Character Evolution

tmpazn · 03-06-2015, 05:59 PM

Hi,

I'm looking for books that follow the main character developing into someone more skilled or powerful or special in some way.

Optional:
It'd also be great if the main character gets thrust into a completely new setting or lifestyle and has to adjust and adapt to it. Also, my favorite genres are Romance, Dystopia, and Fantasy/Scifi. Again, these are optional -- I'm mostly just looking for the zero-to-hero character evolution.

Examples containing all of the above:
Harry Potter, Divergent, The Hunger Games, Poison Study, The Maze Runner, Ender's Game.

Edit:
I forgot to mention that I usually don't enjoy slow-paced novels, or stories weighed down by lots of description or complex, excessive world-building. Same goes for "deep" works that thrive on symbolism, metaphor, heavy psychology/philosophy, etc.

Apache · 03-06-2015, 06:17 PM

For Sci Fi try The Empire of Man Series by Ringo and Weber.
For Fantasy try the first book in a new series Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War #1) by Mark Lawrence.
Apache

Geralt · 03-07-2015, 04:42 AM

The Name Of The Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)
Assasin's Apprentice (Robin Hobb)
The Warded Man (Peter V. Brett)
Lies Of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch)
The Dragonbone Chair (Tad Williams)
The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud)

These are all fantasy and and all 1st books in the series that fit with what you're asking.

mewmartigan · 03-07-2015, 03:14 PM

Geralt beat me to it, but I agree and can second his recommendations of

Mistborn: The Final Empire
Assassin's Apprentice
The Lies of Locke Lamora

The others I haven't read...

BooksAreAwsome · 03-08-2015, 08:48 PM

A lot of good recommendations here.

xg4bx · 03-09-2015, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geralt

The Name Of The Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson)
Assasin's Apprentice (Robin Hobb)
The Warded Man (Peter V. Brett)
Lies Of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch)
The Dragonbone Chair (Tad Williams)
The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud)

These are all fantasy and and all 1st books in the series that fit with what you're asking.

I also enjoy this type of plot and I'll also 2nd (third?) Mistborn and The Warded Man, and add The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham and Blood Song by Anthony Ryan.

ccowie · 03-09-2015, 04:14 PM

I think Old Man's War by John Scalzi also fits that criteria.

hildea · 03-09-2015, 05:20 PM

Check out this thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=256092 , about "series that covers one character from beginning to end on a path to greatness".

A couple of other suggestions, which fit your description, but not the "...to greatness" in the other thread:

Sarah Rees Brennan: the Lynburn Legacy series. Ordinary schoolgirl (more or less) who has to save the idyllic English village (with a lot of help from her friends) from the lords and ladies of the manor. Both funny and heartbreaking, often both at the same time.

Elizabeth Wein: "Code name Verity" and "Rose under fire". Young women during WWII. The first one starts with the protagonist telling her story from a Gestapo prison, and the second mostly takes place in the concentration camp Ravensbrück, so they are not happy books, but they are really, really well written and memorable.

tmpazn · 03-10-2015, 01:27 AM

Jaw: dropped.

Gosh, so many great recs! My book list has gone from blank to brimming, thank you all so very much. Special thanks to hildea for pointing out the similar thread -- I wasn't expecting to find another three pages of titles so quickly!

I actually tried Misborn yesterday upon your recommendations, and while it certainly did fit the criteria, I'm unfortunately dropping the first book halfway through. It's just too often slow and boring for me, and I found myself getting disinterested (and it seems I'm not alone as I've read reviews saying the same). Especially with all those paragraphs spent on all those descriptions -- tedious, and to my probably too-impatient taste, superfluous. But it's my mistake: I should've specified "well-paced" in the opening post -- I really don't want anything even near Lord of the Rings.

I stumbled upon a random book today that ticks all the boxes too, and I'm heartily enjoying it at the moment so I thought I'd name it in case anyone else's looking for the same: Arrows of the Queen. I especially like the protagonist here, her reactions can be so heart-melting. Disclaimers: I'm only halfway through, and it seems a simple story and world (I prefer simple over complex anyway), and the first 2-3 chapters aren't very interesting, and it'll often remind you of Harry Potter (which is, to me, a good thing, and it was written before HP anyway).

After this series, I think I'll try ccowie's recommendation: Old Man's War. The synopsis reminds me of Ender's Game. Then, mostly for the sake of variety against the overwhelming majority of Fantasy/Scifi here, hildea's Lynburn Legacy rec since it seems to be the only thing highlighting my top-favorite genre: Romance (though I do prefer male protagonists with this particular genre, rare as it unfortunately is in books).

Nancy Fulda · 03-10-2015, 08:47 AM

You might try Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold. (It's really a bundle of her first two books: Shards of Honor and Barrayar.) Strong romance element, fast-paced, and definitely includes a shift into an unfamiliar culture.

