I hate Jake Featherston (Harry Turtledove discussion)

Him and Jefferson Pinkard. I want them both to die!

OK, for those who don't know what I'm talking about, Featherston is a character in Harry Turtledove's alternate history series, "The Great War" and "American Empire," where the U.S. lost the Civil War, the Confederate States are independent, and the U.S. is allied with Germany.

He's a racist southern Hitler who formed the Freedom Party after the CSA lost the Great War, and it advocates violently putting down other political rallies and putting black people in their place. Pinkard is one of many brainless followers in Alabama.

So I think Turtledove, despite his flaws (such as repeating the situation of the character whenever he comes back to them) has succeeded in making me despise one of his creations. Hooray!

Take your pick for this topic:

1) Literary characters you hate
2) Harry Turtledove


Since the first post was about Turtledove, I'll make this a Turtledove discussion thread. Probably should be in the Amphitheatre, but whatever.

 

I like butts.


and books! (on topic, yes!)

 

The Bearenstein Bears are a defilement to the literary art.

 

Rukh

 

I liked Featherston at first but he grew too bitter and hateful after a while for my tastes. Now he's just a maniac who happens to be President of the CSA.

Pinkard is an angry guy, too, although for different reasons than Featherston. He's dangerous, too, although not as dangerous as Roger Kimball, who thankfully got what he deserved.


I did feel bad that Reggie Bartlett died, though. Hopefully Clarence Potter can succeed in bringing down the Freedom Party where Bartlett failed.

 

I hate Gaeriel Captison's hippie daughter.

 

I always hated Fadellah from Moby Dick.

Guy freaked me out big time...I always thought he was a vampire or something.


Really creepy when his body was found harpooned to the whale....

 

Adolf Featherston...

I mean, Jake Hitler...

Er, Jake Featherston is well written character in my opinion, but is intended to be no way likable. He's supposed to be understandable - readers hopefully won't agree with him in the slightest, but they'll see how easy it would have been for someone like him to happen. Looking back, it?s hard to believe that Hitler was able to take over Germany like he did, but Turtledove is showing how good people like any of us can be led astray be a charismatic leader.

Anyhow, the character that I?m concerned about in the story is Jonathan Moss. What side is he going to take in the upcoming WWII analog?

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Yea, that should be interesting, Gandolf. I think ultimately that he will side with the Canada, if only because his wife and daughter or Canadian-born. But then again, if Mary McGregor gets a nice little rebellion going and tracks Secord down like she planned then Moss may turn back to the U.S. side, if only for vengeance.

As for Featherston, I really felt bad for him during the Great War books, but once the American Empire series got started he was way too bitter and far gone for me to have any real sympathy for.

In an unrelated note, the one character who I truly hated was George Armstrong Custer. He should have got what was coming to him, and I hated how he outsmarted poor Arthur McGregor.

 

I'm surprised this is still here! And has replies!!

I'm awaiting the next book. Anyone know what it's going to be called?

It kinda looks like the US is going to be screwed pretty badly in the modified World War II. It should be interesting to see how Canada reacts.

Well, at least they're not as bad off as the US in Robert Doherty's "Area 51" series which I'm reading. We just lost Pearl Harbor, most of the Pacific Fleet, and the USS Arizona has been raised and taken under alien control.