Slocum.CSCDA@HI-MULTICS.ARPA@caip.RUTGERS.EDU (02/03/86)
From: Slocum@HI-MULTICS.ARPA
Some examples of reasonable character development :
The War of the Wizards trilogy by Andrew Offut
(The Demon in the Mirror, The Eyes of Sarsis, and )
Tiana Highrider starts pretty capable but doesn't exceed
reasonableness.
The Book of Morgaine trilogy by C.J.Cherryh
Morgaine starts out being thought of as a goddess/demoness, but
as the books progess, you know her to be more and more human.
The Oath of the Renunciates trilogy by Marion Zimmer Bradley
(The Shattered Chain, Thendara House, City of Sorcery)
Magda Lorne continues to be a realistic character.
The Stainless Steel Rat books by Harry Harrison
Jim deGriz was always better than the rest, that's why he's a
criminal.
The Camber Trilogy by Katherine Kurtz
Camber was quite human, but became a saint because of popular
legend and circumstance.
The Deryni Trilogy by Katherine Kurtz
Kelson learns to use magic, but as part of normal development.
The Wrinkle in Time, etc. books by Madeline L'Engle
Charles Wallace Murry who appears in all of these books,
does not exceed himself.
The Taran books by Lloyd Alexander
Taran grows as a person, within reasonable limits.
Gateway, etc. by Fredrik Pohl
Broadhead is always the insecure, neurotic he starts as, he just
has more money.
The Tomoe Gozen series by Salmonson
I haven't read the third book, but Tomoe Gozen stays the
Samurai warrior throughout.
Jhereg, Yendi by Steve Brust
(Damn, I can't remember his name) Main character keeps pretty
much the same throughout.
The Amber Series by Roger Zelazny
Well, yes. Corwin starts pretty seemingly human, and becomes
god-like in the first book, but he really was that way all along.
And if you ignore a few exceptional talents that most of the
other characters have anyway, he remains pretty much the same.guy@slu70.UUCP (Guy M. Smith) (02/06/86)
In article <1169@caip.RUTGERS.EDU>, Slocum.CSCDA@HI-MULTICS.ARPA@caip.RUTGERS.EDU writes: > From: Slocum@HI-MULTICS.ARPA > > The Tomoe Gozen series by Salmonson > I haven't read the third book, but Tomoe Gozen stays the > Samurai warrior throughout. Not quite. She cuts her hair and becomes a Buddhist nun (esoteric sect). She still carries her swords and uses them but the book deals somewhat with the conflict between her samurai past and her current status as someone at least nominally devoted to helping all sentient beings. I suspect that more books are in the offing and I hope that this issue gets explored more. Her original samurai persona was a bit one-dimensional (which may be an accurate reflection of how they actually were). Now she is developing into a more complex and interesting character. Well worth reading (I even shelled out for a new book instead of waiting for it to show up used or in the library). It's called "The Thousand Shrine Warrior" (after the name of her sect).