Books reading recommendations Five Terrible or Useless Mentors in SF and Fantasy Whether actively harmful or simply inept, certain mentors seem to do more harm than good… By James Davis Nicoll | Published on June 1, 2026 Credit: Lucasfilm Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Lucasfilm As recently discussed, many fictional protagonists have benefited from talented, inspirational mentors. However, there is another variety of mentor that, while perhaps not as useful, can be just as inspirational… or at least extremely memorable. This is the terrible mentor, the pontificator whose advice is invariably incorrect, when it is not actively harmful. My personal example would be the PE teacher who, in an attempt to teach me to pay attention out on the field, threw a fastball at the back of my head1. A more universal example would be Hamlet’s Polonius, that “foolish prating knave” who no doubt meant well. But let’s talk about fictional mentors whom many of you may have encountered. Abdicator Namir and Observer Elmis — Edgar Pangborn’s A Mirror for Observers For thirty thousand years, Salvayans (AKA Martians) have lived hidden among humans. Most Martians hope humans will eventually mature. A few, the Abdicators, believe humanity is irredeemable. With any luck humans will be a self-solving problem. Brilliant Angelo Pontevecchio becomes a point of contention between the two factions. Namir does his best to encourage the boy’s worst tendencies. Elmis does his best to encourage the boy to be the best he can. The contest plays out over decades. One might cut Namir some slack because he is after all the antagonist. However, not only is Elmis completely ineffectual in his assigned role, he (and Namir) overlook Angelo’s friend Sharon Brand, who, in stark contrast to Angelo, works hard and successfully to develop her potential. This is probably for the best as far as Sharon is concerned, given that Namir is evil and Elmis useless. Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi — George Lucas’ Star Wars Obi-Wan is introduced in the first Star Wars movie (and the Alan Dean Foster novelization) as eccentric desert hermit Ben Kenobi, in reality a skilled Jedi warrior. Joining forces with young Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan barely has time to teach Luke some Jedi basics before Obi-Wan confronts and is killed by Darth Vader. Leaving aside the responsibility of teachers to not die before delivering the complete syllabus, subsequent films establish that much of the little that Obi-Wan told Luke was incomplete, misleading, and even outright lies. The prequels establish that Obi-Wan was just as useless a mentor to Luke’s father. No, worse, because Luke’s father—but that would be a spoiler. In Obi-Wan’s defense, the Jedi order abounds in terrible teaching methods, not least of which is their custom of blindfolding children before letting them duel with functional lightsabers. Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo — Rumiko Takahashi’s Ranma ½ Old friends Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo agreed long ago that Genma’s son Ramna would marry one of Soun’s daughters. Which daughter was a detail to be resolved later. As for the possibility that their kids might not want to marry some stranger, neither Genma nor Soun gave that a moment’s consideration. “Worst Parent” in the Ramna ½ series is a highly competitive field. Parents in general appear to prioritize their own goals or even passing whims over their children’s well-being. Nevertheless, one could make a case that Genma wins on the basis of the deranged, often dangerous training methods to which his son Ramna is subjected. Ramna ½ is a comedy, but you would not have to tweak it much to turn it into a grimdark horror series. Qifrey — Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier No sooner did Coco discover that anyone with the right tools can perform magic than she accidentally killed her mother with a runaway spell. Under witch law, any non-witch who learns magic should have their memory erased. Instead, kindly Qifrey offers Coco the chance to study magic. Qifrey does not spare Coco because he is benevolent. He spares her because he believes her memory holds clues that will allow him to successfully pursue a vendetta against those who hurt him. Erasing her memory would erase those clues. In fact, the series establishes clearly that Qifrey is adept at presenting himself as a sincere friend and protector, when in fact he is coldly pragmatic about pursuing his goals. His close friend Olruggio could attest to this—if Qifrey weren’t in the habit of erasing Olruggio’s memory whenever Olruggio learns too much. Mrs. Bailey — K. Tempest Bradford’s Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion Budding entomologist Ruby Finley knows enough about insects to spot an anomaly when she sees it. It’s Mrs. Bailey’s apparent quest to keep an eye out for promising students like Ruby, so that Mrs. Bailey can crush their curiosity and potential. This may, as an unintended side-effect, leave Earth open to alien invasion, but that’s a cost Mrs. Bailey is willing for other people to pay. The book doesn’t come out and say what it is about Ruby, who is Black, that makes her ambition so grating to the very white Mrs. Bailey. The author expects readers to fill in the blanks, to work out for themselves why a teacher would insist on stunting students of a very specific demographic. These are but a few of the awful teachers, mentors, and other guardians who, by being bad at their jobs, inspire protagonists to excel2. No doubt you all have your favourite fictional examples. Feel free to share them in comments3.[end-mark] This didn’t kill me outright because, as I discovered after a much later skull x-ray (checking for possible embedded metal), my skull is unusually thick. The possible embedded metal? That’s another story. ︎The only reason the Dictatress from Jane Gaskell’s The Serpent and Kip’s father from Have Space Suit—Will Travel don’t rate mentions is because I’ve mentioned them in earlier essays. ︎It’s probably best not to mention the real-life teachers for whom you still bear a grudge, because we’d be here all day. ︎ The post Five Terrible or Useless Mentors in SF and Fantasy appeared first on Reactor.