These character archetypes were all great - until they were used one too many times. Doesn't mean they can't still be used, but a good storyteller should give them a fresh retelling; take the trope and play with it, subvert it, get it drunk and stick it in a hot tub with its roomie's hot younger sister.

It's definitely a main reason I like authors like Erikson and Sanderson, among several others. I do what I can to avoid books with characters as blatant as those listed here. (Although sometimes they still find a way onto my bookshelf, the sneaky bastards.)