It’s time for another T5T, as hosted by Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm! This week, we’re talking villains, really good villains!
Actually, though, the books I have in mind aren’t necessarily perfect for the prompt. They’re actually books with villains EQUALLY interesting compared to the heroes.
What can I say? Takes a lot for me to love a villain since I almost always love the heroes more.
A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab
I haven’t reviewed this one on the blog yet (keep your eyes peeled in mid-September!), but HOLY SMOKES.
I mean, it’s not a secret that I adore Schwab’s work, but this was amazing. The villain in ACoL is the perfect blend of threatening and powerful that suits the stakes of the final book of the trilogy. I adore the protagonists too much to say I loved the villain more, but he gave them a damn good run for their money.
The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie
Now, I’m not sure if Santa Elena is a villain when she’s more of antagonist, but wow, she is fantastic. She’s imposing and threatening and difficult to predict. And ruthless. She makes an awesome obstacle for the protagonists, especially because there’s no way to avoid working with her (well, more like for her). Definitely an amazing antagonist!
Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire
EVERYTHING about SHR is amazing. McGuire has this truly incredible way of crafting a story in a non-linear way, and her characters have a glorious depth to them. Not to mention the paranormal facet to our world that she developed is incredible.
But the villain? Ohhhhh, he’s a fantastic one. Always lurking just out of sight, menacing, and intent on claiming Rose Marshall’s soul. The stakes are high, not to mention personal, and you can’t help but hate him.
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
This one is an easy choice, because the villains are the protagonists! This is the best graphic novel I’ve ever read, and Nimona is a delightful, exciting, shark-happy protagonist who’s into villainy for a good time. Not to mention that the villainous team is given such great character development. The best villains!
Vicious by VE Schwab
I can’t even feel bad about putting another Schwab novel on the list, especially when it’s from the Villains series. She’s so, SO GOOD at crafting fully rounded characters, and somehow, she manages to make her antagonists relatable, which can sometimes be frightening to see. But this book in particular grapples with characters firmly in the moral gray area, plus an antagonist that’s most certainly evil and skewed. It’s amazing, and probably the most innocent character in the whole book is the dog. Everyone else? Not nearly so much, not at all.
Who are some of your favorite villains?
Vicious made my list as well! And I never thought of Nimona! That book is SO perfect for this topic!!! Thanks for participating – added you to the list π
Vicious just deserves to make the list, doesn’t it? But yes, I almost didn’t think of it but then I double checked my Goodreads and it was right there! Couldn’t pass it up! π
Great post!! Lol I keep seeing so much about Vicious, and ADSOM, and every other Victoria Schwab book ever. I think I should pick up her books haha
Thanks! And OMG YES DO IT. She’s my favorite author of all time, and she’s earned that spot. Her work is AMAZING.
Oh my gosh, really?? Wow, I’ll DEFINITELY have to pick her books up then!! Do you have any recs on which to start with?
Depends on what you like! Want urban fantasy that’s got morally grey characters all over? Vicious! Want YA about ghosts and libraries and the hard parts of loss? The Archived! Want MORE GHOSTS, but MG? City of Ghosts releases in two weeks! Want fantasy with a thief, a magician, and a lot more, all told in amazing prose and taking the top slot as my personal favorite? A Darker Shade of Magic!
AHHH it all sounds so good!! Thank you, I think I’ll try…Vicious maybe?
I hope you enjoy it! Be warned it is a little graphic, and there is a fair chunk centered on suicide, but if you’re in the right frame of mind to read on, it’s amazing!
Okay, thank you so much for the warning!!
Not a problem. I try to warn folks so they don’t go in without knowing like I did. I had to set the book down for a bit because of it, but enjoyed it once I was in the right space to continue.
I haven’t read any of these books so far so I’ll have to trust you LOL Some of my favorites are Warner from Shatter Me; Sebastian Morgenstern from The Mortal Instrument and …much more!
And I’ll admit I haven’t read those books! Looks like there’s more interesting villains out there to find, huh? π
Totally!!!
Schwab is probably on my next to discover author (I’m reading Vicious soon) so I’m uber excited to hear that her villains are amazing! Villains bring such a great layer of complexity and intrigue to a story, I am PUMPED. π Great post!!
I really hope you like her work! She’s my absolute favorite of all time and she has this incredible sense of how to develop characters. Be warned though, for Vicious, that there is some stuff dealing a little graphically with suicide. I like to warn folks before they jump in because it caught me off guard and I needed a break before I could come back to it.
Ahh, I did not know that. Thank you for warning me! π
Not a problem! I feel that it’s a warning that deserves mention.
Omg, I’m reading Vicious right now and I can totally see what you just said about V. E. Schwab’s characters. That gal can write villains or morally grey characters too well.
Isn’t it incredible?? I don’t know how she does it but it’s the most amazing thing. She’s my favorite author for a reason! π
I just read ACoL yesterday (all in one sitting!) and while I have issues with the book’s pacing I definitely agree about the villain and it is set up so well for book 3!
I’ve heard the pacing tends to be hit or miss with most folks. But yes, the villain was just fantastic! Finales deserve big stakes and that was huge.
The pacing was so weird? Like the first 100 pages was AMAZING and then I felt like I read 300 pages of prologue. I am very excited about the finale though!