Tag: fiction

Anti-Heroine vs Classic Heroine

Why are Anti Heroes so attractive?

So what is an Anti-Hero? When do they become the villain? Is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons a villains actions or a heroes?

I love a good anti hero. They are often more complex than the classic hero and their moral compass can differ depending on the situation. It makes an engaging read and in YA and adult it hopefully creates a character that we cant predict. A true anti-hero is someone who balances on the edge of good and evil. They have done evil things, but they in the end are a force for good – at least for now. Celaena Sardothien from a Throne of Glass immediately springs to mind.

Review here! https://damselindelightcom.wordpress.com/2023/12/31/throne-of-glass-by-sarah-j-maas/

She is a classic example of an anti hero. Frequently throughout the series she does ruthless and merciless things but the audience is still rooting for her! Through the novellas (which I really do recommend, they are an excellent starting point to dip your toe into the Throne of Glass world) we really grasp just how much of her childhood was spent forming her into an assassin not a balanced person. When she does choose to do the right thing, it sometimes isnt for the right reasons or not clearly defined ones. She does what she can with difficult circumstances and a flimsy moral compass and shows a fierce loyalty to anyone who does the same.

The Morally Grey Heroine – or the inbetween hero

It is also interesting and sometimes effective when the author balances on the line of an anti-hero. I feel like Ana from Blood Heir is approaching this sometimes.

Full Review Here!https://damselindelightcom.wordpress.com/2024/08/10/blood-heir-by-amelie-wen-zhao/

She is a classic hero, given a dangerous power that people around her fear and punish her for and working to survive and do her best in a world that is rapidly proving to be more complex than she ever imagined. Why I say she sometimes skirts the line is that she is fueled by revenge not justice. However despite this and the fact that her incredibly difficult abusive childhood would lead to the formation of an anti-hero archetype she does cling close to the good side of the world. She still keeps the classic hero character while wielding an ability and a past that leans towards the anti-hero side of things.

Classic Heroine

We’ve all met and loved this hero archetype. They are in so many different books in so many different iterations but they all share one clear thing. They are all clearly on the side of good. They have clear aims, or are at least working towards things they believe in doing. The Classic heroine doesnt have to be boring or predictable – they can still have huge character growth but they always represent the morality of the story and are good. The Classic heroine is someone like Elisa in Rae Carsons Fire and Thorns.

Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Are we also losing something that is a crucial element in storytelling?

By focusing on villain backstories and morally grey being romancifed and fantasy heroines evolving to balance on the edge of evil are we losing something key in storytelling?

One of the first fantasy series I really loved and reread over and over and over was Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Eragon the eponymous main character of the Inheritance Cycle is a very classic hero and I loved that. He still had complexities in his character, but the plot and world was so rich that the main conflict didn’t have to be in his character. Throughout the four book series he has his ups and downs character wise but I certainly didn’t worry he was going to abandon his duties and the right thing.

HOWEVER – (there is always a however) – We do have an anti-hero. Murtagh is a classic anti-hero. He has the dark past and has made mistakes, usually because his circumstances were so complex that the reader doesnt even know what they would do in that situation. Yet he does have a streak of good! We dont know when its going to appear or disappear or for how long, but he is a complex character. Paolini does explore complex characters incredibly well in general – the leader of the Urgals, Galbatorix and Murtagh all can be seen as villains, victims and freedom fighters all in different lights.

So I do think that anti-heroes are interesting and engaging but I also love the classic hero! Anti-heroes dont necessarily need to be the main character – I would like to put out the opinion that sometimes having a supporting character who is an anti-hero shows just how strong and stalwart the classic hero is for sticking close to their morals. Whether all heroes do end up sacrificing their morals and values and becoming closer in their mindset to the villain to be able to defeat them is another question entirely. One persons terrorist is another persons freedom fighter is a popular saying and I would like to bookify it – “One characters hero is another persons antagonist”. I may do another blog post on this in the future because it is a really interesting thing!

So what do you think? Are villain backstories that make all villains anti-heroes interesting? Do you prefer Anti-Heroes or the Classic Hero?

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Changeling by Molly Harper

13+

I can honestly say this book took me by surprise. From the title Changeling I was expecting quite a rustic fae story that would be closer to a classic fantasy mixed with a fairytale but Changeling combines several genres in an intriguing world that we only just start to explore. The world is a delightfully classic dystopian world mixed with witchy academia and it is set in England!! Most dystopian novels, Hunger Games, Red Queen, Divergent are set in North America but this one is set in North England which is just a little world thing I love!

Sarah is a Snipe – a powerless human whom works as a servant in the house of the Winters, a powerful witch family. In return for her and her entire family’s servitude they are protected from some of their vulnerability of being magic-less in a rigid society where magic determines your social class. The Winters and the rest of their social peers are called Guardians but it is clear to the reader this is rigid oppression despite the fact that this is apparently to protect the Snipes. This is the system we are introduced to at the beginning, which Sarah doesn’t even dream of questioning. It is quite a classic dystopian class system, people divided by powerful and not, but one of the most interesting things is how Sarah being given power is approached.

