favorite characters of Fictionland

These are some of my favorite characters in fiction. Everything from musicals, to television shows, to books and movies. I’ll try to put them in order, but quite a few of these are equal to the others.

19. Blind Mag from Repo! The Genetic Opera (musical/film). A woman with the voice of an angel, who sold her soul for a life in the light. Her eyes can do more than see. They work as a projector, showing brief segments of her past memories, flickering from her eyes. She’s made a lot of mistakes, and decides it’s time for her to pay her dues.

18. Darlene Connor from Roseanne (TV show). Particularly her with David, but from the very first episode Darlene had a special place in my heart. She can be mean, sarcastic and loosely crude, but she’s the only family member that can put Roseanne in her place.

17. Evelyn “Evie” O’Connell from The Mummy (films). Sexy geek, gorgeous librarian. Enough said… well, not really. She’s a no nonsense, slightly prudish dame, a bit too understanding sister, censored and clumsy, wishy-washy in love and INTELLIGENT. Besides, we women have to admit that the competition between Anak-su-namun and past Evie in The Mummy Returns absolutely screams girl power.

16. Jasper Hale from the Twilight Saga (books and films). Not a big fan of the movies, but I’ll give it to Jackson Rathbone- - he’s fantastic as my favorite vamp in the series. Why do I love Jasper? He struggles more than any other character in the series. Yes, some vamps/shifters/humans have a lot more to fight about, but his internal conflict bases around fighting those natural instincts he surrendered to in his immortal birth, and has basked in for half a century before even considering a different means of survival.

15. Sookie Stackhouse from Charlaine Harris’s southern vampire series (books). It’s fairly rare that I’ll find a first person narrative where I love the main character, but this series IS Sookie and it wouldn’t work if she wasn’t so interesting.

14. Tara from True Blood (TV show). Yes, same story line as the Stackhouse series, but they are different. Tara’s got this beautiful chip on her shoulder, and I think she really shines. She genuinely cares for Sookie, may be in love with Jason Stackhouse, has a strangely cool but worrisome cousin, and stumbles into some trouble with disturbing Maryann- - but it is her relationship with a drunkard mother that reveals the most in her character.

13. Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean (films). Because I ship Norri-beth, and I think he is the most honorable character in the series. Sorry Will… nah, not really. Norrington has a dramatic shift in character between the first and second film and is hybridized in film three. I was devasted when Bootstrap killed him (bastard).

12. Sonny Corleone from The Godfather (book & film). He may have a temper, but Sonny is the stud of the family. He has one of the best death scenes on film, and he makes some fantastic love in the book. Not really, but we should let a player play- – right? James Caan is a gem in the movie, especially in the scenes with (and/0r concerning) his sister Connie. I was pumped when he kicked Carlos into the gutter.

11. Gabriel from Blood & Chocolate (the book). The film “based” on this book destroyed him (made him into a sexist tyrant- – which is so not him), but he is one of the more complex characters. He has a reason for everything he does, and on first read it can be difficult to place him with the goodies or the baddies. I don’t care if it’s a spoiler, I’m telling everyone that Vivian chooses Gabriel by the end of the book. Aiden is NOT Rambo- in fact, he nearly kills Vivian in the book. Dumb human- Weres for the win!

10. Shota from the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (books). Don’t watch the TV show, please. It’s… okay, but if you really want to dip into these characters, than read the damn books!!! Shota has been my favorite character since her introduction. My favorite moment with her is when she’s had to escape her home, and she told Richard that she would be skinning the bastards that snatched her land and use their flesh to cover her throne. She is one bad ass woman.

9. The marquis de Carabas from Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (book). Again, another character whose death devastated me. Luckily for me, the story follows his corpse through the sewers and to better days. The marquis is a run-between-the-raindrops type character. Everyone may love Jack Sparrow, but give me the marquis de Carabas any day.

