Next Big Para Character

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Go, Aske! :) I'm diggin' demons right now. Love me some hot shifters. Vamps (if written well) continue to be a fave of mine. But, I love reading about new supes as well.

[[deleted user]]

Haven't even heard of some of the species on that list. Heh. I'm with you on the gargoyles, NU, they're pretty yum. has a gargoyle as the male protag, and he is stonkin hot.

I like em big and burly, so shifters are more my thing. Demons are yummy too. Vamps and fae come across just a little too delicate for me.

It's a great question, actually. Authors are continually trying to use new species, and some just don't work. Zombies are a protag that I just can't get behind. The whole flesh-eating thing just does not sync well with the rigorous sexual demands of the PNR genre, imo.

ETA to add: Angels seem to be gaining popularity. I quite like them, and they come with all this nice background mythology that you can play around with.

[Judithe, Soap Operas never end....]

The zombies are one group that just don't do it for me. The somewhat related ghouls (Night Huntress) are somewhat OK for me...good characters though the concept still induces queasiness.

[Sandra J]

I have a liking for vamps and shifters in particular. I'm not very fond of the fae (at least so far). Zombies are definitely out for me. Yuk. Rotting flesh and body parts falling off just don't cut it as romance material, not to mention flesh-eating.

[Literary Ames]

Moss wrote: "The whole flesh-eating thing just does not sync well with the rigorous sexual demands of the PNR genre, imo."

LOL! I agree but I'm intrigued by which looks like it takes "you are what you eat" literally. Hoping to read that soon.

The fae are the species I find it difficult to read about. Can't stand 99% of fae-related stories. I'm not really a fan of most angel/fallen angel stories especially ones with the old biblical mythology. I've had enough of the nephilim. Singh's angels are original and that's why I love them. Shifters are my all-time faves.

[Aske]

I have to agree that the shifters are a big hit. I love the wild that has been incorporated into their being and how that effects the character and I haven't come across a shifter in a book where they were drop dead gorgeous or some sort of fantasy I wouldn't mind spending some time with. I also really like demons or almost any other shadow creature out there. Zombies just don't do it for me. I just can't see eating human flesh and rotting parts anywhere near attractive. As for the vamps, they're hot and a good read (if written well) but right now I think that that subject has been done a tad too much. I also agree with the Fae. They are either snotty with a stick stuck up where the sun don't shine or they're fragile and crumble as soon as you touch them.

[CyberAlmu]

I think the problem with angels/demons is the religious connotations it may have.. it's difficult to avoid refering to demons=evil angels=good. It works fine for certain cultures but not for all. I guess. I don't know.

[[deleted user]]

See, I really like biblical mythology, but I process it as just that--mythology, not religious hominem. I really like how strong the language and the concepts are from around the old testaments: angels are these gothic, dark creatures, crawling with equal amounts of dark and light. Jacob wrestling the angel is just about one of my favourite stories ever, in the bible. But I get that it's difficult to separate the religion from the prose and yeah, I understand not wanting that to burden down the story.

[Literary Ames]

I used to like the biblical mythology surrounding angels (still like it with demons) but I feel like I've read so many angel/fallen angel/nephilim books that it's become cliché. I crave some originality with this species now.

[Jenny]

Aske, this is a great list. It made me think of creatures I hadn't thought of in ages, like Sasquatch. I'll have to dig out a copy of The Mythical Creatures Bible . It's amazing, the creatures humans have imagined.

My favourite? I really do like djinn. But dragons are powerful, and people write about them in so many different ways ... Hmm. I honestly can't decide.

Oh, and what about aliens? would they be paranormal?

[[deleted user]]

Amy or "Ames" wrote: "I used to like the biblical mythology surrounding angels (still like it with demons) but I feel like I've read so many angel/fallen angel/nephilim books that it's become cliché. I crave some origin..."

Yeah I know what you're saying. Still, I think they're under-explored compared to vamps, whose day I'm kind of hoping has come. I really think the whole bloodsucker trope's been drained dry. It gets a little hairy when it comes to weres, too.

Zing!

[Literary Ames]

LOL! @ Moss

I like dragons too, whether they shape-shift or not.

