Top Literary Villains List (Possible Spoilers)
These are my top literary villains in no real particular order--I'll let you guys speak your minds and see what you think you should go where. If you agree or if you feel others should be put on this list, please say so in the comment box below. This is a celebration for more than a hundred posts thus far! Okay, here we go--
1. Valentine Morgenstern/Sebastian Morgenstern, The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare. Why: Truly a frightening father son duo, Valentine wreaks havoc through the whole saga, convinced in his fanatic conviction that Shadowhunters should reign supreme and keep the world 'pure' for humans, eliminating Downworlders wholesale. So great is his conviction in his own beliefs, that Valentine goes so far as to inject demon blood into his own son and steal the son of a murdered official. In my opinion, the greater threat of this twosome is Sebastian. Full of hate and bloodlust, he goes on to murder several people, though he inherits the charm of his father. I won't reveal anything else, but if you're curious, read City of Lost Souls.
2. Eira- Rift and Rise, The Nightshade Prequel Series, Andrea Cremer. Why: You first hear of Eira in Nightshade, the woman who defected from the Searchers' noble cause due to a lust for power. In Rift, you get an up close and personal look at precisely why she defected. Unsatisfied at being hidden in the background, only to be called upon at a moment's notice, Eira begins to long for power beyond a woman of her standing. In taking up with the dark forces that the Order of Conatus has pledged to fight, Eira commits the ultimate betrayal in her quest for power. One of my favorite villains ever.
3.The Phantom of the Opera, from the novel of the same name, by Gaston Leroux. Why: Chilling, seductive, and out of his mind all at once, the lonely villain of the novel goes on killing sprees when his words go unheeded by the employees of the Opera House, and yet when it comes to romancing Christine, there are no qualms, and I can't say I blame her for being tempted by the offer.
4. Voldemort, The Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling. Why: The mysterious foe in Harry Potter that seems determined to conquer death, Voldemort is truly chilling to me, for the sole reason that the cause of his corruption isn't power, but racism. The thing about him that scares me most is that one mistake, one flaw, one thing one dwells on destroys him. Though Voldemort is evil, the magnitude he goes to to eliminate humans scared the hell out of me. Regardless, in Half Blood Prince, I couldn't help feeling sympathy for him.
5. Jake Thorn, The Halo Trilogy, Alexandra Adornetto. Why: Sexy and scary and charming, Jake Thorn is a big ball of wickedness, wrapped up in charm and a British accent, the reader meets him in the middle of Halo, trying to seduce Bethany, and charm the entire Venus Cove student body. Throughout the trilogy, he works desperately to win Bethany's affections despite being a demon, even going so far as to drag her down to Hell, literally.
6. Beira, Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr. Why: Frightening, manipulative, and cold as all hell--literally--Beira is the Winter Queen in the faerie series Wicked Lovely. She delights in making Keenan--the Summer King--yearn for her motherly affections, and manipulating him, even going so far as to binding his power so she can rule the Fae world. Luckily, she meets her demise at the end of Wicked Lovely, replaced by Donia.
7. Mr. Wickham, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. Why: Handsome, charming, and manipulative, Wickham seduces one of the younger Bennet girls to elope with him to steal her money. Luckily, Darcy and the girl's parents intervene before it gets too out of hand--for me, Wickham is a classic example of a man taking advantage of a young ingenue.
8. Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte. Why: The poor gypsy boy that wants nothing more than to marry Catherine and live his life happily with her, Heathcliff gets his ass handed to him over and over, despite his innocent, childlike love for her--all culminating into turning Heathcliff into an angry, bitter young man that is so fed up with his lot in life he destroys what little family he's got.
9. Abraham/Sarafine, Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Why: Both of them scary, frightening, and compelling, especially Sarafine, both powerful magical beings set on nothing less than the total destruction of the human race, Abraham and Sarafine thrive on chaos, disorder, and wickedness, and are easily two of the scariest villains I have ever encountered in my years as a reader, but at the same time, they stole my heart--bravo!
10. Adam Rosier, The Eternal Ones, Kirsten Miller. Why: Compelling, seductive, and completely, horribly evil, Adam Rosier chases Haven Moore across multiple lifetimes, driven by obsession and consumed with want to own Haven. Despite his obsession, I found him incredibly sexy and convincing--I wanted him, I won't lie. One of my favorite villains of all time!