8. Christopher Doll from the Dallanganger series by VC Andrews (books). Oh, Christopher Doll- - it’s okay. I understand you’re in love with your sister, and that it is your mother’s fault for locking you two together in an attic for years. You raise Cathy’s children as your own. You’re wonderful to watch. You and your lovelorned self. Unfortunately, there is no happy ending for you, lovely Christopher Doll.

7. Lestat de Lioncourt from Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles (the books). Mmhmm… provacative, alluring, arrogant Brat Prince. Need I say anything else? I liked him from Interview With The Vampire all the way up to Memnoch, The Devil. I don’t know why, but the Christian influence post-book 5 made him into someone I didn’t care for. And I know the spiritual journey is important for him. Simply put, it’s not as entertaining to read.

6. Jericho Z Barrons from the Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series (books). Um… what is he exactly? He’s not human, that much I know- – I think, but what is he? Okay, there’s too much to theorize over when it comes to Jericho Barrons. He’s worse than Trent Kalamack. At least we know what species Trent is. Why is Jericho on this list? Well, he owns a bookstore (I know, I’m shallow), he puts up with Mac, not only does he not kill her- but he protects her, he admits when he’s made a mistake but never apologizes, and he’s really-really-really dangerous.

5. Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings (films). Only the films, because I haven’t read the books, and I don’t know a great deal about this guy apart from those films. But I love him in the movies because he is the ultimate, the essential halfing. He’s a gardener (a common profession for hobbits), he’s the only one I know of that marries and has children, and he’s the best of his people. Call it a personal preference. I’m not saying that Merry, Pippin and Frodo aren’t amazing characters, but Sam is strong when Frodo can’t be. He takes the ring when he thinks Frodo is dead and doesn’t want to give it back to him- – not because the power of the ring has held him captive, but because he sees what the ring is doing to Frodo and can’t bear to lose his friend to it (it’s on a par with a best friend addicted to heroin, demanding you return to them their drug when you know it’s going to kill them in the end). I love it when he says, “I may not be able to carry it for you, but I can carry you.” I <3 Sam.

4. Lucretia from Spartacus: Blood and Sand (TV show). Clever, manipulative, sexy and vulnerable. I will always be a guilty fan of Xena: Warrior Princess, and Lucy Lawless plays this character amazingly well. I will say that John Hannah’s performance has struck the deepest chord with me (seeing that I’m used to him as the cowardice Jonathan in The Mummy movies), but his everloving wife Lucretia is devious and strangely relatable.

3. Benjamin Linus from LOST (TV show). This spot used to be reserved for John Locke, but Ben shined in season three and he’s been my favorite character ever since. It was a pretty close parry between him and Juliet for a while, but Ben won out in the end. The infant whose birth killed a mother- the boy who became the manipulator and manipulated- the man who murdered his father and destroyed the Dharma Initiative- the Other who stole Alex away from her mother… I love you, Linus. You make the show for me.

2. Trenton Aloysius Kalamack from Kim Harrison’s Hollows series (books). Murderer, drug lord, “dumb” elf, CEO of Kalamack Industries, city chairman, and long time antagonist to Rachel Mariana Morgan. Even though I ship Trench, Trent has to be one of the greasiest manipulators I’ve ever read about. Caught between wanting to kill Rachel and wanting to hire her, Trent is a social elitest filled with a strange combination of spite and compassion. He has a love and dedication to his people that keeps him from doing the morally right thing (as far as Rachel is concerned). I can’t wait to see what else he’s got up his sleeve. Anticipation for the future books is nearly killing me.

1. Han Solo from Star Wars episodes 4-6 (films). Um… because it’s Harrison Ford!!! Really it’s because he doesn’t need a lightsaber or the force to kick ass. He’s got himself a wookie! He is and always will be the ultimate cowboy of the galaxy. That, and Harrison Ford is a sexy beast. This would either be Han Solo or Indiana Jones.