my link for Cole http://littlepocketbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/deweys-read-thon-hour-9-12.html
ReplyDeleteHello! Here's my blog entry on a shady character:
ReplyDeletehttp://ohlookabook-hp.blogspot.com/2012/04/mini-challenge-shady-character.html
I love Joss from the slayer chronicles and Dodge , who is truly evil, from Joe Hill's Locke & Key series
ReplyDeleteKai
fictionstateofmind@gmail.com
I can't wait for Black Heart! My favorite anti-hero is Barrons from the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.
ReplyDeleteOoh, what a great question! The character who immediately came to my mind is Eli Monpress from Rachel Aaron's fabulous series! Eli is a thief who's obsessed with increasing the bounty on his head. He hangs out with a mercenary soldier and a girl with a demon inside her. In short, he's pretty awesome!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite anti-hero (a new word for me, so thanks for the definition) is without doubt Severus Snape. I have always been a huge fan of the Potter series, and Snape is already my favourite characters. The fact that the term anti-hero fits so well on him makes me really happy. He's not fighting for the good side because of the goodness within him, he fights him for the cause of revenging the woman he loved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the anti-heros are more interesting than the heros. Especially when the story is written from the hero's POW, because then the hero is often nothing special as (s)he's someone the reader is supposed to be able to put herself into. I prefer the anti-hero, because (s)he more often has a complex and interesting personality, background, etc.
Thanks for a great challenge!
There are so many candidates in N.K. Jemisin's books. There are so many characters who should be good but aren't, or are good but do bad things, or who make trouble but are loveable anyway. My favourites are Nahadoth (a god of chaos) and Sieh (a god of childhood), both of whom are essentially heroes in the narrative but whom you would not want to get messed up with personally.
ReplyDeleteFun and original challenge! My post is here: http://bit.ly/I0GnSK
ReplyDeleteThe ones I mention are Peter Wiggin from the Ender books and Shadow series by Orson Scott Card, and several I can't name without spoiling from Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series :)
You are my anti-hero!
ReplyDeletehere's my link:
http://www.midnightbookgirl.com/2012/04/april-readathon-hours-9-13.html
My favorite anti-heroes at this moment are probably the lovely men/beings of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Take both Eric Northman and Bill Compton for example. Each are exceedingly attractive in multiple ways, each have saved Sookie's life more times than we can count, each have had dramatic and real love affairs with her and yet each has betrayed her trust in unthinkable ways. Or in Eric's case he just has a really crappy track record at being good to anyone since he is supposed to be true evil. I think these "anti-heroes" are a huge reason for this series popularity. We want her to be with these men but still don't fully trust them or know exactly what they might do. But we never doubt their love for her. It creates a wonderful stage on which the story to play out...a stage that is packed full of spectators! Thanks for the challenge.
ReplyDeleteCourtney
stilettostorytime at gmail dot com
Right now, I'm reading Lolita by Nabokov. The main character, Humbert Humbert, is my favorite anti-hero thus far. I think the theme of obsession and desire for something that is socially unacceptable is what caught my attention from Lolita in the first place. He may not be fighting for something good, and is a horrible character. But his nature, which disgust so many people, is framed by a narration that calls to pity him. Perhaps my opinion will change as I continue to read, but so far he is an interesting anti-hero. Not a character I would fall in love with, just one that makes for an interesting story.
ReplyDeleteMy e-mail address is gzoyg001@fiu.edu and my blog is zoyglen.blogspot.com
DeleteHappy reading :)
Great challenge! This was a hard one for me! Here's my link: Your Favorite Trouble Maker Mini-Challenge
ReplyDeleteMy favorite anti-hero is Bernie Rhodenbarr from "The Burglar Who..." series by Lawrence Block. He may be a burgler, but he's a good guy at heart.
ReplyDeleteI love Locke, from Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. He's witty and clever, a brilliant con artist, and a great character :)
ReplyDeleteHere are our staff's anti-hero choices!
ReplyDeletehttp://wp.me/p18lIL-X1
http://bookishhobbit.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/24-hours-to-read-or-die/
ReplyDeleteMy choice is Damon from the Vampire Diaries though I admit he has heroic moments: http://www.reflectionsofabookaholic.com/2012/04/deweys-read-thon-hours-7-12.html
ReplyDeleteAzoth/Kylar Stern from Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy is very cool, and I made it through the whole trilogy mainly because I wanted to find out what happened to him.
