Okay, okay - it goes without saying but, once again, I'm late getting my Top 5 post out. To be fair though I usually write up this post much earlier in the week, as soon as it's clear what way the poll over at this feature's originating blog,
Larissa's Bookish Life, is going to go in fact. Unfortunately, this week's poll was tied right up until the last minute and so I went away for the weekend without being able to post this week's Top 5 in a timely manner.
But now I'm back, the tie is broken, the topic is clear and I'm all set to go! So, without further ado, Calliope's Domain presents this week Top 5 list featuring the worst daddies the fictional world has to offer!
#5 - The Tulpa, Joanna's father, Signs of the Zodiac series
Once upon a time, he was a mental construct. Fast forward and he's a big bad who could give Darth Vader a run for his money. And Joanna Archer is his bouncing baby girl all grown up. Since learning of her existence (as his daughter, that is - he dispatched one of his minions to rape her at the tender age of sixteen not knowing of their familial connection), he's alternated between wanting her to join him on the dark side and trying to kill her and, really, he has no preference which way the results go so long as she's removed as an interference to his master plans. Can you say "fatherly affection"?
#4 - Daniel Beckstrom, Allie's father, in Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series
When he was alive, he had no qualms about using his magic and power to manipulate his family - namely his wife du jour and daughter, Allison - into being more manageable, more in line with what he wanted them to be. When Allie realized what he was doing to her, she turned her back on him and his plans for her and struck out on her own, happy to be ignored by Daddy Dearest for years to come. Then he died - killed, to be precise - and took up residence in his daughter's head. I'll admit that he's has some kick ass knowledge to impart and has proved useful at times but when you get right down to it he's still using his daughter as a time share to escape death.
#3 - Jeffrey, Elena's father, in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunters series
Jeffrey wasn't always such an ass, it's true, but following the brutal murders of his wife and two eldest daughters, he shut up his softer emotions and became a man driven solely by his ambition and greed who sees his remaining daughters (from his first marriage at least) as assets to be exploited. First time he's introduced in the books, for instance, is when he summons Elena to his presence to demand she use her newly established acquaintance with an archangel to further his own business interests and, when she refuses, berates her for her lack of family loyalty, never mind that he'd all but disinherited Elena before that moment.
#2 - Max, Cat's father, in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series
Alright, so the question of whether or not daddy dearest raped Cat's mother has gotten a little murky since the first book but even if Max was innocent in that instance he's more than made up for it since. To date he's hired
multiple hit men to try and kill his daughter and when they
all failed took a turn at capturing and torturing her himself. Fortunately, like many a villain targeting an urban fantasy heroine, Max made the grave error (See what I did there? Ha!) of forgetting about the love interest.
#1 - Roland, Kate's father, in Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series
Roland is a powerful, ancient man responsible for the creature of vampires and whose very blood is a weapon all its own; he's also a horrible father. Throughout history he's fathered numerous children and without fail every single one of them has tried to kill him, necessitating a bit of preemptive action on Roland's part. Fast forward a century and ten and Roland has a bit of a memory lapse and caves in to his latest concubine's desire to have his child. By the time he remembers why it was he was against having any more children, his concubine is already pregnant. So he tries to kill her and things just go downhill rather spectacularly from there...
And there you have it! Tune in next week for yet another Top 5 list - hopefully on time! Kiss, kiss!
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