Besides Rand...is there any other character in WoT that we all can agree to "like?"

[mike hunt's here]

Nuff said.

 

I like Avi, Mat, Thom, Taim (yes), Moridin, Gaul, Damer, Narishma, and Sulin.

 

not nec in that order, but those are characters I think need more air time. Anyone else agree with me?

 

Of course I am assuming we all push the like button for Rand.

[Drakkon]

I actually like most of those too, though I am neutral on Taim, Gaul, and Narishma. I also like most, if not all of the major wise ones with Rand's band of Aiel.

 

And I like Rand at parts, and can not stand him at others. But they (RJ, and Brandon) do a great job and taking him to the brink and dangling him over the edge of darkness and madness.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Drakkon

[Mr Hindley]

I'm going to take a punt on Birgitte as being a character that most people can get behind.

[Cybertrolloc]

I'd put Mat and probably quite a few others ahead of Rand for being universally liked.

[Durinax]

mat needs less air time. Agree on Sulin, Tam, and Gaul

[TNine]

I don't like Aveindha.

 

I think most people would say they liked the "good guy" Asha'man. Flinn, Narishma, Grady, etc.

[balefired-ed2]

The only two I can think of that I haven't seen disliked are Moiraine and Verin. Hell, even Rand is disliked by a few people.

[stillwill]

Rands POVs have always been the most enjoyable to me. After all he is the one who is in the drivers seat during this epic.

[Suttree]

I've seen people say they don't like Mat. I think Rand and the Asha'man because of what they are facing are safe bets(although I have seen people that don't like Narishma, that doesn't make sense to me). Maybe Verin and Moiraine as well. Moiraine is the one that always puzzles me. Cadsuane had his back as much, if not more and was instrumental in huge events such as the cleansing. She swore to do what was best for him, not herself or the WT. People always seem to sugarcoat Moirs actions when in reality she was just trying different methods of controlling him.

[Sid]

I don't think there's a single female character that is universally liked from comments I've seen on this board and others. For male characters, maybe Tam and Gaul. Perhaps Elyas. I haven't seen much dislike for Lan, though there might be some out there. Lord Agelmar is pretty likeable from his screen time. For animals, Hopper. (not everyone likes Bela)

 

The solid mentor figures, the intelligent and brave Lords, the supportive unwavering friends.

[damandred]

Rodel Ituralde??? Bashere? All the great captains

[Barid Bel Medar]

I would say Loial, but I have seen people who don't like him.

 

Birgitte seems a pretty good bet, I haven't seen any Birgitte hating.

 

Tam is pretty much liked by all.

 

Logain? I can't recall anyone hating on him. However, I could understand if people didn't like him.

 

Not sure why Narishma isn't liked, he doesn't do much except be a faithful Asha'man, trusted to fetch and wield callandor and scare the crap out of and calls down a room full of Rebel Sitters.

 

Damer has got to be up there, he is awesome all round.

 

Haven't seen anyone hating on Darlin or Dobraine either.

 

Bashere and Ituralde like mentioned are more that everyone seems to like.

 

Edit: Re: Great Captains: Niall wasn't very much liked

Edited November 24, 2012 by Barid Bel Medar

[Mr Ares]

Every major character, including Rand, is disliked by someone - with some having very vocal hatedoms. The more minor characters often do less to divide opinion (although the more minor they are, the greater the chance it won't stir any emotion at all). Egwene has much more opportunity to irritate or endear the reader then, say, Elder Haman, and so is more likely to generate strong feelings. I don't recall seeing any Elder Haman hate so far, but doubtless someone will soon be along to say how much they hate him (and Dobraine and Darlin as well).

[OptimusPrime]

I can see Narishma and Flynn being high up on the list. Theyve had enough time to have done some awesome stuff, but not really enough to make some bad decisions (which is inevitable in this world) so I bet very few people have anything bad to say about them. I think Narishma is probably my favorite Ashaman. Still some room for development though. Once upon a time I had him down as deserving a Forsaken kill, but now only the main ones are left I dont think he has the chance to be quite on that level.

