Yeah, I like some 'bad boy' characters myself, but they have to have redeeming qualities. There's only so much that I can take from a bad boy character before I become disgusted with him. And you're right; the bad boy often has to realize what's wrong, take steps to change himself and his behavior, and grow as a person. Jace does not. He's a smug, conceited, and nasty bigot at the beginning of "City of Bones" and he's a smug, conceited, and nasty bigot by the end of it.
Normally, I do feel sympathetic to characters with tragic pasts, but I don't feel sympathy for Jace because he's just so loathsome and because his past doesn't seem to have had any credible effect on him. I just can't see a connection between the sad little boy of the past and the obnoxious, vain, and entitled jerk of the present. Jace's angst-ridden mood swings just never seemed believable to me. Plus, like I said to Zelda_Queen in another post, there's another character who shows up in the third book who has had (in my opinion) a far worse life than Jace and yet we're supposed to view that character as pure evil.
/You should see the reviews for the Clockwork Angel. Apparently the main male protagonist is exactly like Jace...only 10x worst./
Oh, yes, I've heard that the main characters in "Clockwork Angel" are basically Clary, Simon, Isabelle, and Jace with different names and looks. I've heard that the male love interest is nasty, but you're telling me that he's *worse* than Jace? How is that possible? Or am I better off not knowing?
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Date: 2011-05-23 08:53 pm (UTC)Normally, I do feel sympathetic to characters with tragic pasts, but I don't feel sympathy for Jace because he's just so loathsome and because his past doesn't seem to have had any credible effect on him. I just can't see a connection between the sad little boy of the past and the obnoxious, vain, and entitled jerk of the present. Jace's angst-ridden mood swings just never seemed believable to me. Plus, like I said to Zelda_Queen in another post, there's another character who shows up in the third book who has had (in my opinion) a far worse life than Jace and yet we're supposed to view that character as pure evil.
/You should see the reviews for the Clockwork Angel. Apparently the main male protagonist is exactly like Jace...only 10x worst./
Oh, yes, I've heard that the main characters in "Clockwork Angel" are basically Clary, Simon, Isabelle, and Jace with different names and looks. I've heard that the male love interest is nasty, but you're telling me that he's *worse* than Jace? How is that possible? Or am I better off not knowing?