The past 10 years have been heavily influenced by three major players in the sci-fi/fantasy genre: Harry Potter, Star Wars and Star Trek. While the latter hasn't enjoyed the commercial success of the other two, the storylines are just as deep and the characters just as engrossing. There have been quite a few book series coming on of late, most notably game spinoffs such as Warcraft, Halo and Warhammer. Star Wars has expanded primarily from a literary standpoint over the past fifteen years with the release of The New Jedi Order and Legacy of the Force series.
Harry Potter has been the stalwart however, putting up record sales numbers and appealing to the widest audience of perhaps any fictional series ever. Therefore, it is from those three series that I have picked five characters who really have stuck out and the stories what they are.
Severus Snape: (Harry Potter) - First appearance (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
When the reader is introduced to Severus Snape, he personifies the same outward persona that he wears throughout the rest of the series. The shrewd man with the greasy hair who is ruthlessly biased, and an apparent antagonist to our three heroes. While a principal antagonist for the majority of the first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Snape is relegated to that of a nuisance and annoyance who takes pleasure in making Harry and his friends lives as miserable as possible over the next three volumes in the series. The reader is never sure what to think of Severus Snape. On one hand, there is Dumbledore's unwavering confidence and trust in the man. Rowling did an excellent job of slightly discrediting some of Dumbledore's beliefs through the thoughts of the protagonist, Harry Potter, enough at least as to where the reader wasn't thoroughly convinced that Dumbledore knew all there was to know about Snape. The character of Snape grew in both significance and complexity during the fifth book (The Order of the Phoenix) and remained at the forefront throughout the rest of the series.
From Harry's point of view, Snape was evil, capable of doing all of the evil things spoken of throughout the wizarding series. It is true that Snape comes across as very harsh and cruel, and, in fact, shows great bias towards members of his own house; however it isn't until the beginning of the sixth installment that the reader truly begins to believe that Harry and his friends are correct and that Snape is as evil as they believe him to be. Snape's loyalties become the essential plotline in the final two books. His ability to shield his mind and read others' minds made it impossible for the reader to discern where his loyalties lay. Especially convincing is the fact that Snape kills Dumbledore at the climax of the sixth book, exits with the Death Eaters and is than with the same during the entirety of the final installment. Throughout all of this though, there is always some doubt about Snape. He seems to be the only character that no one, on either side can truly identify with. He is apparently the right-hand man of each side's leader respectively, and never is his true identity and purpose revealed until the final few chapters of the last book.
That being said, I believe the vindication of Snape and the chapter in which Harry finally learns of all the missing pieces throughout the years is the best in the entire series. When the reader realizes that Snape is the person Harry must go to in order to find his true destiny and fulfill the prophecy that was laid out ahead of him, it comes somewhat as a shock. The entire series shrouds Snape in darkness, deceit and complexity, and all of the secrets come spilling out in one 22 page chapter. Snape was the best character in the series, and with the series being the most successful fantasy novels of all time, he may arguably be the best fantasy character ever.
Nom Anor (Star Wars: New Jedi Order)- First Appearance: Vector Prime
Never have I read a more complex character. Throughout the 27 book series, Anor plays several different roles. He is particularly an interesting character because he is unlike every other member of his species. This is highly unusual when reading a fantasy/science fiction novel because the species and emotions are unusual enough in themselves the majority of the time. Nom Anor is a Yuuzhan Vong, however has no respect for any of the beliefs of his people, save one; the hatred of those in the galaxy they are invading. An absolutely masterful manipulator throughout the series, Anor's character was written by different authors, each with their own personal spin on this very complex character, making him more unpredictable and loathsome as ever. By the midpoint of the series the reader begins to realize just how manipulative and narcissistic Anor is, caring nothing about the fate or outcome of the world, but only in his personal escalation. He plots to kill his superiors, forbidden amongst his people; he enjoys many of the delicacies of the galaxy, even more strongly forbidden by his people; he forges no real confidences wherever he goes, thus he was able to play both sides in the conflict holding his own objectives above all else. The fact that he never forged any amount of credibility amongst friend or foe allowed him to go into hiding and plot a lower class rebellion with the eventual goal of seating him, in disguise, essentially as ruler of the galaxy.
Rubbish