[atreatiseconcerning]

I've only read through MT:

1. Karsa
2. Trull (These first two are the most developed characters in a series where characterization is not a strength)
3. Quick Ben
4. Bugg/Tehol (Laugh-out loud funny)
5. Mappo (what a friend)

[Icarium Kalam]

 Mekeritrig, on 20 May 2010 - 02:22 AM, said:

1. Anomander Rake
2. Cotillion
3. Fiddler
4. Quick Ben
5. Caladan Brood, if only for the end of TtH

Itkovian, Brukhalian, Silchas Ruin, Beak, runners-up

In terms of Ridiculous Hilarity:

1. Tehol/Bugg
2. Kruppe
3. Iskaral Pust
4. Ubala Pung
5. The Squad from Letharas... just ridiculous.

HOLY CRAP i forgot about Itkovian! How could I have done that....

[L'oric]

1. Fiddler
2. Dassem (though I want to see him "grow") but the fanboy in me yells his name in my sleep.
3. Quick Ben
4. Tool
5. Apsalar

When they are a scene of the book I read everything over and over again.


Now since the OP went to 10 so will I

6. Kalam
7. Whiskey Jack
8. Lostara Yil
9. Bottle
10. Blend

Honorable mention Helian (edited in), Vorcan, Mok

This post has been edited by L'oric: 26 May 2010 - 08:03 AM

[Testi]

 Icarium Kalam, on 14 May 2010 - 06:01 AM, said:

Who are you top 5 characters

1. Trull Sengar
2. Anomander Rake
3. Karsa Orlong
4. Tool, The Shorn
5. Iron Bars
6. Cutter
7. Beak
8. Paran
9. Itkovian
10. Kalam


Couldn't pick just 5

1. Tehol
2. Karsa
3. Kalam
4. Fiddler
5. QuickBen

Frell, brain fart I cannot Leave out Ganos Paran

Decisions, keeping to the spirit of 5,,,

1. Tehol
2. Karsa
3. Kalam
4. QuickBen
5. Ganos Paran

and since everyone else is doing it.
6. Fiddler
7. Bugg
8. Whiskeyjack
9. Bottle/Kruppe

This post has been edited by Testi: 26 May 2010 - 07:21 PM

[The Seguleh 46th]

 The Seguleh 46th, on 18 May 2010 - 01:29 AM, said:

Huh! Hard to pick just 5, as almost all kickass, so i'll just try to put them in order of who i want to know more about....and read about....yeah...

1. Fiddler
2. Kallor (really curious as to his whole entire backstory/origin that we'll most likely never get to find out about, the "whole" story anyways. Evil? Sure! Yet someone who really piques my interest, at least in the simple fact of how a single human dude could fuck so much shit up and scare damn near everyone in the prehistoric Wu universe, be the cause of an insane god being wrought upon the world, and still manage to scare folks in present day Wu. Bad-fucking-ass!)
3. Telorast/Curdle (technically they are one character, via that weirdass "DOD spoiler that i still don't understand but still intrigues the holy hell out of me thing!")
4. Dassem (would have put him much higher, [right under Fid], but he seems to be becoming more one-dimensional as this series moves on. Still, a great character for now)
5. Bottle (seems to have almost as much intrigue about him as QB, and about the same reluctance. Seems more a relatable soldier type, than a High Mage in hiding type)

Huh! OP went to ten!? We'll revise this list then!

1. Fiddler
2. Kallor
3. Telorast/Curdle
4. Dassem
5. Bottle
6. Apsalar
7. Gothos (seems to me to be a major game player on par with Shadowthrone)
8. Hellian (the next Bacchus-type Ascendant/God in the crazy TheoryWorld known as my head)
9. Kilava (Olar Ethil's nemesis? Sign me up!)
10. The Crippled God (such a sinister character, but one i really almost wanna secretly root for, in a slightly sociopathic way, and in terms of a little bit of pity, as he really does NOT wanna be here on Wu from what i gather)

Honorable Mention in a Cheap Way - The entire Seguleh race! Can't wait to see if ICE will flesh these cats out more in terms of culture, politics, daily life, etc. And the Boles as well. Those crazy sorcery-defying rednecks of the Malazan universe are definitely folks worthy of more page in my estimate!

