Personally, I can see the appeal of both. I like a hero who is strong, capable,
and knows how to take charge. But I also like a hero who can be gentle,
thoughtful, and doesn’t have to prove he’s got the biggest one in the room all
the time. Who doesn’t have to dominate or, worse, conquer the woman he loves.
Plus, exposure to some of the old-fashioned bodice rippers of the ‘70s and ‘80s
makes me extra-picky when it comes to alpha heroes: too many of those guys would
have sent me screaming in the opposite direction if I were the heroine.
Just as I have no use for bullying alphas, I have an equally
low tolerance for smug alphas. The ones who sit on top of the food chain,
complacent and entitled, confident that everything their hearts desire will
drop into their laps like ripe fruit, and unthreatened by anything or anyone
because they’re rich, powerful, influential, well-connected, and, of course, hot. That sort of hero leaves me cold.
Consequently, the surest way to get me to root for or even
like an alpha, however arrogant . . . is to take all those advantages away from
him. Stack the deck against him. Give him obstacles—lots of them. Give him an
Achilles heel—or two dozen. Put him in a fight for his life and don’t telegraph
his victory as a foregone conclusion.
Make things hard for him, and once he rises to the challenge, make them
even harder. Let him have to work, really work, to get what he wants, in life
and in love. Turn the top dog into an underdog.
Here are five alpha heroes I’ve taken to my heart over the
years. Strong, resourceful, sometimes arrogant men whom I don’t automatically
want to punch…because the whole world is lining up to do it first.
1. Tyrion Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire; George R.R. Martin): Nothing like being born with
physical challenges—like dwarfism—to test an alpha’s mettle. Not to mention
being born into a family of tall, beautiful, ruthless blondes, several of whom
want you dead. The rest are content merely to exploit your loyalty, your
political acumen, your brilliant strategic mind, and your longing for
affection, approval, and acceptance. But somehow, against seemingly
insurmountable odds, you manage to wriggle out of the various traps set for you
and emerge, battered but prepared to fight—and scheme—again. You’re the alpha
as trickster, with survival skills men twice your size can only envy as more
and more of them become casualties in the game of thrones.
2. Francis Crawford (The Lymond Chronicles; Dorothy Dunnett): The world should be your oyster
if you’re a true Renaissance man—a polymath, a skilled tactician and soldier, a
natural leader of men, and a highly desirable lover to women. Too bad
your country thinks you’re a traitor, there’s a price on your head, and
countless angry men are hunting you all over Scotland, hoping to bring you in
and watch you hang. One of them is your own brother. And even if you succeed in
proving your innocence, your life won’t be a cakewalk, because your own
restless nature and the ambitions of others will continually draw you into webs
of intrigue and eternal powerful struggles between warring nations. And let’s
not forget the half-buried family secrets that cloud your past, complicate your
present, and obscure your future, not to mention your love life. Lucky you.
3. Ross Poldark (The Poldark Saga, Winston Graham): Coming home wounded and scarred
from the American Revolution is hard enough without also having to contend with
a dead father, a crumbling home, a struggling mine, rapacious businessmen
seeking to enrich themselves at your expense, and a faithless sweetheart who’s
chosen to marry your more materially prosperous cousin instead. It’s a good
thing you’re as tough as old boots with a natural habit of command and more
than one trick up your sleeve, because you have to be. It’s an even better
thing—though it takes you a bit too long to realize that—that you end up with a
woman as strong as you are, who understands and accepts your rebellious spirit and your
need to kick against society’s restraints.
4. Richard Sharpe (Sharpe, Bernard Cornwell): You’re brave, tough, a consummate soldier, and the
one-time savior of the Duke of Wellington, who subsequently promoted you from
the ranks…proving that no good deed goes unpunished. Your men distrust you, your fellow officers scorn you, and
you confront unrelenting class prejudice and staggering military incompetence
on a daily basis. But through it all, you fight on, clawing your way up the
ladder, earning respect and accolades the hard way—because that’s the only way
you know how.
So, who are your favorite alpha heroes and what makes them
special to you?
Pamela Sherwood
I love Miles and his way of coping with all of the adversity that has plagued his life from the onset, and I was fascinated by Poldark series when I read it so long ago. I really enjoyed Fitz in Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy as well!
ReplyDeleteE.L.F., Miles is definitely one of a kind, and alpha in a way that doesn't make me want to knock his teeth out! I haven't read the Farseer trilogy but I've heard good things about it.
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