Top Ten Tuesday: Minor Characters

With thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for creating and hosting this meme.

This week's topic...TOP TEN MINOR CHARACTERS:

1. Hassan Harbish from An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Main character Colin's best friend, Hassan is hilarious, and supportive of his friend's need to get away after a bad breakup. The best thing about Hassan is that he has his own character arc separate from Colin's, he comes to his own epiphany.

Sample Quote: "Sometimes the kafir likes to say massively obvious things in a really profound voice." - An Abundance of Katherines

2. Myrnin from The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine. I have mixed feelings about this series, but Myrnin is one of the more compelling elements. He's a vampire mad scientist working in a town created as a settlement for vampires. He wears bunny slippers that have fangs and borrows neighbor's crock pots for experiments, yet can be pretty sinister. First appears in book 3 of the series: Midnight Alley.

Sample Quote: “Goodness," Myrnin said quietly. "I don't think I should be watching this. I don't think I'm old enough.” - Fade Out

3. The Luidaeg from the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. Considered to be the bogeyman of the fae society that populates McGuire's world, this character strikes up a friendship with herione Toby Daye while she waits for Toby to call in the favor she owes, freeing the Luidaeg to kill her. They play chess and eat bagels together with the occasional threat. The relationship evolves, which reminds me I need to read the last two novels, One Salt Sea has lots of Luidaeg.

Sample Quote: "...I should set up a deal like that. Bother me and I get to eat you." - A Local Habitation

4. Gentleman "Johnny" Marcone from The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. The crime lord Dresden's Chicago, in a world populated by supernatural creatures a "vanilla mortal" is one of the most powerful. A villain with an iron will, Marcone is ruthless but with a glimmer of humanity. Surprisingly he's also Harry Dresden's ally more often than not. A Dresden novel is always improved by his presence.

Sample Quote: "Compassion dictates that we must make allowances. Mister Dresden is a diplomatically challenged individual. He should be in a shelter for the tactless." - Death Masks

5. Jamie Crawford from The Demon's Lexicon trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan. A self-proclaimed coward who proves he's no coward at all, Jamie puts up with frequent bullying at his high school due to his sexual orientation but refuses to change who he is. He has a great relationship with his sister and all his interactions with Nick are gold.

Sample quote: “I don’t know what I saw. It could’ve been a hallucination. You get those from sniffing glue.”

“You’ve never sniffed glue!”“I’ve smelled glue,” Jamie said after a pause. “In art class.” - The Demon's Lexicon

6. Rue from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - The clever little girl from District 11 who allies with Katniss in the arena. I'm probably alone in this, but I'd trade Peeta in for Rue any day. Cried reading the book, watching the first movie trailer, and in the movie theater while getting the side-eye from my friends.

Sample quote: "It might not work. But if you hear the mocking-jays singing it, you'll know I'm okay, only I can't get back right away." - The Hunger Games

7. Ringer from The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. Smarter than most, she's the one to figure things out. I vastly preferred her to the POV character of that storyline.

Sample quote: "Trust me, Zombie; I'm an expert on what matters. Up to now, I've been playing blind man's bluff. Time for some chess."

8. Connie from I Hunt Killers books by Barry Lyga. The anchor to Jasper Dent's humanity in the first book, Connie takes matters into her own hands in the second to solve a mystery in The Game. Maybe it's a foolhardy choice but she's an active character and I respect that. I also need book 3 ASAP.

Sample quote: "This is why I forgive, but I don't forget. When you forget someone, the forgiveness doesn't mean anything anymore." - I Hunt Killers

9. Awful from Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones. I loved this headstrong little girl who earned her nickname due to her screaming tantrums. She's fun to read about but I wouldn't want to babysit her.

Sample quote: "You go away Goon," she said. "Howard's bag is covered in the blood of little girls." - Archer's Goon

10. Maggie Leigh from NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. A librarian who can read the future in Scabble tiles at the cost of a severe stutter, Maggie acts as a guide to the heroine. She was really interesting, I wish there was there had been more of her.

Sample quote: "Oh, darn, V-V-V-Vic. You're gonna muh-m-make me cry! What's better in the whole world than words?" -NOS4A2

I could go on and on, probably with a top 50 minor character list. What are your favorite minor characters?

Tuesday, August 27, 2013