As my children keep reminding me, it's Halloween Eve today. Such a momentous occasion deserves a list, don't you think? I thought we'd go with my favorite creepy crawlies. These are my favorites, you understand. I already did a best of the Big Bads (the ones you run from screaming like a banshee). This lot are horses of a different color. These ones can be scary as hell when they want to be, but they're also the ones I return to over and over again because of the love. They are the heroes, the antiheroes, the you're-never-quite-sure-of-them-but-there's-something-about-them-you-can't-walk-away-from ones. So. In no particular order, my favorite Things That Go Bump in the Night:
Werewolf
Adam Hauptman from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
You saw this one coming, I know. But I really can't help it. Adam is just . . . Adam. He lets Mercy be herself while threatening to eat her cat if it strays onto his property once more. Full disclosure, I went back and forth between Adam and Bran because, well, Bran. But it was Adam in the end.
Witch
Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
I don't feel the need to explain myself here.
Vampire
Con from Sunshine by Robin McKinley
The best of all the many different visions of vampires, he combines nobility of character with absolutely spine-unhinging terror. His skin is the color of dead mushrooms and he is not okay. But in the very best way.
Zombie
Ti from Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander
Ti is a relatively recent acquaintance, but a favorite nonetheless. Because he is goofy and yet grave . . . in a very relaxing and intriguing way. Also, he is a zombie firefighter. I just . . . I just love how awesome that is.
Ghost
Helen from A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
I am fond of a fair number of literary ghosts (Jacob Marley, anyone?), but Helen came out of nowhere and captured my attention and my sympathy in a very real way. I am not often fond of the ghost as protagonist. But Helen is an exception. A beautiful, haunting exception.
Shapeshifter
Curran Lennart from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty . . . "
Troll
Ravus from Valiant by Holly Black
You think a troll can't be a romantic lead. But Holly Black will prove you wrong. And she'll do it in such a Beauty and the Beast convention-bending way. Ravus is like the Dr. Jekyll of modern YA faery tale fantasy. He also wields a mean sword.
Demon
Nick Ryves from The Demon's Lexicon trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan
I may be more partial to his less demonic (though no less deviant) brother, but Nick Ryves is definitely my favorite soulless hellspawn. By a long shot. I feel you, Mae. I feel you.
Goblin
Marak from The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
What I said above about trolls and the unexpected qualities thereof, the same thing goes for goblins. And yet. I love that Clare B. Dunkle yanks you back and forth with Marak. Never sure exactly how you feel about him, it's an exquisite agony watching Kate learn to shape a life with the goblin king.
Dark Fae
Irial from the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
Twisted. And oh-so-dark. I'm still a bit taken aback at how comprehensively Melissa Marr brought me over to the side of the Dark Lord. I have to admire the skill involved cause, yeah, Irial is embedded way down deep in my heart.
And what about you? Who are some of your faves? Any creepy crawlies I'm missing?
Werewolf
Adam Hauptman from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
You saw this one coming, I know. But I really can't help it. Adam is just . . . Adam. He lets Mercy be herself while threatening to eat her cat if it strays onto his property once more. Full disclosure, I went back and forth between Adam and Bran because, well, Bran. But it was Adam in the end.
Witch
Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
I don't feel the need to explain myself here.
Vampire
Con from Sunshine by Robin McKinley
The best of all the many different visions of vampires, he combines nobility of character with absolutely spine-unhinging terror. His skin is the color of dead mushrooms and he is not okay. But in the very best way.
Zombie
Ti from Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander
Ti is a relatively recent acquaintance, but a favorite nonetheless. Because he is goofy and yet grave . . . in a very relaxing and intriguing way. Also, he is a zombie firefighter. I just . . . I just love how awesome that is.
Ghost
Helen from A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
I am fond of a fair number of literary ghosts (Jacob Marley, anyone?), but Helen came out of nowhere and captured my attention and my sympathy in a very real way. I am not often fond of the ghost as protagonist. But Helen is an exception. A beautiful, haunting exception.
Shapeshifter
Curran Lennart from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty . . . "
Troll
Ravus from Valiant by Holly Black
You think a troll can't be a romantic lead. But Holly Black will prove you wrong. And she'll do it in such a Beauty and the Beast convention-bending way. Ravus is like the Dr. Jekyll of modern YA faery tale fantasy. He also wields a mean sword.
Demon
Nick Ryves from The Demon's Lexicon trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan
I may be more partial to his less demonic (though no less deviant) brother, but Nick Ryves is definitely my favorite soulless hellspawn. By a long shot. I feel you, Mae. I feel you.
Goblin
Marak from The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
What I said above about trolls and the unexpected qualities thereof, the same thing goes for goblins. And yet. I love that Clare B. Dunkle yanks you back and forth with Marak. Never sure exactly how you feel about him, it's an exquisite agony watching Kate learn to shape a life with the goblin king.
Dark Fae
Irial from the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
Twisted. And oh-so-dark. I'm still a bit taken aback at how comprehensively Melissa Marr brought me over to the side of the Dark Lord. I have to admire the skill involved cause, yeah, Irial is embedded way down deep in my heart.
And what about you? Who are some of your faves? Any creepy crawlies I'm missing?
Adam: YES, YES! Love Adam! And Ti, who is more lovable than any zombie should be.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite demon is Lon from Jenn Bennet's Arcadia Bell series--he's a badass demon/photographer/rare book collector. I mean... it doesn't get any better than that.
