Day 2 - Seven Heroes

I remember the excitement of choosing the heroes and having my fingers crossed that no one would pick MY heroes before I had a chance to nab them for myself. I missed out on Daemon Sadi and Keir the Warlord. But I think my picks aren't too shabby. :)

Two vampires, a werewolf, a shifter, a telepath, an Eyrien warrior and the Lord of the Darkyn - nope, not too shabby at all.

My first pick was John Matthew (aka Tehrror) of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

"It was just a boy. A teenage boy. Dark-haired, pale-skinned. So thin he was emaciated, so beautiful he didn't look human."

This is the first moment John Matthew appeared in the BDB series and he's been my favourite character ever since. Whenever I pick up a new book in the series I always (I know this is naughty) scan through and read his scenes first. From the mute pre-transition male, to the transitioned vampire, I think he's the character that I most want to know what's going to happen to him next. And I like the attraction he's got going on with Xhex - so looking forward to his book.

Up next was Jeremy Danvers, Alpha werewolf in Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series.

"Although Jeremy could never be considered the best fighter in the Pack, he possessed a strength that was even more important...Jeremy had absolute self-control."

As Jeremy is possibly my favourite hero ever, it gives you an idea of how much I wanted to snaffle John Matthew that I didn't pick him first.

Ironically considering he's the alpha werewolf, he's something of a beta male (for a werewolf). Intelligent, handsome and quietly spoken, he's also lethal when necessary. The epitome of walk softly but carry a big stick (a big stick called Clayton). I love the relationship he has with Jaime. It takes them years to get past the just friends stage, Jeremy is reserved and Jaime is somewhat insecure but they finally get together and I love that he doesn't really talk and she perhaps talks to much. They just fit together so well.


My number three pick was Vayl the vampire, from the Jaz Parks series by Jennifer Rardin. Sometimes you read a vampire and they're meant to be really old, but they actually read like they're in their twenties. This is so not the case with Vayl.

"If he's going to put some poor kid's face back on straight tonight I'll do the hula."
"Lovely dance, that. The story is all in the hands. I did not know you knew - "
"Vayl, I was kidding."
"Oh." Tightening of the lips. Translation - crap, when am I going to leap into the twenty-first century and get with their damn humor?

He has a wonderful tendency to take whatever Jaz says literally, especially any comments she makes regarding dancing. When I read him, I believe he's over three hundred years old. Their chemistry is on something of a slow burn, building with every book. I've read the first two books in the series so far and love them.


Pick number 4 was Curran, Lord of the Beasts from Ilona Andrew's Magic series.

A slow, lazy, carnivorous smile touched Curran's lips. "Not only will you sleep with me, but you will say 'please.'"...The smile widened. "You will say 'please' before and 'thank you' after."

...:blinks:...
If Jeremy is a beta Alpha then Curran is an alpha Alpha. Whilst the relationship between he and Kate is sometimes frustrating to read - get it together already! The chemistry between them fairly sizzles off the page, you know when they finally get together it's going to be explosive. Though whether she'll say 'please' before and 'thank you' after I think is open to debate.


Richard Tremayne, High Lord of the Darkyn (from the Darkyn books by Lynn Viehl) was pick number 5. He doesn't have his own book - though my fingers are still crossed that one day he may. He only ever seems to appear on page briefly, but when he does he dominates.

"Miss Jefferson, before you cut off my wife's head," Richard said qietly, "I would ask a favor of you..."

He has the power of compulsion which he is more than willing to use. He remains something of a dark, intriguing mystery.

Already on pick number 6, Duncan Reever - telepath of the Stardoc novels by S.L. Viehl. He has the annoying tendency to think he knows best and doesn't have to inform his heroine about anything. Mind you, she suffers from the same affliction, so they're well matched.

"I want more than your tolerance." He touched my hair, running his hand over the smoothness.
Yeah, I could just imagine what he wanted.

His anthropologist parents weren't above social experimentation on their son and he also lived for a time within a totalitarian alien lizard regime. This has somewhat skewed his attitude to human relationships.


Finally, last but not least Lucivar of Anne Bishop's Dark Jewels books. I'd liked Lucivar during the trilogy, but I think it was in the Dreams Made Flesh anthology that he really came into his own as a hero.

He propped himself up on elbow and looked down at her in disbelief. "You think wearing socks isn't romantic, but putting a block of ice against a man's balls is romantic?"

The story of his and Marian's courtship was romantic and sexual, and filled in some of the gaps that had been left open in the trilogy. Slightly overshadowed by Daemon in the trilogy, for me, he came into his own in the story The Prince of Ebon Rih. It gave him a chance to shine outside his brother's shadow.

Hope you've enjoyed getting to know some of my favourite heroes. Tomorrow I'll be back with my last post for a while. See you then. (A big thanks to Sarai for helping me out with photos. :) )