| As a result of a certain other book hitting the shelves, I've been busy as hell. But I can't forget about my clubbers, so here we go... Mark Del Franco informed me that there will be a GIVEAWAY at the end of this week, now I have no idea what said GIVEAWAY will entail, but you can be certain, you want it. So check back regularly. If you don't participate in the comments then you don't enter. Get it. Topique No. Deux: Although urban fantasy is a "hot" genre, there are still relatively few male protagonists. Why do you suppose this is? Where does Connor Grey sit in the pantheon of UF heroes? |
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It's cool to see an increase in the diversity of main characters in a genre (fantasy) that was decidely aimed at the white male pocket protector set for many years. Even though we are seeing more male characters, there's certainly a continuing trend toward depth.
I'm sure there are nigh-infinite reasons, all with some validity, but my pet theory du jour is that the lack of male characters was more an emphasis on female characters, as something of a rebellion against traditional fantasy.
The blurred lines between paranormal romance and urban fantasy can be seen as an indicator. UF was a way to involve mythical creatures and fantasy tropes, but without the whole farmboy-as-messiah trend of epic fantasy. In most feudal systems, even fictional ones, there was a thatched ceiling (they didn't have glass) that limited women. A modern woman, though, can be a vampire, vampire hunter or anything out there and there's suspension of disbelief about the premise without having to have an alternate history without bustles, corsets and denied suffrage.
Or maybe a lot of people just really liked Buffy.
As for Connor: he's one of my favorites. His wounds and resulting lack of status make him stand out. While I want him to get "well" and regain power, it's sort of nice having a hero (and I'm reminded of Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros) who doesn't have a good grasp on his power. Connor's otherworldly heritage also adds depth to the character, because unlike the half-human Leandros or psychic yet human Simon Canderous, he's not "human" but a creature of fae in many ways.
Wow, this was a long post. Sorry about that.
I really liked Connor, it's easier to believe in someone who can kick butt but still has his share of problems. I really related to the fact that he is slightly broken.
Synde
Darn you, tm! You said what I was gonna say! About the man-led fantasy and the blurring of the paranormal romance, I mean. I think it's for women who like their kickass with a side of sexing, personally, whereas men tend to not want that stuff as much. I don't get it, personally. (And it isn't that UF-reading men aren't just as manly and macho and tough and all that becuase you totally are. Even manlier, I think.)
I'm pretty weak and girly, actually. But I see your point.
Not to turn this into another patented T.M. Thomas threadjack, but, my weak humor above aside, I do think the differences in readership plays a big role. I'm not much for the graphic scenes (although...steampunkrotica, Stacia...we could be rich), but I like a well-rounded character. Frodo might have had a reason to be so focused, but the average farmboy-turned-messiah has a touch of the cardboard in his disinterest in anything but fulfilling prophecy. PR and UF, starting with the female protags and with Simon, Connor, et al, are moving toward a flawed male character that's a lot more true to live and fun, imho, for readers.
I think both Stacia and tm pretty much summed everything up on the reason for the number of female protagonists.... a Connor is way up there for me.. he's easy for me to empathize with.. he's had a fall from grace so to speak, but he's learning from it...realizing that he was so arrogant and how he's treated people has caused him to rethink many things...it's easier to identify with characters who have human faults.
I also liked Connor for being slightly broken. I liked the whole book, actually! :)
The current trend for female protagonists in fantasy is one I like, but it's also been bothering me a bit that even men writers seem to be writing female protagonists more than male. It originally seemed to be (albeit subjectively) that when the trend started some while back it was more or less that women authors wrote women protagonists regularly, and it made for a balancing effect. Now the men are sort of being squeezed out of the majority of the novels.
I don't feel that's good or bad, but the trend does puzzle me. Are women the ones who buy the urban fantasy? Is there some other demographic driving the trend?
I'm actually really surprised there are so few male leads in the UF genre. To my mind, Laurell Hamilton and Jim Butcher pretty much birthed the genre as we currently know it (with Jim being a bit of the afterbirth, it's true, as the Dresden Files didn't start coming out until several years after the Anita Blake books), but given that what I see as the two granddaddies of the genre have one male and one female protagonist...yeah, I've expected far more men to take leading roles.
