Countering the fictional crushes thread, which fictional personalities infuriate/anger/annoy you? Which villain is the most cruel?
I find this hard off the top of my head, but one character who always drives me up the wall is Scarlett O'Hara. She's so irritating.
And also, there is a character in one of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books called Alberich. I haven't a clue why, but unlike all the other characters in the book, he speaks like Yoda, with his words in the wrong places. It's very odd and most disruptive.
[ March 29, 2004, 09:45 PM: Message edited by: Teshi ]
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Umbridge.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Rebecca
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Emma Woodhouse. Grrrr. I wanted to smack her so hard. I don't think I ever finished the book, actually.
Oh, and I second Umbridge.
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
C. Montgomery Burns The young, whiny Luke Skywalker Princess Vespa
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Iago
Cersei Lanister
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I love Monty Burns!
He's the best part of the Simpons.
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
Shelob. Yuck!
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I'm not talking about Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, here, I'm talking Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca. Ew.
[ March 29, 2004, 09:44 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Max "Whisper" Thaler.
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
That damn Gargamel.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Rand from the Wheel of Time series. I would spend hours planning what I wanted to do to that kid.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Alberich, in Mercades Lackeys Valdamar books, is from another country. She uses his ackwardness with the language to remind readers that he is from a different culture/country than Valdamar.
I never had a problem with it, though I get your point.
I didn't like Jamie Lannister, but I may be changing my mind. Cersi is still a bitch, though...
Kwea
Posted by Toretha (Member # 2233) on :
I liked Alberich!
Somerled in Juliet Marillier's Wolfskin drove me insane.
And Jack in Knight's Castle and the Time Garden by Edward Eager
[ March 29, 2004, 10:19 PM: Message edited by: Toretha ]
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
Oh, Count Rijuven (sp?) in Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Posted by Heffaji (Member # 3669) on :
Above all, Holden Caulfield.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Angsty Anakin Skywalker from ep. II. Ugh.
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
Yuri Zhivago.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Percy Weasely.
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
Another vote for Holden Caulfield.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
Esther Greenwood.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Umbridge. That chick in Which book was it? The one on path that was such a #@$#$@# then she goes and traces wood patterns all day even when she doesn't have to. Cid in FF8 because he's a wuss. Mrs Coulter earlier in his Dark Materials.. But she was sort of a babe. Worse were those ministers. I hated them... Oh, they were horrible. John in Prayer for Owen Meany because he's bland and dull. I wish it was in Owen's perspective.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
I love Holden! I relate to him, you've just forgotten how angsty it is being a teenager.
And I don't care if you are a teenager, in that case you have no excuse. Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Rand, Umbridge, and Caulfield.
And the entire cast of "The Mists of Avalon." Especially... No wait, yeah, all of them.
Posted by luthe (Member # 1601) on :
That damn Jesus, dead or alive I don't care. Just pick one, and stick with it. Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Even worse than Rand is all the women who think he's great.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Ugh, I hear ya there, partner.
Posted by Marlozhan (Member # 2422) on :
I am surprised nobody said Jar Jar Binks yet. In fact, I feel immature just mentioning his name here.
...And to think George Lucas said Jar Jar was the funniest character in all of the Star Wars movies. I think his 3-year old told him to say that in his interview.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Oh brother.
The entire cast of WOT!
(except Perrin and Fayle, for some reason I like them)
Those braid pulling, whining, indecisive, pieces of crap characters. They all need to die. Every one of them. At the end of the books should be a big pile of corpses, and Perrin and Fayle going "Oh well, guess we can repopulate the earth".
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Some things don't need to be said. It's like commenting "You know, sunburns hurt!"
edit: I was commenting on Jar-Jar
[ March 30, 2004, 01:47 AM: Message edited by: mr_porteiro_head ]
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
WOT?
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Wheel of Time
*shudders*
Do NOT read those books. Pretend you have never heard of them.
Posted by Jill (Member # 3376) on :
All the characters in "The Sun Also Rises." Daisy, Tom and Gatsby in "The Great Gatsby." Dimmesdale in "Scarlet Letter" Gwenefer in "Mists of Avalon"
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
Stephen Daedalus in "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" - I really struggled to finish it, I hated him that much - and studying it for a term and a half nearly finished me off!
Posted by hugh57 (Member # 5527) on :
Jar Jar Binks Dobbie the House Elf
Two fictional characters cut from roughly the same cloth.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Actually those house elves are really annoying.
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
Regal in the Farseer trilogy. What a big fat jerk.
Here, here for Umbridge.
I unfortunately must admit that even though Jordan's WOT books have really frustrated the hell out of me I still enjoyed them overall but... The man can not write women. They all anoy the crap out of me. the only one I liked was killed in book three or four. I can't remeber her name right now but she's the one that found Rand.