[[deleted user]]

Not to threadjack, but if anyone's got any good angel book recs, I'm ready and waiting with my TBR list :) (I've got Nalini Singh's GH series, so that's covered)

[Aske]

Jenny wrote: "Aske, this is a great list. It made me think of creatures I hadn't thought of in ages, like Sasquatch. I'll have to dig out a copy of The Mythical Creatures Bible [bookcover:The Mythical Creatures ..."

Now that you mention it, is there a PRN story on Sasquatch? Because if so I haven't heard of it and I think that it would be kind of interesting to read.

As for the aliens...I want to say yes to them being a paranormal character but I'm not entirely sure.

[Jenny]

LOL The Sasquatch story that comes to my mind is the movie, "Harry and the Hendersons". Definitely not PNR.

and the aliens have me baffled, too.

[Literary Ames]

I'd call aliens paranormal characters. I don't know about you guys but I've never met an extra-terrestrial and it's entirely possible that they don't exist. Same for werewolves and vampires.

I haven't read that many alien books. Maybe two. They were OK. I'm game to try more.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Amy or "Ames" wrote: "I'd call aliens paranormal characters. I don't know about you guys but I've never met an extra-terrestrial and it's entirely possible that they don't exist. Same for werewolves and vampires.

I ha..."

Ames, you've read only 2 alien books. I'm shocked!

I've loved aliens since the first Dr Who & the first Star Trek.

If you think of aliens as just different like vampires & werewolves you'll see there are good stories & bad ones just like everything else.

[Literary Ames]

Hey, I've watched plenty of aliens, I am a Star Trek fan. I've just not read many.

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Now is the time to start! Just decide if you want straight SciFi or SciFiRom or a mixture. LOL.

Plenty of groups here to steer you to the best books either way.

I see you're a member of SciFi Romance already, like me :D

[Literary Ames]

I haven't done much other than join that group though. I will reform.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

You should check out Song of Scarabaeus, Ames. It was good. Plus, I'm guessing you've read some of Sirantha Jax by Ann Aguirre. If not, you should read those too.

ETA: I'm fairly new to reading sci-fi too. LOVE movies/TV, tryin' to expand and see what I like.

[Literary Ames]

Alien books I've read:

I have a shortcut on my desktop to the first 6 chapters of Song of Scarabaeus but I'm saving it until after I've finished A Game of Thrones.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

I didn't really latch onto Gena's Alien Huntress series like I thought I might. It wasn't bad, just didn't entice me to jump into more of the series. At least not yet.

I'm really enjoying Sirantha and lookin' forward to the 2nd book in Scarabaeus.

Enjoy, GoT!

[Aske]

I don't think that I've ever read a book that had aliens in it and the Alien Huntress series didn't seem that interesting to me. Is it worth moving up on the TBR or should I just leave it for "if I have nothing else left/forced to" part of my list?

Another thing that I feel I must mention is how do people feel about reading about ghosts and those related?

[Steph, Serious series addict]

Sandra's read a bunch of those, Aske. I have only read the first, so I'm not a good judge.

I have read several books/series with ghosts and, for the most part, I like them. I guess my favorite (that focused on ghosts) would be Wendy Roberts' Ghost Duster Mysteries.

What about you?

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Aske, I didn't really like the 1st one much, 3 stars read it March last year.

But I remember I actually read #3 first and I really enjoyed it, 4 stars. It was the first Gena Showalter book I ever read.

They are the only 2 of that series I've read. Hope that helps. LOL.

I'm pretty sure Judithe has read them all so far.

[Judithe, Soap Operas never end....]

I have, and enjoy them. Different bit of fluff, and I like some of the later ones better. I'm must say, I'm not a big fan of Showalter (don't dislike her work, but it doesn't come to mind when thinking about the books I HAVE to get/am dying to read-reread), but do find them a fun, quick read.

[Aske]

Thanks! Now I can add some more books to hunt down as soon as I'm done with my current load. :)

As for the ghosts... I'm not too sure about them but then again I've only read maybe one or two series/books that had ghost as main characters. I didn't enjoy them as much but I'll give it another go.

[Aske]

What are some characteristics that you like and don't like your favorite para character to have?

For example: Vamps. I like how some authors make their vamps maintain some sort of heat in their bodies instead of them have cold dead skin.