I've been thinking about the anti-hero lately. I'm currently reading Promise of the Witch-King, a fantasy novel by R.A. Salvatore. The novel stars Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle Baenre, formerly antagonists in The Legend of Drizzt series (they might be villains again, but I'm only about 2/3 of the way through the series). The characters proved so popular among Salvatore's readers, that he gave them their own series. Why are anti-heroes so popular? Why do I love Entreri? Sometimes I find Jarlaxle a bit frustrating, but I do enjoy his character as well. Entreri has evolved so much since Drizzt first met him. Now, he's helping people, sparing lives, following Jarlaxle whereever he wants to go. But he isn't nice. He doesn't romance the ladies. He's rude and dark and brooding. He watches from afar. And I can't get enough.
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| I've just ordered your death. Next time you see me, I'll be dating your husband. |
Is that what an anti-hero is? Someone who is just behind the line from being a villain? Is that who the Evil Queen became on Once Upon A Time? (After this last season, she's definitely on the hero side now.) That's Deadpool, right? Severus Snape? It's a fine line they all have walked. Anti-heroes are compelling, am I right? What made them go bad, then take a turn for good? Will they go bad again? I've been wondering a lot about this reading Witch-King and I look forward to seeing what happens at the end of Salvatore's anti-hero series.
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