The trouble with Harry

[Barry Arrowsmith]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Kat Macfarlane" <katmac at ...> wrote:
>
> I think the trouble with Harry is that he's a Hero (as Jo noted, it's an adventure story, and 
that applies just as much to the Septology as a whole as it does to the PS/SS).
> 
> Gatta's irreverent and serendipitous mind is reminded of Anna Russell's assessment of 
Siegfried (another Hero): "He's very young, very handsome, very strong, very brave,... very 
stupid...."
> 

Over the years there have been a number of discussions on the
boards that attempted to define just what made a hero, and it's 
true that the word 'intelligence' was never near the top of the list
- for the fictional variety, anyway.

To be fair, heroes in the fantasy world don't really need to be all
that bright, as there's usually a smart-arse know-it-all in the 
background who has already sussed out most of the major plot 
tokens and is now busy egging them on to do the hard bits: 
"This is your destiny! Only you can save the world!
Here's a magic sword/ring/cloak and a bumbling though well-
meaning half-wit for character comparison and to justify expostion.
Plus a couple of other staunch companions and at least one who 
might be a bit dodgy.
Now get out there and suffer untold trials, tribulations and misery 
for the triumph of truth/justice/freedom and the right of bucolic
peasants (in HP - Muggles) to swill their beer in peace and ignorance.
And we'll have a one hell of a party when you get back. 
Or even if you don't. But we will be sad. Promise."

Genuine question.
Can anyone think of a story of this genre where *the* main character
is the sharpest knife in the cutlery drawer, a fantasy lead who's, say,
the equivalent of Sherlock Holmes in whodunnits? 

It was a long time before HP that I was into this stuff and IIRC the 
most desirable qualifications for a fantasy hero were perseverance, 
stoicism verging on insensitivity, all seasoned with a modicum of 
'native wit'.
Maybe things have progressed since then. 
 
Kneasy