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Preferring secondary characters?

Aldarion

Archmage
Personally, I find secondary/supporting characters oftentimes far more interesting than main characters (although in some cases they could even be counted as main characters, just not main main):
  • Denethor in Lord of the Rings
  • Saruman in Lord of the Rings
  • Aberforth Dumbledore in Harry Potter
  • Aegon / Young Griff in A Song of Ice and Fire
    • Davos Seaworth, though his status as "secondary" character is questionable; that being said, while he is a POV character, he does not drive the narrative the way Stannis does
  • Lady Stoneheart in A Song of Ice and Fire
  • Sandor Clegane in A Song of Ice and Fire
  • Razor in Infinite Sea
  • just about every Canim in Conex Alera; will likely develop a more comprehensive list once I actually start reading the series instead of skimming through
 

Rogue

Dreamer
I'm currently halfway through listening to The Great Hunt on Audible, the second book in the Wheel of Time series. I tried reading the first book a handful of times and just found Jordan's writing style to be something of a drag.

Anyways, all throughout the first book and throughout the second so far, I find myself more interested in Mat and Perrin than I am Rand. Rand feels like a reader-insert character with zero personality and a destiny that is just taking way too long to build up to. And frankly, if I knew Mat in real life, I'd want to strangle him but at least he inspires something other than utter boredom. They're all three set up as being a big part of the plot but Rand is obviously the main character, especially since the first 20 or so chapters of book one are told entirely from his perspective.

So far, this second book is about as uninteresting as the first. At this rate, I'll finish the second book and then move on to the third but if that one doesn't interest me more than the two before it, then I'll have to call it quits on this very popular series. Maybe I'll find the upcoming Amazon series more interesting.

Personally, I find secondary/supporting characters oftentimes far more interesting than main characters (although in some cases they could even be counted as main characters, just not main main):
  • Denethor in Lord of the Rings
  • Saruman in Lord of the Rings
  • Aberforth Dumbledore in Harry Potter
  • Aegon / Young Griff in A Song of Ice and Fire
    • Davos Seaworth, though his status as "secondary" character is questionable; that being said, while he is a POV character, he does not drive the narrative the way Stannis does
  • Lady Stoneheart in A Song of Ice and Fire
  • Sandor Clegane in A Song of Ice and Fire
  • Razor in Infinite Sea
  • just about every Canim in Conex Alera; will likely develop a more comprehensive list once I actually start reading the series instead of skimming through

I'm not really a big fan of the Harry Potter series but I find practically every person in those books to be more interesting than the Boy Who Lived but whom I wish had died and handed the reins over to a more interesting character. Is that too harsh?

I'm surprised to see Tavi from The Codex Alera make the list. I really like him but then I'm only up to the second book and am considering doing a quick re-read of them before continuing the series since it was so long ago that I read them.
 

Aldarion

Archmage
I'm surprised to see Tavi from The Codex Alera make the list. I really like him but then I'm only up to the second book and am considering doing a quick re-read of them before continuing the series since it was so long ago that I read them.

As I said, I have only skimmed through Codex Alera so my opinion may - and very likely will - change. Even from little I have seen, he is a rather interesting character; it is just that I found Canim more interesting.

I'm not really a big fan of the Harry Potter series but I find practically every person in those books to be more interesting than the Boy Who Lived but whom I wish had died and handed the reins over to a more interesting character. Is that too harsh?

Hardly, seeing how I am of the same opinion myself.
 

Rogue

Dreamer
As I said, I have only skimmed through Codex Alera so my opinion may - and very likely will - change. Even from little I have seen, he is a rather interesting character; it is just that I found Canim more interesting.

I'm something of a sucker for those characters who have to overcome a natural handicap in order to just remain a part of the curve, much less stay ahead of it. If I was suddenly thrust into that world, I can't tell you how disheartened I'd be to discover that I didn't have my own Fury to command. I'm hardly witty or resourceful in this world so I'd just become extra useless in that one.

The Canim are pretty cool, though. I'm usually turned off by anthropomorphic races as they so often just come across as re-skinned humans but I think Butcher did a really good job with them. At least from what I've read. If I recall correctly, we only come across a handful by book two and only one do we explore in-depth, but if they're all as interesting as him then I'm hooked.
 
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