Top Five Tuesday: Funniest Characters

For this week’s Top Five Tuesday, Bionic Book Worm has asked us to share our some of our favorite funny characters from the book world.  When I first saw this prompt, I thought it was a bit of a tall order.  Unliked film or television, I find that it takes a LOT to make me outright giggle at prose, instead of just giving the book a small smile and a nod.  But I surprisingly found that I did have some favorite characters on hand who tickle my funny bone, so let’s dive in!

    

Fred & George Weasley – HARRY POTTER by J.K. Rowling
Everybody’s favorite magical twins, the kings of pranks and schemes.  Fred & George offered the comedic relief in a series that got increasingly dark and grim over time.  These two hold the rare honor of making me laugh out loud on multiple occasions, so they get top bill on the list!

Shallan – WORDS OF RADIANCE by Brandon Sanderson
Shallan is without a doubt my favorite character in the STORMLIGHT ARCHIVES (well, of the two books I’ve read so far).  One reason for that is her impeccable sarcasm that has caused me to shriek with glee on multiple occasions, particularly with her first few meetings of Kaladin which leave the man utterly baffled about what just happened. Shallan also gave me one of my favorite exchanges in recent history:

“Brightness … I believe you stray into sarcasm.”

“Funny. I thought I’d run straight into it, screaming at the top of my lungs.”

Jesper and Matthias – SIX OF CROWS/CROOKED KINGDOM by Leigh Bardugo
I couldn’t choose between the two, so I’m giving them a shared spot on my list.  Jesper is of course the obvious choice of funnyman, the character with a witticism or dry remark for every occasion.  But Matthias needs some love for his humor, particularly in CROOKED KINGDOM.  As a member of the crew not used to a life of crime, Matthias is the one in the background pointing out the absurdity of their plans or the difficulties they need to overcome, usually with deadpan sarcasm – or with absolute horror at realizing the first instincts of his compatriots. (Don’t worry though, he’s always got their back!)

  

Clef – FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett
Clef is a character of unique skill. In the world of FOUNDRYSIDE, magic works by essentially “programming” objects using magical writing.  Clef’s ability allows him to literally talk to objects and find loopholes in the programming, thus accomplishing tasks like getting a door that is magically sealed to open.  The resulting conversations with incredibly single-minded objects are a delight and one reason I fell in love with this book.

M-Bot – SKYWARD by Brandon Sanderson
I had a tough decision for my final entry on this list, and I decided to allow myself to go back to the Sanderson well to talk about a character I haven’t written a lot about before, M-Bot!  The AI of a crashed starship, M-Bot is naive about human social protocols, naturally resulting in many amusing faux pas. M-Bot is also obsessed with collecting data about mushrooms for…reasons?  But do not stand between it and a new sample for its collection.