Who Are Your Literary Crushes?

It’s late at night. You’re scrolling through your social media and you see a quiz. Which literary character should you date? And you think, hmm why not. *click*

Well, we don’t need a quiz to tell us who our book crushes are.

J: This is surprisingly difficult! Though I am loathe to admit it, I think the old truism of men being visual applies to my struggle. That being said, I have always been enamored of the character that is Drizzt Do’Urden. He’s courageous and bold and shows his feelings. He’s not afraid to stand out. And above all, he’s a loyal friend. A horde of orcs couldn’t stand between Drizzt and his comrades-in-arms. That all makes him pretty alluring, but combine that with the fabled good looks of the drow and yep, I’m sold.

Apparently, I have a thing for non-humans. My next fictional crush is the mighty Karsa Orlong from Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. He may be rather brutish–alright, very brutish–but he is the definition of the old adage that confidence is sexy. Relentlessly self-assured, the unstoppable Toblakai crushes gods and mortals alike in his quest to rid the world of the curse of civilization. Love him or hate him, he will only ask one thing of you: witness.

K: I’d be remiss if I didn’t say Mr. Darcy. When he’s called out on his behavior, he listens to the woman of his affections, takes steps to correct his toxic masculinity, uses his privilege of wealth to correct wrongs (specifically a problem he could have prevented by using his privilege to speak out against a predator) without specifically telling his love interest he is doing these things or asking for her to acknowledge them. He’s smart and witty on top of that and let’s her have her space and decide that she does love and respect him. And I love a good battle of brains.

And then there’s Luke Skywalker. By Return of the Jedi I was hooked on him (probably because of Mark Hamill), and then I found a truck load of Expanded Universe novels (now known as Legend) ready for my consumption and I loved his character even more in the books. Getting glimpses into his thoughts and feelings sealed the deal. But then along came Mara… and I refused to read any more. I was not going to read about MY Luke hooking up with some moody force user. I think my attraction to the character was his dedication to finding his way, attempting to find the right thing to do (and struggling within that landscape), his love for his family, and his tendency to shy away from social interactions. Not the quintessential brooding outcast but close.

So, Seekers, who would you want to be your literary valentine? Share those characters you can’t help but adore!