ReplyDeleteI ended up going with the Baudelaire Orphans, they're antiheroes to me~
ReplyDeletehttp://journeythroughpages.blogspot.com/2012/04/readathon-hour-12-halfway-mark.html
Snape! I know someone already mentioned him, but seriously. He played the part of the anti-hero perfectly. To go from someone who loathed Harry for his whole life, to wanting Harry's eyes to be the last thing he saw. Granted, it was because they were Lily's eyes, but still. I went from hating him along with Harry for all seven books, until right up to the end.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fun mini-challenge!!
Email - danie22090@yahoo.com
Here is my post
ReplyDeletehttp://ashleyfictionista.blogspot.com/2012/04/11-hours-down.html
Severus Snape is without a doubt the best anti-hero (I think in ever). You spend most of the series being like "is he a hero or is a villian". In the end, he is a bigger hero than Harry Potter or perhaps even Dumbledore. This is the perfect example of why anti-heroes are more interesting than heroes.
ReplyDeleteBoo hiss to the people mentioning Snape. :) I'm surprised no one has said mine so far - Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights! He's so totally not likeable yet you can't help but be drawn to him.
ReplyDeleteI'm fond of Flashman (From the series of the same name, written by George MacDonald Fraser). He's handsome and charming and a rake and a ramblin' man. He's the one Mama warned you about, but he's got a way with bitter quips when he's in a tight spot and his cowardly streak, which he manages to keep secret most of the time often seems like good sense at work. Yay, Flashy!
ReplyDeleteDexter Morgan -- the ultimate anti-hero in my opinion. Love him! I have Dexter is Delicious on my shelf for this evening. Well see if I get to it!
ReplyDeleteI know Warner from Shatter Me is kind of the villain, but I can't help but like him and think that everyone just has him misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteOooh, an excellent prompt—I love despicable character and unlovable anti-heroes when it comes to books, which I realize is an odd comment to make. But, based on the discussion on this thread, I'd say I'm not alone on that front. ;) I picked an unnamed narrator and Esther Greenwood for my post at The Litoverse!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Snape in the Harry Potter series. You can't help but hate him, but you can't help but sympathize with him. Such a contradiction on every level.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.exlibrisbitsy.com/read-a-thon/read-a-thon-april-2012/#hour12
Great question. I love anti-heros but it's always so hard for me to find some in newer books.
ReplyDeleteHere's my answer.
http://lmdqueen.blogspot.com/2012/04/read-thon-hour-13-so-im-told.html
I am a big fan of Gen from Megan Whalen Turner's the Queen's Thief series and Digger from StarCrossed by Elizabeth Bunce
ReplyDeleteI have to go old school and stick with Snape from the Harry Potter books.... seriously the man cracked me up... and now I want to read Potter just thinking about him....LOL
ReplyDeleteHere's my trouble-maker of choice! In my post:
ReplyDeletehttp://zaraalexis.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/doing-the-dewey-mini-challenge-6-my-favourite-trouble-maker-04-21-2012/
Thanks!
Zara @ The Bibliotaphe's Closet
zgarcia(dot)alvarez(at)gmail(dot)com
I'm thinking that Terry Pratchett's Death is not a bad guy, but he is Death. The stories about him are outrageously funny and wonderful to read but as I previously stated, he's Death!
ReplyDeleteAs you watch his character grow, it's amazing to know him as a anthropomorphic personality and yet know that he has the DUTY. Terry Pratchett did a wonderful job with him and as far as villains go, he's the best. Although Snape is amazing as well!
Steph, thank you so much for hosting this lovely challenge. It's made me think about my favorite anti-heros. And, I have to agree with many of the votes for Gen from The Queen's Thief series.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea for a mini challenge and I am so sad that I missed it! I love Cassel too but I think Andrea had the best pick with Sylar from Heroes! He was sooo Hot!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm not playing, but I just have to say, I love anti-heroes. Cassel is a huge favorite of mine, just started book 3.
ReplyDeleteI also love Dexter, Artemis Fowl, John Wayne Cleaver from the I am not a Serial Killer books, Damon (The Vampire Diaries), Jazz (I Hunt Killers) Cole (Everneath) Eric (Sookie books) etc. etc. So yes, I have a weak spot for bad guys :)