Posted by Zamphyr (Member # 6213) on :
Guinan
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Beatnix - are you referring to Moraine?
[ March 30, 2004, 10:17 AM: Message edited by: mr_porteiro_head ]
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Both Troi or Riker. Separate or together.
Posted by peter the bookie (Member # 3270) on :
Cho Chang
And wow, so much hate for Cersei? Of all the people to hate in that series, why her?
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
mr_porteiro_head
Yes, thank you. It's been a while since reading the books. (of course, how could it be any other way with the speed Jordan writes?)
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Arthur Dimmesdale
I was so furious with him I threw the book across the room.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Fanny Dashwood.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I can't really bring myself to hate anyone in A Song of Ice and Fire. I don't like Cercei at all, but I don't hate her. I don't really like Catlyn either--I've never been able to quite forgive her for her treatment of Jon.
Catlyn's sister, whose name for some reason escapes me at the moment (I want to say Lysa, is that right?), is a character that I find particluarly disgusting, but even her I don't despise.
Petyr is another character that I particularly dislike. He's probably the character I come closest to hating in those books.
I'll agree with Syn that Mrs. Coulter in His Dark Materials is a pretty dispicable character.
Posted by peter the bookie (Member # 3270) on :
Perhaps hate was too strong a word. I actually had a good deal of trouble connecting with any character in A Game of Thrones enough to be more than lukewarm in either direction. I was given the first 3 for my birthday by someone who's a huge fan of the series, and all of my friends who've read them love them. If I had come upon it on my own, I doubt I would ever start the second one. As it is, I'm finally getting around to reading the Amber books instead. 60 pages in and I'm already in love.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
The main character in Memoirs of a Geisha for what she did to Nobu. And the that other Geisha who was such a #$#%$ to everyone. And the Aunt in Grave of the Fireflies. She was VILE.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Really peter? You're the first person I've come across that wasn't absolutely blown away by A Song of Ice and Fire.
I recently loaned A Game of Thrones to a friend of mine who has never read any fantasy at all. I'm curious to see what he thinks of it, once he actually starts it.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Why do you think it is that you have trouble connecting to any of Martin's characters? What is it about the books that you dislike?
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
I hate Villefort, from the Count of Monte Cristo. All the other people who were mean to Edmond were...I don't know...not so incredibly base and vile. Villefort was just horrible. Oh, I hate him so much.
And Marius, from Les Mis. And Umbridge, a lot of hate for Umbridge. Also for Snape, whom I hate (weirdly enough) much more now that I've found out how mean James and Sirius were to him.
However, I adore Yuri Zhivago...that book is so wonderful...
Posted by Jeni (Member # 1454) on :
Novinha.
Posted by peter the bookie (Member # 3270) on :
I know. Everyone loves the series but me!
I think in part that my expectations of his abilities to characterize were set artificialy high by the prologue. Will came across with so well in such a short amount which no other character, major or minor, managed to.
Arya and Sansa being such complete opposites made them both feel far too flat to be at all real to me. There were several other characters that tasted flat, but those were the two who's viewpoints we actually got to see.
I don't really have any complaint complaints, I just wasn't captured by it. There were definitly interesting aspects, the Others could be a pretty kick ass book on their own, but the sum total isn't enough to make me prioratize the series. It's not exactly dislike so much as there are plenty of things I would potentially enjoy reading a good deal more.
[ March 30, 2004, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: peter the bookie ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I forgot about Novinha! I hate her! She is such a #$#@# And she gets the best man in the universe! And she treats him terribly, blaming him for everything. Oh, she drives me up a wall!
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
That's really interesting peter! I agree that the prologue was incredibly well written, but I found the books as a whole to be on par with it. Honestly, I find A Song of Ice and Fire to be one of, if not the single best work of fiction by a living author that I've come across.
I didn't really have any trouble believing that two siblings could be so different, perhaps because of how radically different I am from my own brother. I found both characters to be believably developed, and completely three dimensional.
To a certain degree, though, this kind of thing is subjective; I'm not trying to force my appreciation of the book on you, but I'm fascinated by the fact that you found it lacking.
Posted by peter the bookie (Member # 3270) on :
I'm willing to admit to being a freak. I didn't like American Gods. Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
That one's on my list of books to read, and I've actually gone so far as to buy it, but I haven't read it yet.
What books do you like, other than the Amber series?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Oh, yeah, I forgot about her too. There is nothing likeable about Novinha. I think that Ender hates himself still, which is why he shacked up with her.
