Please Keep These Characters Far, Far Away From Me – Except You, Bellatrix, You’re Perfect and I Love You | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

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I feel like the books I read don’t have that many villains. Or maybe I just don’t gravitate towards them all that often. I usually do the good reader thing and hate whomever the antagonist is. There’s also the minor caveat that a lot of the “best” villains tend to show up in book series, and I have this bad habit of reading the first book in a series and then forgetting about the rest. So this post is going to be a weird mash-up of villains I liked, villains I hated, most memorable villains, villains with fabulous dress sense…I’m really making it up as I go along.

Bellatrix Lestrange

(Harry Potter)

Bellatrix Lestrange is my favourite villain of all time, and this is 100% due to Helena Bonham Carter. There is absolutely no redemption arc for her, she is 1000% deliciously evil and torturous, and I absolutely love it. She’s nuts and ruthless and sadistic and perfect.

Carmilla

(Carmilla)

Carmilla is the main character/antagonist of the Carmilla novel, which quickly became one of my favourites this year. She’s a vampire who predates and inspired Dracula, and she’s conniving and I wouldn’t want to be caught anywhere near her.

Rhysand

(A Court of Thorns and Roses)

I read ACOTAR a few years ago and fully expected to go in and fall in love with this Rhysand character that everyone loved. Well, the Rhysand that I read did not match my expectations whatsoever. I don’t want to offend anyone so I won’t go into detail about it, but I was whole-heartedly upset and disappointed with that one.

The Swan Sisters

(The Wicked Deep)

Another one of my favourite books I read this year was The Wicked Deep, about three sisters who return to their sleepy little town every year to take three male victims, as punishment to the town for executing them for witchcraft. I loved how atmospheric this novel was, and I loved how the three sisters had a variety of nuanced feelings about their actions.

Dr. Cable

(Uglies Trilogy)

When I first read the Uglies trilogy a decade ago, I was so terrified of Dr. Cable. Even her name sounds evil and manipulative. She’s the kind of villain that pretends to be on your side, and changes your view so that you believe every word she says. And then you find out she had an ulterior plan all along. No thank you.

Scythe Goddard

(Arc of a Scythe)

I don’t think I’ve ever hated a character more than I hated Scythe Goddard. There is absolutely nothing redeemable about him, and I think almost everyone would agree. He’s one of those characters that at first just seems annoying, opposing everything the protagonist does, but then as the book progresses, you realise that not only is he the villain, he’s the villainest villain to ever villain.

Eamon Bailey

(The Circle)

The worst part about Eamon Bailey from The Circle is that some genius hired Tom Hanks to play him in the movie, which means I am automatically predisposed to love him and take everything he says as gospel. Which is not what you should do with Eamon Bailey at all. He’s the kind of character that pretends to have the interest of the greater good at heart, but really just wants to be able to control everyone. The worst part is the slow burn of his actions, where you don’t even realise you’re in the deep end until you’ve nearly drowned.

Dorothy Gale

(Dorothy Must Die)

No, not that Dorothy. Well yes, that Dorothy, but not really. Dorothy Must Die is a alternate universe version of the Wizard of Oz, as if Dorothy came back to Oz and became its ruler, but instead of sweet and kind became ruthless and cruel and drunk on power. I don’t like this series in general but I do think it’s an entertaining spin on a well-loved classic tale.

President Snow

(The Hunger Games)

I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to trust Donald Sutherland after his portrayal of President Snow in The Hunger Games. He’s so evil with so many secrets that there is no possible way he isn’t cooking up some evil plot behind doors. The worst part is, he doesn’t really even hide it, and you’re left powerless in the world he created.

Iago

(Othello)

It wouldn’t be a complete list of villains without a Shakespeare character thrown in there, right? Iago is the primary antagonist in Othello, and although it’s been quite some time since I’ve read it, I do remember liking the play and by extension, Iago, quite a bit.

Also, hey Professor Lockhart.

 

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Who are some of your favourite villains, and more importantly, do you have any recommendations for delicious villains that you’re supposed to hate, but can’t?