This post has been edited by The Seguleh 46th: 26 May 2010 - 09:49 PM

[ConjurererOfSeasons]

No order:
Traveller/Dassem
Tool
Hood
Antsy (Seriously, he was hilarious in MOI & TTH)
Toc
Mappo/Icarium (I just really like their storyline, and can't wait to see it resolved)
Rake
Edgewalker (He walks edges... whats not to like?)
Whiskeyjack
Fiddler

This post has been edited by ConjurererOfSeasons: 28 May 2010 - 12:53 AM

[worry]

Haha I thought I was the only edge-walking buff, so I kept it like a shameful secret!

[ConjurererOfSeasons]

Yeah whats not to like about Edgewalker? I just really hope he gets fleshed out in a future book, preferably TCG. I really liked his roll in NoK, and the way hes spoken of by other elder gods makes you want more.

[Gabol]

Kalam and Quick Ben are the best, so my top5:

1. QuickBen
2. Kalam
3. Karsa
4. Tehol
5. Dassem

This post has been edited by Gabol: 30 May 2010 - 08:12 PM

[Hood's Legacy]

 Gabol, on 30 May 2010 - 08:12 PM, said:

Kalam and Quick Ben are the best, so my top5:

1. QuickBen
2. Kalam
3. Karsa
4. Tehol
5. Dassem

1. Dragnipurake
2. Tehol Beddict
3. L'oric/Cotillion (There's a tie here, I know )
4. Coltaine
5. Karsa Orlong

[Daeghrefn]

1. Gothos

The Jaghut as a whole are my favourite characters, and Gothos is just perfect. He's totally insane, yet is also one of the wisest beings in the whole series. He's probably the most powerful entity in the whole Malazan world, but he's content to sit around in the Azath, drink tea and eat cookies. He takes great delight in messing up the plans of stuck-up gods, and something tells me he could easily take them all out if he wanted to - but he can't be bothered. I guess I like Gothos and the Jaghut so much because they're a fascinating exploration of the consequences of immortality.

[The Seguleh 46th]

 Daeghrefn, on 06 June 2010 - 12:54 AM, said:

1. Gothos

The Jaghut as a whole are my favourite characters, and Gothos is just perfect. He's totally insane, yet is also one of the wisest beings in the whole series. He's probably the most powerful entity in the whole Malazan world, but he's content to sit around in the Azath, drink tea and eat cookies. He takes great delight in messing up the plans of stuck-up gods, and something tells me he could easily take them all out if he wanted to - but he can't be bothered. I guess I like Gothos and the Jaghut so much because they're a fascinating exploration of the consequences of immortality.

Hehe. Maybe not easily take them all out, but i find it awful hard not to agree with you on most of this! I'm really hoping he's a major player in the next novel (at least in terms of page time anyhow, as we all know he's a major force!)

[Tatterdemalion]

MAJORS:
1. Trull Sengar
2. Quick Ben
3. Tool
4. Dancer/Cotillion
5. Picker

MINORS:
1. Onrack
2. Andarist
3. Ocelot
4. Benedas
5. Orfantal

[Lucky Revenant]

In no particular order

1. Fiddler
2. Nimander
3. Anomander Rake
4. Quick Ben
5. Paran

If I had more space, I'd also include Toc the Younger, Gruntle, Itkovian, Tool, and Trull but I don't. Oh, also Tehol, Cotillion, and Bugg. And Bottle. Shadowthrone is cool, too. And Onrack. And I've always liked Crokus and Apsalar.

There are so many great characters, how do I narrow it down?

I'd like to give reasons for why I love these characters in particular, but I've never been good at doing that kind of thing.

Also, and I don't mean this as a criticism or anything of the sort, but I'm quite surprised to find the Mhybe on someone's list. I thought everyone hated her.

On the subject of Edgewalker, I've always found him to be a very intriguing character, but I've never been too crazy about him. He's cool, though.

[GruntlesTigerFangs]

Gesler and Stormy together
Karsa
Trull
Ublala
Bugg/Mael
Tehol
Wiskeyjack
Mappo
Gruntle

This post has been edited by GruntlesTigerFangs: 14 June 2010 - 04:16 AM

[ShadowRaven]

The top 5 are in no particular order:



1. Ganoes Paran: For some reason I've always felt like he is the 'main character' of the entire series if it could be said to have one. I also like the fact that he probably still doesn't realize how powerful he is.

