Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday. This is a meme run by the lovely folks over at The Broke and the Bookish. Because the meme is on a break until August, I decided to write about my favorite villains in books so far.
10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I understand that you’re expecting me to talk about President Snow. But, that’s not who I have in mind for this one. It’s President Coin, actually, because of this pure and unwavering ambition and aspiration to do whatever is necessary for her goals to become true.
9. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Darkling was an engaging, charming, and haunting person. I do wish there was more of him in the story, because, frankly, I like him way more than Mal. He has this tough backstory and he is driven to do such terrible stuff to people close to him.
8. Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The White Witch is a beautiful and terrifying figure in C.S. Lewis’ work. I couldn’t get over her, even if I tried. While I didn’t read these books as a child, I was still in awe of how cunning and clever the White Witch is. We get a bit of a story to her, but I feel like she deserved to get more of an arc. Still, she is this terrible ruler of Narnia.
7. Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab
How can I ever forget The Dane Twins from this series? They were perfectly creepy. More importantly, it was their effect on Holland that stayed with me, long after finishing those books. They also make Kel feel uneasy, which is a difficult feat, I think.
6. Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Sauron, with this creepy eye seeing everything, is another fantastic villain. I do wish we’d gotten to see more of his backstory, and how he got to this point. Sort of like how Tolkien showed Gollum’s story and how the Ring affected him.
5. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
Malcolm Fade has such a tragic backstory and I just wish there was more time with him to understand him better. I feel like he makes more sense now with this book out in the world. Him and Annabelle are fascinating to me. Scary, but still very interesting people.
4. His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
The adult lady in this series is so, so infuriating. I remember her even now, and it has been years since I have read these books. She was cruel and frightening. I didn’t even read these books super young or anything. Her goals were terrifying.
3. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater
Kavinsky could have had a whole book just dedicated to him. He is my favorite person in Ronan’s book.
2. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Dolores Umbridge sticks out the most. The little “Hm Hm” she does irks me infinitely. I understand Tom Riddle (Voldemort) a lot more than I do with her. Even though there’s a background story for her on Pottermore, I am not sympathetic towards her still.
1. Paradise Lost by Milton
Satan!!! I am biased, because my whole class on Milton was dedicated to this dude–Satan. We talked about how he was truly misunderstood and how he deserved to get a chance in life. And, I am a sucker for underdogs.
Yes! I loved the Dane twins in ADSOM and how they affected Holland, it was horrible but so evil. I also loved the Darkling way more than Mal. Actually, I loved everyone more than Mal. Just… Mal. Ugh.
(Also yes to Umbridge basically she is awful and we definitely hate her more than Voldemort.)
I love The Darkling so much. <3 <3 Haha but yeah he was great.
Have you read the Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis? That has more of the White Witch’s (and the Wardrobe’s) origins. 🙂
I read it like ages ago. The whole series is a bit dry, so I struggle to remember a lot of it. -_-