I think tm's right, though. And my brain just shut down, so I'll leave it at that. :)
-Catie
Actually, I loaned my BFF the Butcher series and Grey's two books and she didn't like them. They didn't interest her. (Okay, admittedly her favorite author is J.R.Ward - a bit of a genre difference, but still broken male leads) She said they just didn't hook her. But her husband has devoured every one (he's read the Ward books too).
Which makes me wonder if it truly is a more diversified reader base or simple Buffy love?
I think T.M. makes excellent points. I would also add that UF in many ways intricately connected to paranormal romance which has a strong female readership that enjoys strong female protagonists.
For myself, I didn’t choose to have a male protagonist for any particular market reason. The idea for the world grew out of a dream (literally, a dream) that I had---and the dream was naturally from my pov---and my affection for Chandler, who wrote the quintessential male flat-foot.
I think we’re starting to see more male protags because the market is ready for them. Bottom line for publishers is always---the bottom line. The strong female readership has helped bubble up the genre to greater awareness and more men are taking note, so publishers are probably responding to that too.
I'll take a male protagonist over a female one any day - and I'm a woman!
One of the things I find most annoying about the over-saturation (IMHO) of female protagonists in today's market is that a lot of these stories read more like otherworldly "romance" novels than an exciting fantasy adventure. So, while I don't mind a little romance thrown into a story, I do mind when it ends up "becoming" the story.
I'm way more interested in how the protagonist plans to outwit and destroy the bad guy (or is that bad "thing?") in the end, than what he/she is feeling while gasping in orgasmic ecstacy with some evil, yet strangely attractive nemesis, fake ally, seemingly innocent victim ... or whatever.
I'm also sick of all the cliche hook-ups that go on too. The potential love interest is usually someone extremely obvious who (for that very reason) ends up being the very last person I'd ever want to see the protagonist end up with. This is fantasy afterall. If there *must* be a romantic interest, at least make it someone/something that the reader would NEVER in a million years imagine - and then make it sizzle!
I read and enjoyed Ushapely Things very much, and one of the things that I found pleasantly refreshing was that Del Franco's lead, Connor, DIDN'T spend most of his time musing on the sorry state of his sex life. Instead, he was more focused on the loss of his ability and the criminal case he was hired to work on. As some of you have stated already, Connor is a very flawed man. Reading about him struggling to rebuild his life while still doing what he's good at, held my interest just fine WITHOUT all the sex and made me even more interested in seeing how things will ultimately turn out for the guy. After reading UT, I feel fairly confident that when Del Franco does introduce a love interest for Connor - which, alas, we all know is inevitable - it will hopefully be someone as unique and "Weird" and, PLEASE - unexpected - as the world he's created.
[I haven't read Book 2 yet, but I'm hoping my opinion won't be too altered once I do!]
Larue put into words what I had been trying to since I saw the topic post last night. I especially liked the point about not dwelling on the sex life issue.
Just my opinion, but male protagonists tend to be more comfortable in their skin. Though he sees his life as flawed because of his condition, Connor has a very easy, self-assured feel. I'm relatively new to the fantasy/urban fantasy novel genre. I'm not really qualified I guess to judge Connor's position in the pantheon in that regard. That being said, though, I would just have to surmise he is near the top. I can't imagine they get much better than him.
I'm gonna admit it. I have a crush on Connor. I will also admit that I can relate better reading from the ladies point of view, but sometimes it gets a little boring. I think the book world is ready to see some more males rule the urban fantasy like Jim Butcher and several others. I'm not sure why the women have been ruling. Buffy was a strong point, but let us not forget Angel.
I'm a newbie at the urban fantasy genre but I decided to jump in with this book because the premise interested me. I like that the protagonist is in a weakened state. It adds to the depth of the character and the suspense of the story in that this character has knowledge of the power that's around him but can't do anything to protect himself.
I'm printing out the page where people said I was right. I will show it to my wife-to-be the next time the question of if I'm ever right about anything comes up!