jvj

I've enjoyed all of JVJ's books, but Sword of Shadows is by far my favorite. One of things that draws me to her stories is I usually like the sub-character's more then the main ones and SofS has some really great characters. Without giving away any spoilers (I'm only about a 1/3 the way into A Sword of Red Ice), who's your favorite?

If you like the story, you pretty much gotta like Raif and Ash, and Angus Lok hooked me from the get go. But if I found myself in the clanholds, my loyalty would go to Vayo Bludd, the Dog Lord. As harsh as he is, his soft-spot for his grand-children and his dogs, shows under all that “jaw” he’s got a good heart. He’s got the meanest horse in the land and he loves him all the more for it. Despite his brutal up-bringing, he’s still a man of honor and gives what he gets. And if you take Vayo, you got to take Cluff Drybannock with him. Almost a young version of the Dog Lord, Dry is a soldier’s soldier and the best warrior to have at your back.

I don’t think anyone can not be drawn to Crope too. Even though his faithful to the evil Baralis, I know if I was in his big-shoes, my loyalties would be no different.

When was Baralis ever shown to be rationally evil? I don't recall there being an instance. Sure, he aids the creatures of the Blind in return for his name, but so far he seems more sinned against than sinning.

I like Drey, but I don't feel we really know very much about him, so perhaps that isn't the best example. Raif certainly annoyed me (in a good way) in the first book. I was frustrated by his naivity, but I guess that's only reasonable in a young, largely ineducated teenager lol. But I do like Raif.

I guess two of my preferred non-narrative characters are Stillborn and Mal Naysayer. But I like others too.

I think Greg is referring to Baralis as he was in "Book of Words" in which case he was a truly evil SOB.

I havent read ASFRI yet, and as of book 2 he hasnt had time to really develope, but give him time.

In regards to favorite characters, I like Marafice Eye as a villian, I really liked Penthero Iss as one as well I will miss him. Good villians are important.

Raif is my favourite - I don't understand how he can keep going when everything bad that could possibly happen to him does. That takes a lot of guts. He reminds me of the old noir hard boiled detectives like Philip Marlowe, that same type of chivalry and honour.

I also like the Naysayer - his name is perfect.

I'd have to say Raif, Bram, and Shor (sp?, he was killed early in the first book, but from what we saw of him he was a good man) are my favorites. I also like Angus Lok. I admire both Raif's and Bram's abilities to keep going when things get tough.

I go back and forth but I am incredibly fond of Stillborn, Raif, and Vaylo.

Exactly Sumigo. I was refering to Baralis from Book of Words. I do like very much where JVJ is taking his character in Sword of Shadows though. That will be a very unigue twist if he becomes more of a good-guy or at least some kind of anti-hero (still no spoilers please,, only about 1/2 through Sword from Red Ice and loving it .

I've got to add I think JVJ's characters got to have some the coolest names in the genre.

I could add a lot more characters to my favorties. The Sull characters are flat-out bad-butts. Kinda a fan of Marafice Eye myself too. Even though he's a bad guy, he looks out for his men almost as much as himself. That's a very respectable trait.

I <3 the Dog Lord!

And Effie... for the same reasons I <3 Arya Stark.

I'd never thought of the comparisons between Araya from ASoI&F to Effie, but I can see the similarities. (Araya is one of my fav's from ASoI&F too.) But Effie, fortunately, hasn't developed that killer instinct that Araya has come to have in her story, at least not yet . I kinda hope she doesn't either. .
(Actually, I think Araya from ASoI&F has had a little of a killer in her along a long. And I’m not the kind of guy would consider that a bad thing necessarily. Raif’s the same after all )

I absolutely love Raif, right from the beginning. His heart is always in the right place though its seriously heavy to see him go through so much crap all the time.

I love Drey, Raina, Vaylo and Bram. Any POVs to do with clan have me hooked. ^^ And Angus.

I liked Ash in 'A Cavern', less so now. And I think I'm not that attached to the whole Crope/Baralis strand because I haven't read 'Book of Words'.

WARNING: spoiler for A Cavern of Black Ice
Am I the only one that was completely blown-away when Iss's prisoner turned out to be Baralis?!?!?!

It was kinda backwards for me, because I read A Carvern of Black Ice almost a year before I read the Book of Words Trilogy. And by that time I had read BofW, the Baralis revelation had slipped my mind because I hadn't realized the relevance. Then when I re-read Carvern, I was just floored.