11. Galbatorix, The Inheritance Cycle, Christopher Paolini. Why: Galbatorix becomes a Rider as a teenager. When he loses his beloved dragon, he goes half-mad with grief and murders several people--his own Rider brethren included--before he crowns himself as king of the country. In doing so, he slaughters most of the Riders and their dragons, nearly driving them to extinction, and nearly causing his people to starve and suffer under the weight of excessive taxes--but don't worry! He gets his just desserts soon enough!
12. Miss Havisham, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens. Why: The classic example of a bitter old woman drowning in unfulfilled dreams, Miss Havisham never got married, despite her childhood dreams of a white wedding and children. As such, she twists her ward, Estella, into manipulating the main character of Great Expectations, until the very last page, when both of them leave her.
13. President Snow, The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. Why: Manipulative, terrifying, and cold--even going so far as to murder his own people to get his way--President Snow torments the main character, Katniss Everdeen, through the whole trilogy, leaving cryptic little taunts for Katniss the entire time--for the Capitol does not like to lose. I loved the uniqueness of him, for you see villains all the time, but rarely do you see one so cold.
14. Bosque Mar, The Nightshade Trilogy, Andrea Cremer. Why: Called the 'Harbringer' by both Keepers and Searchers, Bosque Mar is the epitome of pure evil--and the reason for Eira's defection, bringing on the War of All Against All singlehandedly. Not only is he the epitome of pure evil, he is capable of bringing on worldwide destruction and able to bring other creatures from the other world with him: wraiths, fire hounds, and other monstrosities. One of the most cool and fun villains I've ever seen, even more so in Rift and Rise.
15. Roman, The Immortals Series, Alyson Noel. Why: Sexy, gorgeous, British, and dark, Roman comes into the Immortals series bearing a grudge against Ever's true love, Damen: Drina, his former lover, has chased Damen across lifetimes, slaughtering Ever in every one of them to gain his affections. In every book, Roman has tempted Ever into joining him--casting spells, manipulating her and Damen, and in Dark Flame, Ever's foray into dark magic results in her being drawn to him.. In the worst possible way.
That's it, folk! If you think of anymore follow me or drop me a line on Tumblr--I hope you enjoyed reading the list as much as I liked writing it for you! :)
1. Valentine Morgenstern/Sebastian Morgenstern, The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare. Why: Truly a frightening father son duo, Valentine wreaks havoc through the whole saga, convinced in his fanatic conviction that Shadowhunters should reign supreme and keep the world 'pure' for humans, eliminating Downworlders wholesale. So great is his conviction in his own beliefs, that Valentine goes so far as to inject demon blood into his own son and steal the son of a murdered official. In my opinion, the greater threat of this twosome is Sebastian. Full of hate and bloodlust, he goes on to murder several people, though he inherits the charm of his father. I won't reveal anything else, but if you're curious, read City of Lost Souls.
2. Eira- Rift and Rise, The Nightshade Prequel Series, Andrea Cremer. Why: You first hear of Eira in Nightshade, the woman who defected from the Searchers' noble cause due to a lust for power. In Rift, you get an up close and personal look at precisely why she defected. Unsatisfied at being hidden in the background, only to be called upon at a moment's notice, Eira begins to long for power beyond a woman of her standing. In taking up with the dark forces that the Order of Conatus has pledged to fight, Eira commits the ultimate betrayal in her quest for power. One of my favorite villains ever.
3.The Phantom of the Opera, from the novel of the same name, by Gaston Leroux. Why: Chilling, seductive, and out of his mind all at once, the lonely villain of the novel goes on killing sprees when his words go unheeded by the employees of the Opera House, and yet when it comes to romancing Christine, there are no qualms, and I can't say I blame her for being tempted by the offer.
4. Voldemort, The Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling. Why: The mysterious foe in Harry Potter that seems determined to conquer death, Voldemort is truly chilling to me, for the sole reason that the cause of his corruption isn't power, but racism. The thing about him that scares me most is that one mistake, one flaw, one thing one dwells on destroys him. Though Voldemort is evil, the magnitude he goes to to eliminate humans scared the hell out of me. Regardless, in Half Blood Prince, I couldn't help feeling sympathy for him.