03-10-2015, 01:27 AM	#9
tmpazn Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2015 Device: Nook Simple Touch	Jaw: dropped. Gosh, so many great recs! My book list has gone from blank to brimming, thank you all so very much. Special thanks to hildea for pointing out the similar thread -- I wasn't expecting to find another three pages of titles so quickly! I actually tried Misborn yesterday upon your recommendations, and while it certainly did fit the criteria, I'm unfortunately dropping the first book halfway through. It's just too often slow and boring for me, and I found myself getting disinterested (and it seems I'm not alone as I've read reviews saying the same). Especially with all those paragraphs spent on all those descriptions -- tedious, and to my probably too-impatient taste, superfluous. But it's my mistake: I should've specified "well-paced" in the opening post -- I really don't want anything even near Lord of the Rings. I stumbled upon a random book today that ticks all the boxes too, and I'm heartily enjoying it at the moment so I thought I'd name it in case anyone else's looking for the same: Arrows of the Queen. I especially like the protagonist here, her reactions can be so heart-melting. Disclaimers: I'm only halfway through, and it seems a simple story and world (I prefer simple over complex anyway), and the first 2-3 chapters aren't very interesting, and it'll often remind you of Harry Potter (which is, to me, a good thing, and it was written before HP anyway). After this series, I think I'll try ccowie's recommendation: Old Man's War. The synopsis reminds me of Ender's Game. Then, mostly for the sake of variety against the overwhelming majority of Fantasy/Scifi here, hildea's Lynburn Legacy rec since it seems to be the only thing highlighting my top-favorite genre: Romance (though I do prefer male protagonists with this particular genre, rare as it unfortunately is in books). Last edited by tmpazn; 03-10-2015 at 08:30 AM.

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03-06-2015, 05:59 PM	#1
tmpazn Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2015 Device: Nook Simple Touch	Character Evolution Hi, I'm looking for books that follow the main character developing into someone more skilled or powerful or special in some way. Optional: It'd also be great if the main character gets thrust into a completely new setting or lifestyle and has to adjust and adapt to it. Also, my favorite genres are Romance, Dystopia, and Fantasy/Scifi. Again, these are optional -- I'm mostly just looking for the zero-to-hero character evolution. Examples containing all of the above: Harry Potter, Divergent, The Hunger Games, Poison Study, The Maze Runner, Ender's Game. Edit: I forgot to mention that I usually don't enjoy slow-paced novels, or stories weighed down by lots of description or complex, excessive world-building. Same goes for "deep" works that thrive on symbolism, metaphor, heavy psychology/philosophy, etc. Last edited by tmpazn; 03-10-2015 at 08:50 AM.

03-06-2015, 06:17 PM	#2
Apache Readaholic Posts: 5,140 Karma: 90000000 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South Georgia Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"	For Sci Fi try The Empire of Man Series by Ringo and Weber. For Fantasy try the first book in a new series Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War #1) by Mark Lawrence. Apache

03-07-2015, 04:42 AM	#3
Geralt Witcher Posts: 933 Karma: 7321117 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Swamp. Slaying Drowners. Device: Kindle PW2	The Name Of The Wind (Patrick Rothfuss) Mistborn (Brandon Sanderson) Assasin's Apprentice (Robin Hobb) The Warded Man (Peter V. Brett) Lies Of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch) The Dragonbone Chair (Tad Williams) The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud) These are all fantasy and and all 1st books in the series that fit with what you're asking.

03-07-2015, 03:14 PM	#4
mewmartigan Guru Posts: 852 Karma: 8242060 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Kindle Oasis (2019)	Geralt beat me to it, but I agree and can second his recommendations of Mistborn: The Final Empire Assassin's Apprentice The Lies of Locke Lamora The others I haven't read...

03-08-2015, 08:48 PM	#5
BooksAreAwsome Live.Laugh.Love Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Lake Stevens, WA Device: none	A lot of good recommendations here.

03-09-2015, 04:14 PM	#7
ccowie Hiding with an ereader Posts: 391 Karma: 3987376 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kitchener Ontario Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350	I think Old Man's War by John Scalzi also fits that criteria.

03-09-2015, 05:20 PM	#8
hildea Wizard Posts: 1,220 Karma: 63835638 Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Norway Device: PocketBook Touch Lux (had Onyx Boox Poke 3 and BeBook Neo earlier)	Check out this thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=256092 , about "series that covers one character from beginning to end on a path to greatness". A couple of other suggestions, which fit your description, but not the "...to greatness" in the other thread: Sarah Rees Brennan: the Lynburn Legacy series. Ordinary schoolgirl (more or less) who has to save the idyllic English village (with a lot of help from her friends) from the lords and ladies of the manor. Both funny and heartbreaking, often both at the same time. Elizabeth Wein: "Code name Verity" and "Rose under fire". Young women during WWII. The first one starts with the protagonist telling her story from a Gestapo prison, and the second mostly takes place in the concentration camp Ravensbrück, so they are not happy books, but they are really, really well written and memorable.

03-10-2015, 08:47 AM	#10
Nancy Fulda I write stories. Posts: 700 Karma: 16437432 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern Germany Device: kindle	You might try Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold. (It's really a bundle of her first two books: Shards of Honor and Barrayar.) Strong romance element, fast-paced, and definitely includes a shift into an unfamiliar culture.

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