[Kamin_Majere]

Cenn Buie, everyone likes him. I mean whats not to like about the cantankerous old man that basically waves his cane around and yells at kids to stay off his lawn.

 

But honestly most characters with lots of screen time with have people that love and people that hate them. Get to the tertiary characters and you get people everyone likes or everyone hates because they don't have any characteristics except those needed to fulfill their roles as 3rd rank characters. Egwene's parents fit this bill nicely. She's the most polarizing character in the books, but no one ever says anything bad about her parents.

[OptimusPrime]

Egwene's parents fit this bill nicely. She's the most polarizing character in the books, but no one ever says anything bad about her parents.

 

I think my Egwene hate just extended to its parents.

 

Hahahahahaha

Edited November 24, 2012 by Drekka Mort

[Maleshub]

Thom Merrilin! You just gotta love the guy for his adaptability, skills, dedication, and honest humanity. He's human with weaknesses and strengths; and he's rock steady. Rhuarc is the Aiel Thom; and he is rock solid and sincere, a true Aiel.

 

Of WoT women, Setalle Anan has the most appeal. She is just awesome in how she managed to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and lead a successful life. The Kin are also very well received, in general, as opposed to AS.

 

Those are the ones I think are "universal." My personal favorites are Mat and Aviendha.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Theodril

[David Selig]

I don't like Setalle. The way she treated Nynaeve and Elayne was very annoying. And she sided with Tuon all the time when they travelled together.

 

Rand is the best written character in the series, but he's a jerk often and his type of sexism really grates.

[Wool-headed lummox]

I don't actually like Rand. He's a generic one-dimensional personality-free fantasy book protagonist which is entirely reliant on his previous incarnation's skills and reputation. Why is Rand famous? Because people foretold that Lews Therin would be reborn at the end of an Age. Why is Rand a brilliant strategist (despite having no education or experience outside of herding sheep)? Because he gets memories from Lews Therin, who was a general in a ten year war and a world leader for decades before that. Why is Rand the strongest channeller evah? Lews Therin. Why is Rand prophesied to end the Shadow? Lews Therin. How do the Forsaken refer to Rand, and what do they think of him? Lews Therin. Even Heroes of the Horn refer to him as Lews Therin.

 

In my opinion, this is the worst possible way to write a hero. Rand's role is completely passive, he's a receptacle for miracles and phantasms and prophecies of salvation/destruction, there's nothing about his activities in the series that is in any way connected to his background (of herding sheep in a backwater village), his moral convictions are never questioned or shaken by any temptation, real or otherwise. Rand doesn't care that he can topple mountains and make fire consume all who oppose him. He isn't seduced by beautiful women throwing themselves at him. He doesn't feel the power of controlling five kingdoms. He's just here to save the day, because that's what heroes do. Wonderful.

 

Granted, Rand's story arc in TGS was pretty fun to read, and seeing him calm and collected in ToM really paid off after the string of self-induced failures reached its logical conclusion. Aside from that... meh. He doesn't feel like a real person.

 

 

The characters that I do like are Egwene and Nynaeve. Unlike most everyone else, these two actually learn to be competent and mature from their mistakes, and their high positions feel well-deserved by the time they reach them. The only problem I have with Egwene is that it was completely implausible for the Salidar Aes Sedai to choose her as the Amyrlin Seat. A group of rebels would want to cling to any shred of plausibility and credibility they can have would not have selected an apprentice who spent a total of three months in the Tower and was raised to Accepted by the impeached Amyrlin's decree - shortly before leaving the Tower once again. It's like making an intern student chairman of the board of directors, completely ridiculous. Still, her story was one of the more interesting ones to read, so I'm willing to close my eyes on that obvious plot convenience.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Wool-headed lummox

[Maleshub]

I don't like Setalle. The way she treated Nynaeve and Elayne was very annoying. And she sided with Tuon all the time when they travelled together.

 

Rand is the best written character in the series, but he's a jerk often and his type of sexism really grates.

 

I love Setalle for siding with Mat. She likes him and wants to "protect him" from their foolishness. One of my favorite WoT lines: "I doubt I’ve ever seen so much foolishness poured into just two dresses."