5. Jake Thorn, The Halo Trilogy, Alexandra Adornetto. Why: Sexy and scary and charming, Jake Thorn is a big ball of wickedness, wrapped up in charm and a British accent, the reader meets him in the middle of Halo, trying to seduce Bethany, and charm the entire Venus Cove student body. Throughout the trilogy, he works desperately to win Bethany's affections despite being a demon, even going so far as to drag her down to Hell, literally.
6. Beira, Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr. Why: Frightening, manipulative, and cold as all hell--literally--Beira is the Winter Queen in the faerie series Wicked Lovely. She delights in making Keenan--the Summer King--yearn for her motherly affections, and manipulating him, even going so far as to binding his power so she can rule the Fae world. Luckily, she meets her demise at the end of Wicked Lovely, replaced by Donia.
7. Mr. Wickham, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. Why: Handsome, charming, and manipulative, Wickham seduces one of the younger Bennet girls to elope with him to steal her money. Luckily, Darcy and the girl's parents intervene before it gets too out of hand--for me, Wickham is a classic example of a man taking advantage of a young ingenue.
8. Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte. Why: The poor gypsy boy that wants nothing more than to marry Catherine and live his life happily with her, Heathcliff gets his ass handed to him over and over, despite his innocent, childlike love for her--all culminating into turning Heathcliff into an angry, bitter young man that is so fed up with his lot in life he destroys what little family he's got.
9. Abraham/Sarafine, Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Why: Both of them scary, frightening, and compelling, especially Sarafine, both powerful magical beings set on nothing less than the total destruction of the human race, Abraham and Sarafine thrive on chaos, disorder, and wickedness, and are easily two of the scariest villains I have ever encountered in my years as a reader, but at the same time, they stole my heart--bravo!
10. Adam Rosier, The Eternal Ones, Kirsten Miller. Why: Compelling, seductive, and completely, horribly evil, Adam Rosier chases Haven Moore across multiple lifetimes, driven by obsession and consumed with want to own Haven. Despite his obsession, I found him incredibly sexy and convincing--I wanted him, I won't lie. One of my favorite villains of all time!
11. Galbatorix, The Inheritance Cycle, Christopher Paolini. Why: Galbatorix becomes a Rider as a teenager. When he loses his beloved dragon, he goes half-mad with grief and murders several people--his own Rider brethren included--before he crowns himself as king of the country. In doing so, he slaughters most of the Riders and their dragons, nearly driving them to extinction, and nearly causing his people to starve and suffer under the weight of excessive taxes--but don't worry! He gets his just desserts soon enough!
12. Miss Havisham, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens. Why: The classic example of a bitter old woman drowning in unfulfilled dreams, Miss Havisham never got married, despite her childhood dreams of a white wedding and children. As such, she twists her ward, Estella, into manipulating the main character of Great Expectations, until the very last page, when both of them leave her.
13. President Snow, The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. Why: Manipulative, terrifying, and cold--even going so far as to murder his own people to get his way--President Snow torments the main character, Katniss Everdeen, through the whole trilogy, leaving cryptic little taunts for Katniss the entire time--for the Capitol does not like to lose. I loved the uniqueness of him, for you see villains all the time, but rarely do you see one so cold.
14. Bosque Mar, The Nightshade Trilogy, Andrea Cremer. Why: Called the 'Harbringer' by both Keepers and Searchers, Bosque Mar is the epitome of pure evil--and the reason for Eira's defection, bringing on the War of All Against All singlehandedly. Not only is he the epitome of pure evil, he is capable of bringing on worldwide destruction and able to bring other creatures from the other world with him: wraiths, fire hounds, and other monstrosities. One of the most cool and fun villains I've ever seen, even more so in Rift and Rise.
15. Roman, The Immortals Series, Alyson Noel. Why: Sexy, gorgeous, British, and dark, Roman comes into the Immortals series bearing a grudge against Ever's true love, Damen: Drina, his former lover, has chased Damen across lifetimes, slaughtering Ever in every one of them to gain his affections. In every book, Roman has tempted Ever into joining him--casting spells, manipulating her and Damen, and in Dark Flame, Ever's foray into dark magic results in her being drawn to him.. In the worst possible way.
That's it, folk! If you think of anymore follow me or drop me a line on Tumblr--I hope you enjoyed reading the list as much as I liked writing it for you! :)
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