I’ve been rereading “Last Call” by Tim Powers, and I don’t remember being as pissed off at the protagonist, Scott Crane, as I was on first reading. I remembered him as just your standard average-guy in non-average situation kinda protagonist on first reading. But what a difference a decade makes. What a fucking idiot the guy is! I read the book and I want to kick his ass. His first mistake was stupid, but folly of youth and all that. But then he keeps right on doing stupid-ass things, over and over again, needlessly endangering himself and the people he loves and arguably getting at least one of them killed, until I’ve pretty much lost all respect for him and I’m half hoping the ending will come out different – and considerably less happy – for him this time.
I think if you make your protagonist such an anti-hero that no reasonable person could like or respect them, you’ve made a SERIOUS mistake as a craftsman. All of Powers’ protagonists have their flaws, but they have good qualities too, but Scott Crane is just a drunken stumblebum and very little else. The best you can say with him is that he doesn’t actively wish anyone harm who doesn’t have it coming big time, which to my mind is next to nothing.
Anybody else find themselves seriously revising their opinion of a movie/book character on re-reading/re-viewing?