This month, in celebration of Father’s Day, the Candlelight Reads Hop topic is ‘Tortured Heroes.’ What makes our hearts break when we come across a tortured hero?
I’m focused on fantasy lately, so my favorite tortured hero is Herrel, one of the were-riders from Andre Norton‘s Witch World book, Year of the Unicorn. Although a close second would be the tortured hero Ylon from Mirror of Destiny, charm-blinded by magic and seen as less than a man by all. In fact, the “seen as less than a man” is a commonality between Herrel and Ylon, and yet the heroine still comes to love them. These tortured heroes aren’t judged by their challenges but by their actions. It is this which makes me love not only the tortured hero but the heroine.
Even though they themselves have come to believe they are “less”, they don’t allow this to prevent them from protecting the women they love. Another great quality about a tortured hero (or villain, for that matter, although that is a different post). They face challenges head on and overcome, eventually coming to realize they aren’t “less” at all. Or, if anything, their faults have served to make them stronger.
Their torture and redemption gives me hope of the same.
- This has been a blog post as part of the Candlelight Reads Giveaway Blog Hop. Head to their site at the link attached to the image below to enter the drawing for the swag pack, the Amazon Gift Card, and the Rafflecopter giveaway.
- Be sure to visit the other blogs on this blog hop by following the links provided.
- Commentators on this site will be entered into a drawing for a free paperback of their choice: Searching for Sara, My Fair Princess, or The Story (all romances). You can read a summary of each book HERE.
- If you share this blog post, you will receive extra entries, so be sure to let me know in your comment.
I am a writer, and I adore the spinning of the unwritten tale – that lesson waiting to be divulged to others. Each day a new story beckons. One last happy ending. My characters have a life outside of my own, and I always learn from their destiny.
