- Alana – Saga, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. I feel sure I have written about Alana before. She is witty, fierce, quick to act (sometimes too quick), completely badass and very sexy. Staples also gives her the best facial expressions.
- Roland Deschain – The Dark Tower series, Stephen King. Obviously Roland is utterly unsuitable, being a trained killer and all, but he’s got charisma. He’s mysterious, hardened by years of wandering alone through vast deserts – isn’t there something romantic in that?
- Eugene Wrayburn – Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens. I think it’s just the slightly hipsterish vibe of louche cynicism Eugene has that I enjoy. Also, Victorian dress.
- Adora Belle Dearheart – Going Postal, Terry Pratchett. I love the way that she is literally all spikiness, none of this “heart of gold” rubbish. Also, neo-Victorian dress.
- Faramir – The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. Is Faramir Middle-earth’s only liberal? I submit as evidence his riposte to his obviously-Conservative father Denethor’s pronouncement that “in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death”: “So be it.” Swoon.
- Steerpike – Titus Groan, Mervyn Peake. There’s a scene somewhere in the book where the Machiavellian Steerpike shoots a catapult at a far blue window. I’m pretty sure that was the scene that got me. I hate Steerpike for his cruelty, his indifference to those around him – but his razor-sharp control in Titus Groan, his showmanship, the way his icy amorality slices through the stuffiness of castle ritual, is terrifyingly compelling.
- Jack Glass – Jack Glass, Adam Roberts. Another ruthless killer. I think we are beginning to see an unfortunate theme here. Nevertheless: Jack is razor-sharp and fascinating.
- Robert Frobisher – Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell. Is it Frobisher’s unrelenting commitment to his art? His wry and biting comments about his mentor Vyvyan Ayres? Or the fact that he is played in the film by the achingly attractive Ben Whishaw? Who knows?
- Dirk Gently – Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams. Because he is funny and brilliant and scathing and just does not give a fuck about anything. I could spend all year with Dirk Gently.
- Fevvers – Nights at the Circus, Angela Carter. Larger than life in a way that comprehensively ignores any sense of male disapproval, she’s powerful precisely because she possesses none of the traditional trappings of power.
(The theme for this post was suggested by the Broke and the Bookish’s weekly meme Top Ten Tuesday.)
The English Student 