TTT | 10 Best Villains!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in the weekly meme, Top Ten Tuesday. TTT is hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is a spin on villains. This week, I'm showcasing my top ten favorite villains. For me, I tend to favor villains that are more complex, and have some humanity that makes us readers sympathize with them just a little bit, despite all their horrible actions. Okay so I ended up only having eight...there just aren't that many complex villains out there! Or, you know, I haven't been reading the correct books for my reading taste!

Here are 8 villains that are deliciously evil.

8) The Villains in This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

Goodreads

I'm keeping this one real vague because of spoilers. Though I guessed who the real bad guy was, it was still a wonderful twist and I loved seeing how the reveal affected all of our MCs!

7) Vendan Komizar from The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson

Goodreads

Ooph...this guy is bad. And yet, there is still a sliver of good in him. We learn more about the Vendan Komizar in the second book of the Remnant Chronicles,  The Heart of Betrayal. By the time we're reading the series, the Vendan Komizar, whose name is revealed in the second book, is evil through and through. But we do learn about his backstory, and it explains why so many people remain loyal to him despite all his wrongdoings.

6) AIDAN in the Illuminae Files by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Goodreads

AIDAN makes some hard choices in the name of human survival. Choices like killing a group of 200 to save a remaining 800. Choices that humans can't make because they don't have the heart for it. But AIDAN doesn't have a heart, he's an AI. AIDAN makes some choices I could never follow through with, but he does save the lives of many because of it. He's a killer, which makes him a villain, but he also has the best intentions in mind, especially whatever keeps Kady Grant alive. 

5) Rufus from Kindred by Octavia Butler

Goodreads

In Octavia Butler's time travel slave narrative, we see Rufus, a white man, from his adolescence to him as an adult. As a child, he cares for Dana, our protagonist who is a black woman. However, Dana continues to travel to the past, she sees Rufus develop into a soulless human. Watching how Rufus changes from an innocent child to a rampant racist is troubling, but also shows how racism invades everyone in all aspects of life. I wouldn't say readers empathize with Rufus, but he is a complex character. 

4) Tyrus in The Diabolic Series by SJ Kincaid

Goodreads

In the Diabolic series, we never really know who the bad guys. Nemesis is playing a game political chess, and one of her allies is Tyrus. But is he an ally? Can we really trust him? By the end of the second book in the series, we still don't really know. I love having Tyrus as this character who is love interest, ally, and adversary all at once because it really spins assumptions on character arcs. 

 

3) Calix from Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen 

Goodreads

I feel like saying that Calix is the villain in Reign the Earth might be a slight spoiler. When he's first introduced in the novel, he seems sweet enough. However, his true colors are revealed. Calix makes my skin crawl. I never liked him in the beginning of the book, but he really becomes devilish in the second half of the book. He also has a backstory. While it doesn't excuse his behavior, it does explain why he has such a deep seeded hatred for Elementae. 
 

2) Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads

If you just read the four Lunar Chronicles books and not Queen Levana's novella, you are really missing something! Queen Levana's novella, Fairest, adds a lot of depth to her character. Before, I read her as a stereotypical villain that was cruel for no apparent reason. This novella gives us a reason, and gives us a little insight into what it was like growing up as Queen Levana. Honestly, the novella made me sympathize with her, despite all of her actions in the four core novels of the series. 

 

1) Sebastian from City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Goodreads

I mean, we all knew I wasn't going to exclude Sebastian from this list! I think I'm going to see a lot of him on other people's lists come Tuesday and for good reason! Sebastian might be pure evil by the time the last three books of The Mortal Instruments comes around, but he is the way he is because of Valentine's experiments on him as a fetus through his childhood. I can't say I like Sebastian, but I do empathize with Clary and how much she struggles with the knowledge that her and her friends have to kill him. 

And those are some of the best villains I've read! Do you agree with my list? What are some of your favorite villains? 

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!