Ooh, you love Adam, too!! How could you not? Best werewolf ever.
DeleteI <3 Ti.
You know, I checked the first Arcadia Bell book out from the library and then never got around to it before it was due. Must try again if this Lon demon is as good as you say.
Awesome list! I was just thinking I needed to reread VALIANT the other day. Hmm, who would I add that isn't here already? Maybe I'd add Sorry Carlisle from THE CHANGEOVER onto the witch list.
ReplyDeleteI reread it not long ago and it was still that good.
DeleteIt's been awhile since I read THE CHANGEOVER. It certainly has a devoted following. :)
Mmm, I'm liking this. I haven't heard of many of these books, so I'm intrigued. And I *still* need to get to Sunshine.
ReplyDeleteLol. One of these days, Melissa. One of these days . . .
DeleteOh, fantastic list. I love Adam and Curran, of course, but you also listed some great ones with Marak (LOL - I just wanted to hit him sometimes, but he's a great character) and Ravus. Con is a great vampire. I also really like Stefan from the Mercy Thompson series. I would add Tybalt from Seanan McGuire's October Daye series. I suppose he would be in the Shapeshifting-Fae category?, but "here kitty, kitty" could apply to him also. Though I wouldn't say it to his face. :)
ReplyDeleteStefan was THIS CLOSE to my favorite vamp. I adore him.
DeleteI read the first October Daye book and so I have met this Tybalt of whom you speak. But I need to continue on in the series, I think, to truly appreciate his catliness.
Yes, Tybalt gets more page time as the series progresses. :)
DeleteExcellent.
DeleteAh yes, Nick IS the best demon. Loved the first book, seriously need to get myself through #2 and #3.
ReplyDeleteYES you do!! They are most excellent.
DeleteI will forever read your blog due to your feelings about Sunshine and Con. :D
ReplyDeleteYou are forever welcome. :)
DeleteI loved this list! Every entry I was like, "Check!" in total agreement (Adam! Hermione! Curran! Marak!). I'm adding all the others to my TBR list immediately. I actually have quite a few sitting unread on my shelf. --Noelle
ReplyDeleteWoot woot!!
DeleteHappy reading.
I've read most of the books on your list. Yep. Good ones! I would only add one of my favorites: My Swordhand Is Singing by Marcus Segwick.
ReplyDeleteI have idly wondered about that book for some time now. You think I'd like?
DeleteHmm. Good question. I didn't suggest it when you asked for book recommendations awhile ago. I can't say I know for certain that you would, based on some of the other book reviews you've reviewed. (You've steered me to so many good ones, I wish I could return the favor.) I can only say that I was impressed by the writing and the atmosphere.
DeleteThose are important hallmarks in my book. I'll be checking it out for sure.
DeleteI may be a bit of a traditionalist here, but...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ghosts have to be the revolutionary war gang from Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Sherwood Ring. It was the first ghost story that really spoke to me as a kid, and I still love it!
Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle is definitely my favorite (fire) demon!
Favorite witch is tied between Sophie from HMC, and Morgan from Patricia Wrede's Dealing With Dragons.
Werewolf is tied between Remus Lupin from HP and Sam from Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater).
Dark Fae - that thistledown hair guy from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel! OH MY GOSH. The fact that he had this childlike ignorance of his own miserable wickedness... so creepy. So good. (And I don't know what category John Childermass falls into, if any, but can I just say how awesome he is too.)
Troll (or was he a goblin?) - The one from the short story in The Rumpelstiltskin Problem. Makes me laugh every time.
I'm trying and failing to think of shapeshifter. I know I have a favorite, I just can't think who it is. (Does Childermass count, because he can disguise himself as a shadow? No? hm.)
Traditionalists welcome! I struggled not putting Marley on there after all. :)
DeleteLove The Sherwood Ring! I'm delighted they made your list.
Calcifer and Morgan are both rather awesome, I agree. And Lupin and Sam are very dear to my heart as well. In fact, I love all of your list. Thanks so much for sharing it.
Nicolas Ryves is definitely my favourite demon, he sneaked into my heart in Book 2! Favourite vampire would be Damon Salvatore, but that may have a lot to do with Ian Somerhalder :)
ReplyDeleteI really must read the Wicked Lovely series!
Hehe. He's sneaky like that.
DeleteI hear good things about Damon . . . :)
This LIST! It rocks. Hard. I'll just go ahead and add my 'yup' to all your picks. They are perfect.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up FEED by Mira Grant for my own light Zombie/Halloween reading and it is fan-freaking-tastic. Have you read it yet? Wowza.
*fistbump*
DeleteI have not read FEED yet. Mainly because I am afraid of all THE EMOTIONS.
But your positive reaction is noted. ;)
I'm late as ever (at least I have excuses this week), but I adore this post, Angie! It's so much fun. I found myself nodding along at names like Irial and Curran, and getting even more excited to read some of these that are high on my list atm (Nightshifted, Hollow Kingdoms, Demon's Lexicon). I might add a category of nefariousness objects...something like The Picture of Dorian Gray. :P
ReplyDeleteAlways happy when you weigh in, Heidi. :) Love it when someone else gets Irial, too. So many seem only terrified by him. *sob*
DeleteReally looking forward to your thoughts on NIGHTSHIFTED and DEMON'S LEXICON!!
Ooh. Objects are a great idea.