Greatest Anti-Hero in Literature

[willo the wisps]

Let's not confuse The Anti Hero

with the Magnificent Bastard

That being said, how has no one named Heathcliffe from Wuthering Heights? I would think he is

an anti hero par excellence.

[jurble]

Magnificent Bastards and Anti-Heroes can overlap. Lelouch from Code Geass ends up being a mass murderer.

[Erik of Hazelfield]

Oh, thank you for this remark! I was thinking about trying Dying Earth, but after the comment about rape, I'll certainly will avoid it. Ugh.

You're missing out! GRRM himself loves Jack Vance.

Anyway, I can tell you he does worse things than that. Deprives a man of his lifelong dream, kills an innocent creature, destroys an entire village (although it was mainly their own fault), and so on. In his defense though, I also think he actually saves the world at one point. But you're not meant to take him seriously - the book is a strange mixture of hilarious and horrible, all portrayed with colourful descriptions and a masterful prose.

The cool thing though is that he really IS rotten to the core. I mean, Han Solo might have shot first but he's still ultimately a nice guy. Cugel on the other hand is a no-good, thieving scoundrel, and he keeps wreaking havoc wherever he goes. Few anti-heroes can match that.

[Jaerv]

Anyway, I can tell you he does worse things than that, Deprives a man of his lifelong dream (...)

I think this half-sentence is a bit strange and could be misunderstood, since the object of comparison is rape...

[Sariel]

Cugel is a brilliant and despicable character. Definitely an anti-hero, almost the epitome thereof.

[Erik of Hazelfield]

I think this half-sentence is a bit strange and could be misunderstood, since the object of comparison is rape...

Yeah, that probably wasn't the smartest thing I've written, but I think Bubach Angh of Grodz would have agreed with me. He toiled for 31 years and Cugel cheated him of his reward.

[alguien]

Roland of Gilead

Damn you, sir.

Agree with lots of others here. I'd add Morpheus to the list.

[Imagica]

He's done some pretty despicable things, but in the end he's a decent man and a very sympathetic character. Compare him to Covenant or Kellhus, who you are not meant to like,

Who says we're not meant to like anti-heroes? We are not meant to like villains (most of the time), but anti-heroes can be very likeable and it won't stop them from being such. They are just subversions of heroic archetype: those whose methods are very different from the usual fare. Their goals, on the other hands, and other characteristics, may be the same (at least that's the definition most commonly employed in modern fiction, I think).

Anyway, I can tell you he does worse things than that. Deprives a man of his lifelong dream, kills an innocent creature, destroys an entire village (although it was mainly their own fault), and so on.

I still consider rape worse (wasn't it the original meaning of the phrase "fate worse than death"?). It's a quirk of mine, just creeps me out reading about it - and when it's the protagonist who does it, it's No, just No.

[Morrigan]

then again, it's also in AFFC where we see Tyrion

Err, what?

I actually suspect she'll be as close as Martin can get to an out and out villain by the end of the series.

Yeah, unlike Gregor Clegane, Amory Lorch, and so on, who are just kinda grey.

Edit: damn, just realized those posts are nearly three years old. Who the hell bumps old threads like that?

[Lordwalker]

Not certain if this is on topic but...............Neil Gaiman's [sandmani series is a great Anti-Hero.

Another example would be "Peter" in Brom's The Child Thief, pretty good book.