Last weekend in the US it was Father’s Day, so I thought it would be fun to name some favorite Dads from the Fantasy genre. I think I’m a good Dad. I often feed my baby, and I rarely misplace her. I also teach her how to make fart noises, which is essential to her social development. I’m pretty sure those are things good Dads do.
Even with my aforementioned accolades of great dadness, I still pale in comparison to Zaknafein Do’ Urden. Zaknafein is the father of Drizzt Do’ Urden the legendary Dark Elf swordsman from the Forgotten Realms Universe.
In Dark Elf society women are the rulers. They subjugate the men with wicked ruthlessness, cunning politics, and excessive violence. Now that I think about it, it’s really not that much different from our own world. Zaknafein was the greatest swordsmen alive, and he taught Drizzt everything he knew. The most important lesson he taught Drizzt was how to be a good person. Zaknafein paid a heavy price to assist his son in escaping their dark lands. Drizzt owes everything to his father, and often remembers his wisdom in times of need.
So who is your favorite Fantasy Dad?
Well, I don’t know if he’s the best dad, but my favourite is probably Arthur Weasley, from the Harry Potter books. I’m always amused by his curiosity about the Muggle World, and the way he’s secretly egging on his twin sons, except when his wife is giving him that disapproving look.
I agree whole-heartedly with the Arthur Weasly mention.
A couple of others that I like:
Mortimer (Mo) Folchart – From the Inkheart series
Eddard (Ned) Stark – A Song of Ice and Fire. He’s a bit of a hard person, but he tries to do the best for his family (and Jon).
Honorable Mention (Not really a dad, but the father-figure of the group):
Flint Fireforge – Dragonlance Chronicles
Carson Drew. OK, not technically a fantasy series, but he was the first Dad to pop into my head.
I have to go with Arthur Weasly too.
Arthur Weasley definitely. Aral Vorkosigan had to face down every major prejudice he’d grown up with in order to support his son(s), so I’d include him. Duke Leto tried hard to prepare his son for a rough universe, so he gets honorable mention. What about Roland’s dad in Stephen King’s Gunslinger series?
Arthur Weasley is certainly up there.
The father (name escapes me) in Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes always struck me as a pretty good one, though it took some time for his son to realize it (ain’t it always the way . . . )
I need to have my shelves to look at it, but it’s interesting how hard it is to come up with just fathers, let alone good ones
I love Arthur Weasley but I wanted to find another since so many people have mentioned him and for the life of me cannot think of another good father figure…they always tend to either be ne’er do wells who are no longer in the picture or they were ‘killed in the line of duty’ and thus aren’t around for actual fathering.
Hm. I will think some more on this. There have to be more father figures with positive influences out there somewhere!
Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird
Melanie Goldmund, if you live in the USA, you win a book of your choice from our stacks. Please contact me (Tim) with your choice and a US address.