2. Quick Ben: Fills the ubermage role of the books, but written with a fresh approach compared to other fantasy series. I find myself constantly re-evaluating how powerful and knowing he is.

3. Whiskeyjack: A really down to earth guy, but also a gifted military commander who could even spar with Dassem. His leg failing just as he was about to open up a can of whoopass on Kallor felt so injust.

4. Tehol + Bugg/Mael: Their dialogue and teamwork make them awesome; they are still pretty cool in their own scenes but far better when together, especially in RG. They are also a contrast to Kruppe who I've never liked much as a character for some reason (although I did like his narrative of TtH).

5. Trull Sengar: I didn't really like him in the beginning, but he really grew on me; his death is tied with Whiskeyjack's as the most emotional for me. I started thinking about him more only after I had finished RG, and realized only afterwards how awesome he was (holding back Icarium, etc.).



Other favourites: Fiddler, Anomander Rake (Would have made it to top 5, but was a bit too distant character for that in the end), Hood (a bastard – but TtH made him a likeable bastard), Khalam, Icarium+Mappo, Kallor.



I also liked Cutter/Crokus until the part where they delivered Heboric's body. However, after that I've felt as if he has just been dragged along in the story so he could be there at the end of the series as the less powerful character that ends up making a huge difference. Anyone else feel like this about him?

[Arsiud]

Top five (hard to choose):

1. Ganoes Paran (don't why... probably because of how powerful he is and his aversion to that power)

2. Quick Ben (love the glimpses of his sadistic past)

3. Kalam Mekhar (one kick ass assassin with out any supernatural help)

4. Anomander Rake (he's reserved, extremely powerful e.g. fought of hordes of Seguleh, cares about others e.g. fighting Tay, has enormous will power, and is just awesome)

5. Apsalar (toughest choice as it was the last one and other character are damn good as well, she's practically on par with Cotillion as seen in BH but is a pretty chick)


- Don't get people fascination with Karsa, he tends to piss me off with his overconfidence (although in that aspect he is getting better) and his ignorant view of destroying civilization...

[Feligaen]

I simply must put my 10 TOP, because I don´t want to forget somebody. I love them all :
1. Cotillion
2. Tehol
3. Shadowthrone
4. Iskaral Pust
5. Bugg
6. Bottle
7. Quick
8. Hellian
9. Udinass
10. Kruppe

You see, I just love geniuses..

[Ceda Cicero]

This is hard...

Numbered, but in no order:

1. Quick Ben - There hasn't been one book where he's featured where I don't, at one point or another, want to pump my fists because of something he's said/done.

2. Udinaas - SEs philosophical and humanistic diatribes have never been better than with this guy. I love that Silchas Ruin holds him in about as much esteem as it seems he's capable of with any mortal - I love the way he talks about him with Ryadd in Book Four of DoD.

3. Torvald Nom - More for his conversations with Karsa in HoC than his more minor role in TtH. Still, great all around - manages to straddle the fence perfectly between comic relief and serious character.

4. Cotillion/Dancer - The scene where Apsalar sees him holding his head in his hands after the battle in tBH sealed this for me.

5. Rake - "Even though he is dead, we find ourselves holding to faith in him. Extraordinary, isn't it?" - Mael

6. Mael/Bugg - Aside from the gods of Shadow, probably the most interesting god in the series to me. And yes, hilarious.

7. Ganoes Paran - The series began with him and Whiskeyjack. I am confident it will end with him and Whiskeyjack. I'm calling it now.

8. Tayschrenn - If only for the scene outside of Coral where he rallies the troops and then fires of High Telas at the walls.

9. Corabb - I love his journey, how he is awestruck by the Bonehunters under Y'Ghatan... And I love the scene early in DoD where Bottle is trying to snoop around Smiles' bunk and Corabb tells him it's Cuttle's. "That explains the codpiece." "Does it?"

10. King Tehol the Only - The most sophisticated and principled anarchist ever to run a country.

[foolio]

Syrin Kanar
tanal yathvanar
surly
kallor
triban gnol

all for ethical and selfless behavior beyond reproach....