Edited November 24, 2012 by Theodril

[Suttree]

his moral convictions are never questioned or shaken by any temptation, real or otherwise. Rand doesn't care that he can topple mountains and make fire consume all who oppose him.

 

Some good stuff overall in your post above but had to call this part out as totally false. It would seem you just skipped the entire "Dark Rand" storyline if you believe this quote to be the case.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Suttree

[Wool-headed lummox]

Some good stuff overall in your post above but had to call this part out as totally false. It would seem you just skipped the entire "Dark Rand" storyline if you believe this quote to be the case.

Dark Rand storyline wasn't Rand giving into the temptation of using his power for personal gain. It was Rand being depressed and emotionally wounded as a reaction to bad guys trying to kill him and his loved ones all the time. When Rand goes to destroy the Seanchan at Ebou Dar, he's still doing it to save the world, instead of saving himself or profiting from it. His methods (almost) change, but his convictions do not. He's still a passive vessel that goes from place A to place B killing the bad guys to save the world, because I must.

 

The first thing Rand should do is tell himself "Why the hell am I, of all people, denied the chance to live a normal life with friends, a girlfriend, and a steady job that pays well? Why does there have to be a Chosen One that dies to save the world, and how do I even know these prophecies are real and true? To hell with this, I'm young and handsome, I have god-like powers, I control five nations a huge fleet of speedy ships and ten tribes of fearsome savages - let's partay, and if Aes Sedai are so competent they can battle the Dark One all by themselves. And anyone who comes after me will be thrown out as a pile of smoking ashes." That would make the kidnapping and beating he got at the hands of Elaida's Aes Sedai logical and in some ways deserved, not to mention the suspicion and opposition he gets from Egwene, Cadsuane, and just about everyone else he meets.

[Suttree]

Some good stuff overall in your post above but had to call this part out as totally false. It would seem you just skipped the entire "Dark Rand" storyline if you believe this quote to be the case.

Dark Rand storyline wasn't Rand giving into the temptation of using his power for personal gain. It was Rand being depressed and emotionally wounded as a reaction to bad guys trying to kill him and his loved ones all the time. When Rand goes to destroy the Seanchan at Ebou Dar, he's still doing it to save the world, instead of saving himself or profiting from it. His methods (almost) change, but his convictions do not. He's still a passive vessel that goes from place A to place B killing the bad guys to save the world, because I must.

 

The first thing Rand should do is tell himself "Why the hell am I, of all people, denied the chance to live a normal life with friends, a girlfriend, and a steady job that pays well? Why does there have to be a Chosen One that dies to save the world, and how do I even know these prophecies are real and true? To hell with this, I'm young and handsome, I have god-like powers, I control five nations a huge fleet of speedy ships and ten tribes of fearsome savages - let's partay, and if Aes Sedai are so competent they can battle the Dark One all by themselves. And anyone who comes after me will be thrown out as a pile of smoking ashes." That would make the kidnapping and beating he got at the hands of Elaida's Aes Sedai logical and in some ways deserved, not to mention the suspicion and opposition he gets from Egwene, Cadsuane, and just about everyone else he meets.

 

Ahh I misunderstood where you were going there when you mentioned "moral convictions" as they were most certainly questioned and changed throughout that period. Thanks for clarifying.

[he who comes with a bong]

I say Uno everyone has to like Uno. I mean who doesnt love a one eyed swearing machine soldier, lol.

[driedraspberry]

For girls, aside from Birgitte, I haven't seen Berelain, spear maidens, Min, Leane or Moiraine receive much hate. But then I assume everyone has haters. Anyone hating on Loial though has a dark soul. It is known.

 

Some of the more popular characters I'm not too fond of are Tam and Thom. They have their moments, but irritate me half the time when they come off more as flavored constructs and not people.

 

I'm happy for Asha'man not having to deal with the taint and I mean good for them, but other than Logain and Flinn (and Taim, obviously) they're bland individuals. I'd say I'm neutral on the named ones.

Edited November 24, 2012 by driedraspberry