Who Read Dragoncharm / Academic Characters?

Hi all,

Back on GAFF, there was a thread called Teeny Tiny Fandoms, in which I mentioned a book called Dragoncharm which is highly-regarded by a very small group of people. Another member said that my mentioning it was quite a coincidence because he/she had just borrowed the book from the library and had read it themselves. Trouble is I can't remember who it was, or whether they're still part of the community. And, as this happened on the GAFF forum which is now gone, I can't search for the post.

Anyway, the question I really wanted to ask anyone familiar with Dragoncharm (and preferably the follow-ons, Dragonstorm and Dragonflame) was, what did you think of Tallow? It appears he's generally loved by the fandom (although again, it's hard to tell, as the fandom isn't very big, or current), but I wanted to ask about your opinions in more detail.

I'm beginning to put together ideas for an original fiction. I've got a half-conceived character right now who is calm, measured, reliable and much-loved, a lot like Tallow. However, these traits suggest that the character risks being boring. Therefore I'd like to know what peoples' thoughts are on Tallow - I'd like to try and make sure I don't go wrong with my original character in that case.

Thanks in advance, everyone!

EDIT: It might be worth mentioning a little more about the character I'm making. He's a 30-or 40-something academic, a bit quirky perhaps. So he's not going to be an action hero or anything. It might be a bit early to be posting this thread, actually, as I'm still not sure what the setting is going to be. But I think he's got enough identity as a standalone concept as it stands for me to ask, hence the thread.

Oh, that was me. Hello again.

Tallow is extremely likeable, but because he's such a laconic and self-contained character he needs other characters around to fully show off his personality. His sensibility means that he will by himself just say or do whatever he thinks best without making the kind of narrative-friendly fuss that a text-based character really benefits from (Cumber, I'm looking at you), and this makes it necessary for everyone else to react to him, whether it's in their thoughts or in conversation with him.

Somebody in the same mould as Tallow would be perfectly suited for a role as mentor figure, though they could work as a major viewpoint character if the contrast between them and their surroundings made these 'ordinary' traits stand out. Have you heard of the Digger comic? Digger is the embodiment of calm, measured, and reliable, and she's not boring at all. Possibly a touch Sueish in just how often her way of doing things turns out to be the right one even in circumstances that would seem to suggest the opposite, but ehh, GAFF makes you fussy about this kind of thing.