Hi friends, here comes another Top Ten Tuesday post from me. Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is all about villains.
Alright, so it’s Wednesday where I live, but let’s pretend it’s still Tuesday okay? Because I really want to write this post. Because I LOVE VILLAINS! I do not condone doing evil things (okay, maybe sometimes, like taking over the world), but well-written villains are complex with motive you could totally understand if not support.
Also, I somehow think I’ve written this sort of post in the past (like, one year ago), but cannot find it. Anyway, some of the ‘people’ in this list would have changed anyway.
Here are my favorites:
Nightblood (Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson)
I’m kicking off this list with a character that’s not a person at all. Nightblood might not be the main villain in the book, but it exudes evil and capable of inducing mass murder bloodlust. Nightblood is a sword, an intelligent talking sword that only purpose was to destroy evil. The problem is Nightblood doesn’t quite understand what evil is, so it ends up murdering people who wants to use it to do bad things. Sounds good, until you see it in action.
Nightblood: I need fresh air. And sunlight.
Vasher: You’re a sword, not a palm tree.
I cannot resist.
Jackal (Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa)
Sure, he might be an asshole who’s in it to win it. Jackal switched sides like I used to change my phone background, every other day. Yet, he’s a very compelling character with his own motive, and I cannot really blame a character who for once trying to benefit his own ass rather than running to their death to save the world.
Holland (Shades of Magic series by VE Schwab)
My tortured cinnamon roll.
The Lord Ruler (Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson)
He started out as your usual despicable dictator that execute people in public. As the story went and I got to know him better, I liked him a whole lot more.
The Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
Ughhh, this book broke my heart into tiny pieces and it still hurts whenever I think about it. The villain in this book was the evil sickness that creeped into town. Yes I know, I’m weird.
Hrathen (Elantris by Brandon Sanderson)
Fully fleshed complex villain at its best. Elantris might not be Sanderson best work, but Hrathen is one of his finest written villain.
The Likeness (Tana French)
I cannot tell you who the villain is, because well it’s a mystery book and I’m not posting spoiler here. But I liked the villain, I LOVED this book.
Exit Glacier (Resurrection Bay by Neal Shusterman)
Yep, you read that right. It’s a glacier.
Caine (Gone series by Michael Grant)
Character growth at its best.
Cersei Lannister (The Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin)
My Queen! How can I not love Cersei?!
That’s it for today. Let me know if we share the same favorite villain or if you hate the villain in my list or… anything 😛
Windie
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Nightblood is amazing! I can’t wait for the sequel about him (at least I think it’s about him. It’s called Nightblood after all). I just love the juxtaposition of his innocence and murderous tendencies. He’s like an overexcited kid that wants to make paper money to be rich without realizing what forgery is. Plus “Hello. Would you like to destroy some evil today?” just gets me giddy every time.
So truee! I like your analogy.
Perhaps the second Warbreaker book will be looking back at the past and see how Nightblood was made. Or maybe it’ll tell the story on what happened with it after the events in Warbreaker. Either way, I’m excited for it too!
Nightblood is such a great choice! Who knew a sword could be so entertaining?