I recently discovered the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy by Katherine Addison, and am a big fan of the trilogy’s main character Thara Celehar. He is a – well, the fandom term from like 15 years ago would be woobie – a slightly pathetic guy that you just want to wrap in a blanket and sit them down on your couch with a mug of tea in their hands, basically. He’s got a tragic backstory, crippling depression, and he has a gift that allows him to speak with the dead that sends him on all kinds of fantastic adventures. He has a deep sense of duty. He has a number of friends who run themselves ragged trying to convince him that he’s not a burden. I love him.
While reading Thara’s books, I kept thinking of another, similar character that I’ve always loved: Vanyel, from Mercedes Lackey’s Magic’s Pawn series. He is… a somewhat melancholic man with a tragic backstory, he is very tired all the time but has a deep sense of duty, and he is the most powerful mage in the kingdom and imagines his ability to protect others with his magic to be his only real worth, despite all his friends constantly trying to take care of him.
I need more. I need more depressed fantasy heroes that are baffled when they are showered with love by their friends. please help me 😅
by mewithanie
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Joe Abercrombie series Shattered Sea saga (book 1# Half a King) might fit the bill.
Although it’s been ages since I read it, so some details are a little fuzzy around the edges. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, follows three protagonists, and one of them squarely falls in the depressed yet motivated by a strong purpose category who finds a sense of belonging in a ragtag group of misfits.
How about the Locked Tomb series? I’m not talking about Gideon but Harrow. Book 2 is strictly from her pov and although she pretends to have it all together, her psyche is anything but stable and so goes for her fluctuating self esteem.
The Way of Kings – Brandon Sanderson, if you haven’t already read it.