{Top 5} Unlikable Characters I Love

Today’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is another really fun one: Protagonists that are generally deemed as unlikable by people who have read the books, that you actually don’t mind.

I can’t lie: I kind of love these types of characters. If they’re well written, they’re generally unlikable because they’re morally grey and oh so fun, so those are the ones I chose to focus on this week. I hope you enjoy!

 

 

{Top 5} Unlikable Characters I Love

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{Kaz Brekker} Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo

I feel like I could have picked any of the main cast of SoCs and been happy with my choice this week. That’s how layered and complex they all are as characters. Kaz is the quintessential morally gray anti-hero though. He’s suave and charming, and armed with a sharp tongue and attitude you could cut glass with. I started out disliking him because of the way he behaved and spoke to people around him. But in the usual Leigh Bardugo fashion, the layers get peeled back and suddenly you realize he’s not so bad after all!

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{Victor} Vicious
by V.E. Schwab

Victor, where have you been all my life?! I will admit to loving this character a lot more than I disliked him. While you’re not really meant to totally agree with or emphatize with Victor at all times, Schwab does a wonderful job at making Victor’s passions and fears so easy to relate to. By the end of the book I was on the edge of my seat, praying that he’d make it out of the story alive.

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{Chet Moran} – Lost Gods
by Brom

Brom is another author that is absolutely wonderful at crafting complex, layered charcters that you end up rooting for even if they’re not the type of person you’d usually find yourself rooting for. Fresh out of prison at the start of this novel, Chet makes all the wrong decisions, thinking they’re for the right reasons. When he is thrust into a horrific situation beyond earthly measure, Chet is forced to face his fears in order to save the lives of his wife and unborn child. That’s definitely a character you end up rooting for.

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{Peter Pan} The Child Thief
by Brom

This is bar none, my favorite version of a retelling because Peter (Pan) in this book is so incredibly dark. You can pretty much tell right away by the title alone that this book is going to take you down a pretty bleak journey. While Peter isn’t technically the protagnist of this book, his association with Nic makes him close enough to count for me. He’s morally grey, erring a bit closer to bad as he struggles to save the world that he loves. He’ll stop at nothing, and sacrifice everything in order to win, but damn if I wasn’t rooting for him the entire way.

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{Cersei Lannister} A Song of Ice and Fire series
by George RR Martin

Fan art by: Rux Dardiror

Now bear with me here. I know the topic is “protagonists” but I personally believe that in Game of Thrones, the human characters are ALL protagonists. They’re just varying shades of grey, doing what they think is best to survive in a harsh and dangerous world. This is especially true when you consider the threat of the White Walkers in the North, which will certainly unite those that survive in a war against them.

Cersei is certainly one of the darkest of the human characters in the show, I love her. She’s twisted by the roads her life has taken, and it has made her selfish and ruthless and so, so strong. In a world where her gender might have relegated her to that of a secondary citizen behind the men in her life, Cersei Lannister has found ways to ensure that her voice, and her choices, are heard.

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What do you think about my choices? What are some of your favorites? Can an unlikable character ruin a book?

Thanks for reading!

xoxo