Hats-off to Miss Jones!!! Not only was Baralis the best series tie-in I've ever read, but it totally caught me off guard and with as many books/movies as I go through, that's fairly hard to do. It's something that will always stick with me.

Now, as I currently enjoy A Sword of Red Ice, I'm very anxious to see where the character of Baralis goes. Now his potential has no bounds. Will he be an unlikely ally (no spoilers please), or a an enemy. The only thing that's certain is that Baralis now an unpredictable force which makes him the most dangerous player in the story. It's one of the most unique sub-plots in the genre that I've come across.

No, I'm thinking Baralis stays the same cruel, evil, power hungry jerk that he was before. In the final chapter of Cavern voices which I assume are the guys from the Blind refer to him as "The Heart of Darkness". I don't think that leaves any doubt about his vileness and his inability to become a "good" guy by any stretch of the imagination. But, then, there is the way he treats Crope that makes you wonder if there isn't a little glimmer of hope for him.

Greg, I also read "Cavern" first, and had no idea who Baralis was when I read that last chapter, but I knew it meant something by the ominous tone in which JV revealed that name, I could tell it had great signifigance.

Then for a birthday my wife being the attentive soul that she is noticed that I had been been putting off buying "Bakers Boy" but wanted it, so she got it for me for my birthday and right there first chapter was Baralis.

"Ah HAH," I said to myself.

My favorite one is Ash - for whatever reason I just tend to love the female ones most...

Plus: Effi is great!

Raina. She's great. I think she displayed incredible inner strength in a time her entire world has gone crashing down around her, when everything done was meant to break or intimidate her, though many times I wanted to reach out and whack her on the head thinking "speak up!". When she first said "I will be chief", I remember I put the book down a few mins to cheer her on. Silly, moreso considering I'm not a kid or teen but I did. She is gonna go crazy clearing house (hopefully) One way or another her story will probably really turn around in book 4 the way it ended in Red Ice and I can't wait.
The only bummer about Red Ice..leaving me with a cliffhanger in her chapters haha!

Vaylo. It felt like he started as badguy side character, not really depicted as the most likeable guy..but I've been rooting for the old man. He's grown into an awesome character with wit, wisdom and heart in a fierce shell. He's definitely gotten my interest after just a few chapters.

Ash. She is just..lost. Doesn't know who she is, what she is, where she is. Insecure and it shows, but at the same time incredibly stubborn and learning. She's got a brain. She could be frightening in many ways, as she has shown before.

The Sevrance pack.. I admit I had to let Raif grow on me. I wanted to punch him in the face so many times for all the bullheaded things he did (and does) but it is a perfect display of his age, the way he was raised and all the things he just does not know any better. I still want to kick him, but he's learning, evolving. I like him more now.
Effie..I adore the kid and the lighthearted way her chapters are written, its a nice contrast and blends in surprisingly well. I really feel like I'm in the head of a 9 year old. She's the smartest of the three I think and already lived through some pretty harsh times..without losing her smile!
Drey.. is blind. Too stupidly loyal. At least Raif spoke up of things. I believe to remember he came to some sense in book 2 but its been awhile and his role in book 3 is kinda small which struck me as a bit strange.

As far as side characters go, I dig the Sull, all of them and I can't wait to see what Angus Lok is going to pull out of his hat. A man hell-bent on vengeance with nothing to lose isn't a pretty thing. Especially considering who and what he is.

On the flipside for the badguys, Marafice has grown from thug I had no interest in into interesting bad guy who may implode on his own ambitions and I'm curious where his road leads. Baralis intrigues me, partially because I don't know his past but he made me go "oh shit" regardless.

And finally, to stir things up I have to mention Mace.
I despise Mace Blackhail. He is slime, scum and worse..and so damn smart about his plots. I have not felt such hate for a fictional character ever before. The typical badguy may make me go "damn..that was nasty!" but the kind of thoughts he produces are something else.
Any character able to get that strong of a reaction out of a reader (be it good or bad) deserves a mention. I admire the way he is written as the only (big) character the reader is denied a personal perspective of, it just makes him so much more.. chilling. I think he is a brilliant piece of writing, it adds tension and twists to the story. I like that. However I still want to stab him in the eyes. With a rusty knife. Him and all his Scarpe cronies.

There are so many others of course..but those kinda stick out to me.