Character Connections

When reading Angel Star this weekend, I was disturbed by the name of the primary antagonist. Why? Because it is the same name as one of my favorite characters in a different series – and he’s a heroic character in that one! What’s the name? Hadrian. The first Hadrian I’ve “met” is one of the heroes in the Riyria Revelations series. I LOVE him. His wit, his integrity (ironic, given his profession), his personality. LOVE him. I can never decide who I like better: him or his partner, Royce. So, when reading Angel Star and finding out the name of the Dark Angel is Hadrian … I paused. I actually paused. And my first thought was, “NO! That cannot be his name. Hadrian is a good guy!” It took me awhile to reconcile the Hadrian I “know” with Hadrian the Dark Angel. Hadrian the evil one. Hadrian, Lucifer’s twin. And, really, it still doesn’t sit right. Hadrian is MY (sorry, Michael, I know he’s really yours …) heroic character, a man I’d want on my side.

To a lesser degree is the name Bryn/Brynn. Bryn is the main character in Raised by Wolves, and she’s a character I absolutely LOVE. And, again, in Angel Star, there’s a not-so-lovable Brynn. The insecure popular girl who is a bully to the hero of the story. While a much lesser conflict, it still was somewhat odd. Especially since I had just finished reading Raised by Wolves. LOL I think the spelling difference helped keep them much more separate in my mind. It didn’t impact my ability to see the less-lovable Brynn as her own character.

I’m sure there have been – and will be – other characters with the same names but completely different personas. There are only so many names out there … The Hadrian one is the first one to really get to me like it did, though. (At least I think so – I sure hope I’d be able to remember such a conflict if it has occurred before!) I had to force myself to recreate Hadrian in my mind – a Hadrian that fits the dark angel in Angel Star. I sure hope he doesn’t affect MY Hadrian when I read the upcoming Riyria Revelations installment, Wintertide! I guess we’ll find out in the next few months …

So, fellow readers, I have a question for you. How do you reconcile such character conflicts in your bookish adventures?

FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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