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I've been reading the Iron Druid chronicles and am about done with them with only one book to go. After I finish it off, I had originally intended to go back to the Dresden books and start on those (only read the first book) but I think I need a break from the "reluctant" hero types.
In the words sung by Bonnie Tyler, "I need a hero."
I'm looking for a fantasy book (can be either modern fantasy or traditional fantasy) where the lead character in the book is just the hero type. Someone who wants to actually help others and make the world a better place. I don't want to read another story of someone forced into it or only does it because no one else will.
I also don't want the protagonist to be physically weak like the Frodo type of hero. Someone capable of handling himself. 1st person or 3rd person is fine.
Anyway, if you've got an idea, please let me know.
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Hmmm... I really want to recommend L. Sprague de Camp's The Goblin Tower as the main character can certainly handle themselves...
Okay. Frigging website just ate my damn post. Going to try and write this up again really quickly.
I'd recommend the following four urban fantasy series. There's elements of the reluctant hero to the protaganists for each of these series, but it's by no means a defining characteristic for them. All three series are set in London.
Spoilering since the following is a wall of text
Urban Magic (Kate Griffin): This is my favourite series by far. Has been described as "Neverwhere for the Digital Age". I find that description a bit simplistic, but it works. Follows an urban sorcerer (sorcerers and wizards are the same as Pathfinder, wizards have to study while sorcerers have innate ability... the difference is that sorcerers are very rare and in a league of their own when it comes to power) who has been resurrected, and has come back with a collective entity known as the Blue Electric Angels (basically omnipotent yet naive children) sharing his body. He'd like to be left alone, but isn't shy about throwing around magic when he or his friends are threatened, and he can pull off some pretty impressive tricks (and god have mercy if you upset the Angels and he somehow loses control of them). The dynamic between him and the Angels really well done, and the magic system is interesting too. Magic and the supernatural world evolve with society, so urban warlocks summon the spirits of the cities, and modern medusas have CCTV cameras and fibre optic hair instead of snakes. Sorcerers pull barbed wire from the ground instead of vines and so on. There's four books so far, not sure if there are more on the way. Titles are A Madness of Angels; The Midnight Mayor; The Neon Court and The Minority Council.
Magicals Anonymous (Kate Griffin): A spin-ff of Urban Magic, which follows a woman who discovers she is a shaman, and unknowningly forms a tribe in the form of a support group consisting of the outcasts of magical society, including a banshee who loves modern art; a necromancer who really just wants a cure for his skin condition; a druid who gets allergies and a woman who turns into a flock of pigeons when stressed out (due to conservation of mass, her options are a flock of pigeons, or turning into the biggest damn pigeon you've ever seen). Only two books in this on so far, Stray Souls and The Glass God, but it's been good so far.
Alex Verus (Benedict Jacka): Follows a diviner who runs a magical supplies store in Camden, and hasn't learnt to mind his own business yet. While he's not a physical or magical powerhouse, and will usually lose a straight up fight, his diviner abilities essentially give him an edge that's pretty much difficult to overcome unless you catch him concentrating on something unrelated to his safety at a given time. Essentially he can see the myriad futures that arise from any choices he or other people may make (the more likely they are, the more solid the futures seem) and can react in order to try and keep himself safe. He's cunning, fast and due to his understanding of the limitations of his magic (all mages only get one branch of magic, and diviners are completely incapable of shielding or battle magic), he has a philosphy that the safest way to deal with situations is to fight dirty, hit hard and hit fast. He'd really prefer to be left alone, and likes to think of himself as a good person (he's an escaped apprentice of a Dark Mage, though Dark Mages aren't necessarily evil, they are generally brutally direct), but as someone pointed out to him, out of the many people have taken shots at him over the years, there are very few left alive or in any state to try again. There's four books in the series so far, I've only read the first two. Titles are Fated; Cursed; Taken and Chosen.
The Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch): Protagonist for this series is the least reluctant of all the ones I've mentioned. He's a less than stellar constable in the London Metropolitan Police force, who ends up assigned as an apprentice to the one remaning officer in the magical unit of the Met. Each book has a couple of plots, dealing with everything from vampires and angry ghosts to the spirits of landmarks (the titular Rivers of London). Their role is to essentially handle the cases that the regular force can't touch, since they aren't allowed (or willing to) officially admit the existence of magic. The books are self contained, but are also starting to develop a meta-plot to do with a rogue magic user causing massive trouble. I've read three of the four so far, the series currently consists of The Rivers of London (Midnight Riot in the USA); Moon Over Soho; Whispers Underground and Broken Homes.
Those series form my current holy trinity (I'm counting Urban Magic and Magicals Anonymous as the same series given their shared setting and characters) of Urban Fantasy, being far and away my current favourite series to read in the genre. Given that Urban Fantasy is currently holding the place of favourite genre as well, that makes them my overall favourite series as well.
A few other random suggestions which I won't go into a lot of detail on.
The Night Circus (can't remember the author): A fairly slow fantasy drama novel set in a travelling circus that is the stage for a contest between two apprentice magic users whose masters have set them against each other.
Shadows of the Apt: Fantasy series following a world at war where humans have survived by discovering the "Ancestor Art", allowing them to take on aspects of the giant insects that inhabit their world.
The Lies of Locke Lamora: Fantasy where magic isn't all that common. Set in a fantasy equivalent of Venice known as Camorr, it follows the exploits of the Gentlemen Bastards, "false-facers" (conmen) who pretend to be simple thieves while robbing the rich and noble blind. There's two books so far, The Lies of Lock Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies. The new one, Republic of Thieves has been severely delayed, but is due out soon apparently.
Anything at all by Brandon Sanderson: You might know him as the guy who finished off The Wheel of Time. Check out his Mistborn Trilogy (there's also a follow up novella called The Alloy of Law), his stand alone novels Warbreaker and Elantris, and the first book in his epic Stormlight Archive series, The Way of Kings.
These books come immediately to mind:
Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson
The David Gemmell books featuring Druss the Axeman:
The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend
The Legend of Deathwalker
Legend
The two protagonists exemplify the Paladin heroic fantasy archtype.
"Butt kicking for Goodness!"
