Loving the Unlikeable

I have a reputation amongst some of my fellow bloggers for liking the books with the weird multiple timelines. This is true but that’s for another day they also highlight I have a soft spot for books with unlikeable characters and that’s definitely true. Now this is not actually a sign of liking villains. I just enjoy characters who aren’t quite the chosen one or the standard hero. A good writer can make you understand why someone is the way they are. That may be a product of their world, their lifestyle or many other features. So for this Friday I thought I’d give you five characters you may not want to share a car or a coffee with but a book with them in will never be dull.

Kathy Mallory – The Mallory series by Carol O’Connell

One of my early favourite series I’ve been reading for a long time. Mallory was a street urchin that a kindly detective took under his wing. She was already a master thief and a cold-hearted pragmatist so naturally she decided to become a cop and a detective. She has a gun, is a computer hacker extraordinaire and her fellow detectives are in fear and suspicion of her. These are not grim tales of the street they are a strange mix of magicians; the strange and the macabre – be it in the theatre; a weird road trip on route 66 or the south. Mallory is a much meaner version of Columbo trying to take her suspects down through trickery and fear. Over the series while O’Connell gets to show us why Mallory is who she is and where she comes from, she never takes off the edges of the character. The predatory instincts of a cat, more than little ruthless but a morality that you have to tilt your head at to understand but then it makes sense. If you fancy your crime novels on the weird side have a look.

Kaaro – The Wormwood trilogy by Tade Thompson

Kaaro is a character that a lot of people don’t like. Particularly when we meet this telepath in his younger days, he is extremely arrogant, sexist and crude. But rather than luxuriating in someone being a pain in the proverbial Thompson gets to show us that Kaaro is just a typical example of a future Nigeria in a world where many of the leaders love taking power and being ruthless; which gets passed down to families and the next generation. Only when another telepath shares their life memories showing him how others live does Kaaro start the slow road to growing up. He’s never perfect but particularly in the first novel Rosewood I enjoyed watching the contrast between a brash cocky teenager and more sombre middle-aged man. Kaaro is not perfect, never will be but he is slowly realising you need to grow up eventually - a hard lesson will be taught…

Ivy Gamble – Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Magic for Liars is a great story about being in your thirties and re-inventing yourself (the wrong way). Ivy is a private detective with a magical sister. She went the path of acclaim, power and Ivy became a lovely private detective. A murder at a school for the magical brings Ivy in and she pretends to be endowed with magical powers. A lot of what Ivy does in this novel isn’t good; she lies to a prospective boyfriend; takes risks on her case and she’s liable to get very drunk. But the reason I enjoyed this character is you see all the slow steps that made her this way – sibling envy, parental relationships and ultimately its about not taking ownership of your life. Ivy gets presented with these teenagers all wrapped up in their own dramas and she’s envious and also scathing of how much potential they all have and may be wasting. As you approach middle age you can see youth wasted on the young but its more envy at the chances you may have not taken later in life.

Sand dan Glokta – The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

A torturer is hardly going to be sympathetic. Glokta’s role in a kingdom is to find traitors; pull out their secrets any way they please and move on to the next victim. Initially A character we are stunned by their sarcastic attitude and a sense they enjoy their work but this one of my earliest unlikeable characters is a triumph in explaining how someone got this way and also that what they present on the outside isn’t quite what is going on inside. As a younger man he was an arrogant gorgeous jerk until he was taken prisoner and badly injured. Glotka’s body is in uge levels of constant pain he has to deal with; so we can see why he may have chosen a profession where he gets to share it. But as someone the world discounts for his appearance and disability Glotka is now a watcher and can unpeel people via his mind just as easily as he can using torture tools. Over the course of the novels he has to choose between keeping his head down and possibly helping people for the right reasons and unusually he starts to do the latter. By the end of the novel you understand him. It gives him greater power and a sense f justice. Plus he gets all the best lines….

The whole damn cast – Empires of Dust trilogy by Anna Smith Spark

You know the saying that good intentions lead to Hell? This book proves it. Every main character tries to do the right thing in this novel. Remove a corrupt government to protect the people, run from power; run from a horrific church that kills the innocent; try to kill the villain and it ALL goes horribly wrong. Watching this disaster happen to these empires is disturbing and the price they all will pay is incredibly high. Power corrupts and people that try to do things for the ‘greater good’ are making it all worse. Around all of this is Marith – the toxic masculinity figure of fantasy – Marith’s upbringing is horrible and filled with parents who showed him sexism; cruelty and he learnt how to do it all and revel in it. When he gets unleashed the fate of thousands is sealed. It’s a gorgeous terrifying road trip and a reminder that sometimes not trying to be ruthless with people’s lives might be a better way to live.

In summary unlikable characetrs are about what the world creates. They’re cautionary tales to warn us to watch out for and also sometimes you really need them…. just watch your back

Let me know your favourites in the comments.