Rule Abiding, Unliked Protagonists.
Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:28 pm
So I've been reading through a lot of Napolonic fiction recently. Aubrey-Maturin, Ramage, Temeraire and Hornblower (which is endlessly re-readable to me.) But it comes to mind that unlike Horatio Hornblower a lot of modern heroes fall into a certain type. Lets use NuKirk as an example. The rash, unorthodox hero who doesn't play by the rules and goes by instinct and is generally followed by a very loyal set of subordinates who stay at low rank for unusally long time and all regard each other as family.
Now partially this is just the realities of TV I think. You want to keep the main cast there through all seven years as familiar faces for the audience. And some of it is based on historical. Admiral Nelson himself for example, with his Nelson Touch and band of brothers.
So I'm wondering is it possible to have a protagonist who is fact a follower of the rules and dutiful but who maintains a distance with his subbordinates so he doesn't gain a following of offciers. Hus juniors rotate regularly etc. The kind of man who is followed because of the chain of command rather than charisma. Yet is still likable and shown in the right.
Hornblower would be a good start. But Hornblower's thing is being very competant and smart and being loved and respected by his crew and superiors and just not being able to recognise it at all because of his 'blessed unhappy temperment'
Just wondering what a story like this would look like, if it could be done with out eventually wander back to those cliché.
Now partially this is just the realities of TV I think. You want to keep the main cast there through all seven years as familiar faces for the audience. And some of it is based on historical. Admiral Nelson himself for example, with his Nelson Touch and band of brothers.
So I'm wondering is it possible to have a protagonist who is fact a follower of the rules and dutiful but who maintains a distance with his subbordinates so he doesn't gain a following of offciers. Hus juniors rotate regularly etc. The kind of man who is followed because of the chain of command rather than charisma. Yet is still likable and shown in the right.
Hornblower would be a good start. But Hornblower's thing is being very competant and smart and being loved and respected by his crew and superiors and just not being able to recognise it at all because of his 'blessed unhappy temperment'
Just wondering what a story like this would look like, if it could be done with out eventually wander back to those cliché.