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Thursday, October 15, 2015

Who is the BEST Written Villain? (Nominations Needed)

Edit: Nominations have concluded, but you can still vote in the poll.

Hi all,

They are the mustache twirlers, the misguided, the people doing the right things in the wrong way, the agents of chaos, those who repent any single good they've done from their very soul, those who let their personal loyalties cloud a greater good, or those who've just lost their sense of morality along the path of their growing fanaticism.

They are the villains.

And they are our October poll.

I must stress that it is already October 15th, so the nomination process is going to go VERY quickly. If I have enough nominations by tomorrow, the poll will go up then so move quickly if you want to get in on this.


It's been a while since we ran a poll here (not that we forgot or anything.....MARK), but a quick reminder of how the rules work.

The Rules

1- As always, I leave the niggling to your best judgement because I'd rather be inclusive. If you think that Shylock is a villain rather than a victim of Christian oppression, I won't argue.

2- You may nominate two (2) villains. Remember that I am a horrid despotic power hungry beast who hates free will and all things good. To encourage reading and reading comprehension I will NOT take any villains beyond the second. (I will consider a long list to be "seconds" if someone else nominates them as well.)

3- You may (and should) second as many nominations of others as you wish.

4- Please put your nominations here. I will take villains nominated as comments to this post on other social media; however, they may not get the seconds you need because no one will see them. (Seriously, last month there were lots of great FB nominations that no one saw or seconded.)

5- You are nominating WRITTEN VILLAINS, not their movie portrayals. While we have all been blown away by Donald Southerland's ability to be actually sinister with Snow's goofball lines in The Hunger Games Trilogy, the book villain is very different.
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60 comments:

  1. GingerOctober 15, 2015 at 10:49 AM

    Pennywise.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 15, 2015 at 10:57 AM

    Does the villain have to be a single person? I mean, corporations are people my friend! So I nominate Manpower Inc. from the Honorverse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris BrecheenOctober 15, 2015 at 11:24 AM

      Let's say no. Just because it's a short nomination process and for the sake of inclusion.

      Delete
  3. David A. WardOctober 15, 2015 at 11:07 AM

    Looking at my list of "things I've read," I find few things that I really think had actual villains (and maybe not that many antagonists, even). I suppose I could say Moriarty, though I don't actually remember any Sherlock stories I've read with any clarity. Otherwise I'd probably just fall back on Grand Admiral Thrawn.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mary Ann StarkOctober 15, 2015 at 11:30 AM

    Voldermort

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mary Ann StarkOctober 15, 2015 at 11:32 AM

    Do comic books count? Or strictly book/short story villains?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris BrecheenOctober 15, 2015 at 11:34 AM

      I love comic books (omnibuses in particular) but they are a mixed media art form that rely on a lot of visuals, so let's stick with fully textual villains.

      Delete
  6. UnknownOctober 15, 2015 at 11:36 AM

    Cruella deVille from the YA novel, 101 Dalmations

    General Woundwort from another YA novel, Watership Down

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BlotzOctober 15, 2015 at 12:00 PM

      Seconding Woundwort

      Delete
    2. Chris BrecheenOctober 15, 2015 at 12:48 PM

      I'll second Woundwort too. I didn't realize that 101 Dalmations came from a YA novel.

      Delete
    3. AnonymousOctober 15, 2015 at 1:53 PM

      Seconding (thirding) Woundwort!

      Delete
    4. UnknownOctober 16, 2015 at 9:22 AM

      I second General Woundwort! What a bad rabbit...