[ March 30, 2004, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: mr_porteiro_head ]
Posted by gwan (Member # 6194) on :
strange, yes. But there was just something about Novinha that i liked. I know that she treats Ender terribly, but She got Ender! that is admirable enough, I can't really explain why I like her. I think that I had a good impression of her and when she started being a (Nasty word) I disregarded it and said she is just being stupid, she'll come around.
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
Wesley Crusher
Three Words:
Out the airlock!
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
I think I must have got inside Novinha's skull too effectively to hate her. I got frustrated with her but didn't really hate her, ever. I think part of that was "well, Ender must see something in her." Maybe if I re-read it now I'd hate her, but I'm not sure I would...
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
I didn't so much dislike Novinha. It's just that I came away feeling like there really wasn't enough explanation for me to understand why a relationship developed between her and Ender. I accepted it and moved on, but it never really made sense, except to move the plot in certain directions.
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
Actually, Novinha is probably the character that I am most like. to be broken beyond anyone's ability to fix.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Ender and Novinha didn't seem to spend that much time together. Their marriage just happened... Suddenly, with hardly no romance. I felt sorry for her losses and pain, but then I couldn't help thinking that on some level she bought it on herself and did NOTHING to really change. She drove me crazy... Plus she was just... so... venomous...
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I can't relate all the reasons I dislike Cersi without issuing spoilers, adn I hat spoilers, so I won't be specific:
She uses EVERYONE for her own personal gain, even her own brother/twin.
How sick is that realtionship?
I hated Jamie, but in SOS he became much more sympathetic, and not because of his injury. We finally got a bit of his version of his past actions, and I found myself likeing him more and more, despite myself. I have high hopes for his character.
She is the main reason, other than his own pig-headedness, for what happens to Eddard Stark. I really liked his character.
I don't like the fact that she always gets someone else to do her dirty work for her, and rarely gets her own hands dirty.
Lissa annoys me to no end too. Is it possible to be more of a waste of skin that she is? She ahs done exactally the wrong thing every time in every novel. She....wait, I can't say anything else as it would be a spoiler. Lets just say her "relationship" is incredibly stupid, even for her.
Kwea
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I loved Novinha, because Ender loved her.
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
quote: She uses EVERYONE for her own personal gain, even her own brother/twin.
She is the main reason, other than his own pig-headedness, for what happens to Eddard Stark. I really liked his character.
I don't like the fact that she always gets someone else to do her dirty work for her, and rarely gets her own hands dirty.
Is it wrong that these are all reasons I liked her? I'm sure in some way I was channeling her through Nellie Olson.
Posted by Sweet William (Member # 5212) on :
The Snow Queen Cousin Sid Duras Kira and Captan Sisko Wicked King Noah Delilah Oh yeah, and the whiney-assed kid in "The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe" that gets Aslan killed.
[ March 31, 2004, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: Sweet William ]
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Well, Cersi basically ruins the Kingdom on order to run it like her own personal playpen...
She does make a wonderful villan, so perhaps you were merely channeling......yourself? Kwea
P.S. do YOU have brothers....
[ March 31, 2004, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
**HUGE SPOILER FOR A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
quote:She is the main reason, other than his own pig-headedness, for what happens to Eddard Stark. I really liked his character.
quote:Well, Cersi basically ruins the Kingdom on order to run it like her own personal playpen...
Naaah, Cersi isn't the main reason for what happens to Ned, and she only thinks that she is running the kingdom like her own personal playpen. She's just a pawn in Littlefinger's game. He's the real puppetmaster of the Seven Kingdoms.
[ March 31, 2004, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: Noemon ]
Posted by Alexa (Member # 6285) on :
I LOVE GUINAN!!!!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
This last weekend, I saw a theatrical version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I found myself *really* wanting to peform the part of Edmund, the "whiney-assed kid in "The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe" that gets Aslan killed."
Posted by Yozhik (Member # 89) on :
Here's another one: THOMAS COVENANT.
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
quote:I love Holden! I relate to him, you've just forgotten how angsty it is being a teenager.
And I don't care if you are a teenager, in that case you have no excuse.
No. I remember just how angst-ridden I was as a teenager.
Also, I was a teenager - in eighth grade - the first time I was forced to read "Catcher in the Rye" (I've had to read it three times for different classes), and I hated him then. I thought then, and still think now, that he was a poser and completely obnoxious.
Posted by Toretha (Member # 2233) on :
Jenny, I'm surprised you didn't mention Cho Chang after how much you went on about how much you hated her
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Well, I don't think that Littlefinger is infallable either. He actually wanted Ned to do....well, something other than what he eventually did....if you remember what I'm talking about....
Cersi is a great anti-hero; just look at what she had Jamie do to Bran!
I hate her, but she makes the series better by opposing the main characters ruthlessly.
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