A lot of books when a girl/boy from the lower classes is suddenly given a noble power they are swept up to the noble class immediately as soon as they and anyone else finds out. However Sarah has actually had her magic muffled and oppressed her whole life hence her sickly weak stature which is one of the first things that gets mentioned. Her physical appearance as she gets healthy is a classic physical example of her power growing but back to the magic oppression! It is really interesting because it is more realistic. Of course someone would have figured it out and the natural reaction to something that would shake the roots of a world that you are already surviving in (and I suspect by Snipe standards their family would argue they were thriving. all of their children were literate and worked a good stable job with a Guardian family and they were able to live off site which is something that is prized) but they are still very oppressed and Sarah’s mother can acknowledge that enough to do something about her daughters power.

While its a complex moral issue from the reader – should you truly oppress a child’s power to the point of them being extremely weak and fragile just so they dont rock the boat? To the Snipes it would be a black and white issue, and the Winters reaction is certainly more balanced that some Guardian’s reactions would have be.

I wont give any more details because then they lean into spoilers! But this mix of classic dystopian and the popular witchy academia with a lean into the classism within classes and the desperation within politics is such a memorable read!

World – 5/5 stars – i have gushed about it the whole of my review

Characters – 3.5/5 – they are quite classic characters and Sarah isnt an unusual Chosen One but i did enjoy them even if some of the female characters leaned a little into archetypes. Also I loved that Sarah struggled so realistically with the new subjects except the one she had come across in her previous life. Harper really managed to show how much information is imparted to children even before they are technically ‘taught’ magic just in the political expectations and world knowledge

Romance – Soft Romance – 4/5 for what is done, it is very mild and not even a proper subplot but there is an interesting representation of a one sided toxic relationship that developed from an innocent crush into something that really derailed that characters life.

Plot – 4/5 – it is quite a simple plot line up until the end, but I enjoyed it and it held up through the reread!

Things to be aware of: there is some bullying but that is very common in academia books. There is some fantasy violence, but in quite small doses and nothing to add that B. I would say that you could read it a little earlier if you wanted it just depends on when you would enjoy it the most. There is some betrayal, and mentions of necromancy but it isnt very violent which is why it hasnt got a B.

2

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

12+

I have read this book several times over the last few years and every time the vivid world and courage of Zahrah has returned it instantly to my reread pile.

In general, I dont read a lot of sci-fi, but this one stands out from everything I have read both in that genre and in general because of the world of Ginen and the kingdom of Ooni. It is vivid and detailed and in places very similar to earth (and they mention earth as a ‘legend’ which might be one of the best and memorable worldbuilding details I have read yet) but with a sense of otherness that really defines the sci-fi genre. All the technology in Ooni is made using plants which I love! Even the library is made up of a giant plant. Even the computers grow with the child, as they are plants, and their leafboards grow to perfectly fit the child they are growing for. I love all these tiny little details that make the world so vivid.

Zahrah has dada – vines growing in her hair – which sets her apart from her peers at school and causes her to be bullied in the beginning. As the story progresses, we learn there are more to the dada than just vines as Zahrah grows up and matures. It is a classic character arc, but one that is portrayed beautifully and believably and freshly. One of the things that can be difficult with a story that is focused on a physical Quest is that the characters become stagnant or do not have any character development past their acceptance of the quest. However, this book neatly avoids all the pitfalls and allows Zahrah to grow alongside and separately from her quest in the greeny jungle to find an egg to save her friend who is in a coma despite the fact that no nobody goes deep into the forest and there are horrific stories of people who even go on the outskirts.

Characters – 5/5 stars – They are all rounded and realistic and everyone around Zahrah has their own stories that dont rely on hers (especially the frog! I love a good talking animal and the pink frog is the best)

World – 1000/5 stars – I have gushed about it enough, but honestly this world is so refreshing to read as it isnt based on a pseudo-european medieval land but instead Nigerian myths.

Romance – NA

Plot  – 5/5 stars – its perfect. just perfect.

This is honestly one of the books I think everyone should read between the ages of 10 – 13. Go read it!

1

The First Test by Tamora Pierce

12+B

This is an amazing series, with a glorious first book. Keladry is a strong female lead who is standing against a flood of sexism as she trains for her shield as the first openly female knight for centuries. This is a different series to the Alanna the Lioness series that is set in the same world but about two decades previously. It isn’t necessary to read Alanna the Lioness first, but the are a few spoilers, and I read this series first myself. One of the only problems with this first book is that Keladry is the only female character in the first novel. She is surrounded with hostile boys as she trains and certainly in the beginning, she is mostly alone. Nealan of Queenscove becomes her mentor and first friend, and later on several others spend time with her. I love Kennedy’s past as the child of a foreign ambassador and that she had been trained in a different cultures warfare.

I love this series and have reread it more times than i can count. I would recommend this as one of the great fantasy reads! On that note, I am off to go and find my copy…..

Characters – 5/5 stars

World – 5/5 stars – it is beautiful, and the depiction of such a complex and vast world is done without any info-dumps.

Romance – NA

Plot  – 5/5 stars – amazing, and 1000 stars if you read the whole series.

Things to be aware of: there are a few mentions from various male characters that Kennedy might sleep with the boys despite the fact she is only 10. There is some violence. It depends on what you are comfortable with, but I would say that you could read it around eleven if you are comfortable with fantasy violence. I personally read it about then and have reread it several times since and got just as much enjoyment as I did the first time.

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