Top 14 (15) Fictional Characters

Here is my list for the top fourteen (why 14?, because I didn't like 10 and 13 seemed dramatic) fictional characters found in literature. While composing the list, I stuck to a few basic rules:

• No single author could have mutliple characters listed. This rule, alone, voted out a couple of Philip K Dick characters (such as the both male leads from Ubik as well as Bob Arctor/Fred) and some LotR characters, and possibly Tender from Survivor.
• The character's story arc must be at least possibly completed. This weeded out a few like Jon Snow (from George R R Martin's works). #15 is technically disqualified because I don't think his plot line is finished yet, at least not in the books brought over to the USA.
• The character needed to come from a full novel, not a novella or a short story.
• There character had to be both meaningful and memorable. Not just clever.
• The character has to be someone I remember well. If I have to look up facts, then I probably won't include him (speaking of "him", it turns out all my favorite characters are male).

First off, some Honorable Mentions: Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment. The Narrator of Layer Cake. Bill Navidson of House of Leaves. Ishmael from Moby Dick. I was big fans of all of these characters, but just didn't quite get the "oomph" from the character that I wanted. And though Gandalf would have been perfect for this list, he is more of an archetype in my head than a single character, and that held him back.

15. D. Vampire Hunter D series.

Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D is an ongoing series of books about a world gone past its prime, vampire hunters, mutants and all sorts of other things. D is probably the most exciting vampire character I have ever seen. He is strong and mysterious, the sort of pulp character that could have been written off by somehow keeps going strongly.

14. Ryūji Takayama. Ring. Koji Suzuki.

An odd duck to say the least, the mathematical philosopher and self-proclaimed rapist turns out to be a surreal and somewhat questionably deep character; not to mention the central focus on the side of good for the entire Ring series. He is just so odd that he becomes lovable with all of his quirks, despite the fact that he dies in the first novel.

13. Rincewind. Various. Terry Prachett.

Rincewind would be higher on the list if it wasn't for the sheer number of deus ex machinas that kept him alive. I mean, the point of the charcter was that DEMs kept him alive, but still. Even with the plot's help, he is a good character. He is a cowardly failure of a wizard but he manages to pull it off in a way that makes you like him. Maybe it is the dialogue he is given. Maybe it is just the fact that most of us would do the same in a world like Discworld. I have no idea. I love his concept.

12. Stephen Daedalus. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. James Joyce.

A thinking man's Jude Fawley, Daedalus's rise into the Christian Faith and fall away is one of the most powerfully chronicled stories in English. His character is a little too surface driven, though, and his fall a little too meandering, to put him higher on the list.

13. Tyrone B Love. Requiem for a Dream. Herbert Shelby, jr.

The true human in a tragic story, Tyrone represents, in some ways, the ability to rise above one's station. Keep in mind, though, that he never accomplishes this in the entirety of the story, it is simply the fact that Tyrone gives you the idea that he could that makes him so worthwhile, and so tragic.

10. Richard Mayhew. Neverwhere. Neil Gaiman.

The everyman in extraordinary situations. London Underground is one of the most fascinating settings in fantasy, a collection of puns and forgotten things (and rat speakers). While it should be dark and grimy, it feels magical the whole time you read the novel. Richard is the straight man to the insanity, the one there to point out the inconsitencies, and it is delightful as you read of him getting sucked into it.

9. Arthur Dent. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams.

Second British everyman in a row. Confused. Sad. Occasionally cynical, Dent is the main thing that makes Hitchhiker's work as a story instead of just a series of science jokes.

8. Billy Pilgrim. Slaughterhouse 5. Kurt Vonnegut.

While it is pretty much impossible to read that novel without assuming Billy=Kurt, the character comes across as one of the most nakedly honest characters in the whole of fiction. He feels a little too lost in the story, or I would put him higher, but I will never forget reading about him.

7. Enoch ("the Red") Root. Cryptomicon (and others?). Neal Stephenson.

Stephenson's answer to Gandalf. Enoch is a scholar who just so happens to be one of the most obvious Deus ex Machinas to ever be written into literature. When the plot line needs to move forward in Crypt, it often rotates somewhat around Enoch. Besides this, he is a wonderful character who gives great insights to the world around him. He seems to be a throw away character at first, I am glad he was developed (though I am sure it was planned all along).

6. Jonathan Strange. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Susana Clark.

An older Harry Potter. British man who has big talents. He often represents the passionate side of magic in his novel, versus the overcalculated Mr Norrell. His descent into anger and fierce determination to protect his loved ones even at a high cost is amazingly well done. Slow burn through most of the novel, followed by Strange as a well-crafted Fulcrum to add emotional depth to the latter third.

5. Anton Gorodetsky. The Night Watch series. Sergey Lukyanenko.

As several on my list show, namely 9, 10, and 13, I like the British everyman character, the flustered sort of soul who just tries to stay alive. Anton is not a British everyman, nor is he even quite the Russian everyman, but the concept is still valid. He is still a character more about his normalcy than his lack thereof, and a man who I feel ok rooting for.

4. Sam Weller. Pickwick Papers. Charles Dickens.

The early epitome of the smart Butler (but wait for #1). Pickwick's manservant constantly rambles on in strange puns that are half funny and half bizarre. More importantly, his intelligence and loyalty flush out the magnanimity of Pickwick, and help humanize the story wonderfully. He is a scene stealer, and it is hard to not picture him as the true hero. A historical note, he has long been a fan favorite for Pickwick lovers and is one of the main reasons that people reread the novel or stick with it to begin with. Another note, it seems almost unlikely that Sam Weller had nothing to do with Samwise, another overly loyal servant and overlooked hero, though I cannot say this for a fact.

3. Horselover Fat. VALIS. Philip K Dick

Not only is his name strangely catchy, the writings in his voice are the most personal PKD ever put out, and probably the most quotable. While the second half of his novel's story gets a bit goofy, the truth of Horselover is still emotionally powerful. From the beginning, when he tries to seduce a suicidal friend, throughout his attempt at using inappropriate words to sum up God, to the end where he faces his own truth and the truths around him, he is the perfect Phildickian hero: a tragic, misplaced everyman that does the best he can.

2. God-Emperor Leto II. Children of Dune (and others). Frank Herbert.

While Paul rocks and all, and Duncan gives you something to chew on, it is Leto II's sacrifice and birth into the God Emperor that gives the series one of its most pulse pounding moments. He goes beyond being human to claim godhood, but ultimately must return into his own humanity years upon years later.

1. Jeeves. Various. P.G. Wodehouse.

If Sam Weller is an early version of the smart butler, Jeeves is the epitome for all time. He reads Spinoza, gets Bertie Wooster out of constant scrapes, is a walking encyclopedia of British customs and manners, and helps to play the straight man to Wooster's quirk.