who is the best fictional dad & why— jaboukie young-white (@jaboukie) June 18, 2017
I mean, seriously. Sure, they abound in TV shows - usually as the lovable, but mildly clueless/inept parent - but in many books, particularly the SF/F genres, and even some movies, dads are more of a plot device than an actual character. I mean, take Mufasa, for example. His main role was to serve as the climactic childhood trauma and angst for young Simba.
To that end, I want to sound off for all the fleshed-out, admirable fathers* of SF/F (Please, add more in the comments):
- Tam al'Thor - Past BA swordmaster and supportive, adoptive father to the Dragon Reborn
- Samwise Gamgee - Former ringbearer, mayor of the Shire.
- Bruenor Battlehammer - How many dwarves stop adventuring to raise an orphan human girl?
- ... That's as many as I can think of right now, racking through 16 years of SF/F books
*Father figures/mentors of orphans and runaways not included unless they adopted and raised the child
It's kinda pitiful that the list is this short. Sure, there may be a couple I'm forgetting or that I don't know well enough to add to the list, but, I mean, c'mon authors. Would it hurt to have some more great fathers instead of the deceased or deadbeat plot device/backstory fathers?