      Delete
  7. BlotzOctober 15, 2015 at 12:13 PM

    I nominate Littlefinger from A Song of Ice and Fire, and Kennit from Robin Hobb's the Liveship Traders trilogy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. HolliOctober 15, 2015 at 1:25 PM

    Gerald Tarrant from the Coldfire Teilogy by C.S. Friedman
    Johnny "Dread" Wulgaru (Anubis) from the Otherland series by Tad Williams

    Gerald is one of the most horrifying characters I've ever read, and I love him beyond reason. Which makes him even scarier.
    Dread simply and genuinely scared me, which is hard to do.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownOctober 15, 2015 at 1:41 PM

    ok do plays count? If so, absolutely Iago from Othello. He was dastardly, cunning, without remorse and smart enough to get away with it had he not been betrayed in turn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 15, 2015 at 1:58 PM

      I'll second Iago. “I have’t. It is engener’d. Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light”

      Delete
  10. AnonymousOctober 15, 2015 at 1:54 PM

    Jorge de Borges.
    L. Bob Rife

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownOctober 15, 2015 at 1:57 PM

    Charlie Manx from NOS4A2 by Joe Hill is one of the creepiest & most ruthless characters I've ever read.

    ReplyDelete
  12. UnknownOctober 15, 2015 at 1:59 PM

    I also second Voldemort & Woundwart.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AriOctober 15, 2015 at 2:37 PM

    This is so, so hard, but:

    Mrs. Danvers, from Rebecca

    Steerpike, from Gormenghast

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 16, 2015 at 9:30 AM

      I nominated Steerpike until I realised he'd been mentioned... So yes I second Steerpike! :)

      Delete
    2. UnknownOctober 16, 2015 at 11:14 AM

      I second Mrs. Danvers.

      Delete
  14. UnknownOctober 15, 2015 at 9:29 PM

    The Magisterium from the His Dark Materials trilogy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousOctober 16, 2015 at 5:41 AM

    Do villainous partnerships count as one option?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris BrecheenOctober 16, 2015 at 8:22 AM

      Let's go with yes.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousOctober 16, 2015 at 8:45 AM

      In that case :) Croup and Vandemar from Neverwhere.

      Delete
    3. Chris BrecheenOctober 16, 2015 at 8:59 AM

      I sort of hoped you were headed there. I'll second them.

      Delete
    4. AnonymousOctober 16, 2015 at 12:26 PM

      Real bad, those two -- seconded! Loki from American Gods is also good bad. There ain't no villains like a Gaiman villain!

      Delete
    5. papadiabolousOctober 17, 2015 at 6:42 PM

      Second C&V

      Delete
  16. Toshi N. CaseyOctober 16, 2015 at 6:52 AM

    Captain Ahab from Moby Dick (for a thought experiment) and Iago from Othello because "Fill thy purse!" that is why. --but perhaps plays don't count?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris BrecheenOctober 16, 2015 at 8:22 AM

      Plays work. As long as the source material is textual.

      Delete
  17. Toshi N. CaseyOctober 16, 2015 at 6:54 AM

    And if not plays, then I nominate "The judge" from Mccarthy's Blood Meridian. In fact, scratch Iago. I wish I could end it my comment. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 16, 2015 at 12:54 PM

      The Judge --- Ewww he makes me shivers. Seconded.

      Delete
  18. TraceseaOctober 16, 2015 at 8:47 AM

    Annie Wilkes from Misery.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousOctober 16, 2015 at 8:47 AM

    Arik Thorsen from the ST book "Federation".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 17, 2015 at 11:50 AM

      Actually, can I withdraw Thorsen (even though he was awesome) and replace that nomination with one for the Mule from the Foundation Trilogy?

      Delete
  20. Jen C. FlynnOctober 16, 2015 at 9:15 AM

    Can I add Hagard from "The Last Unicorn" to this list?

    ReplyDelete
  21. UnknownOctober 16, 2015 at 9:23 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  22. UnknownOctober 16, 2015 at 9:33 AM

    Bill Sykes - Oliver Twist.

    ReplyDelete
  23. UnknownOctober 16, 2015 at 10:50 AM

    Grand Admiral Thrawn, originally from the Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 16, 2015 at 12:52 PM

      This is seconded. Zahn's Thrawn is soooo bad.

      Delete
  24. TrysteroOctober 16, 2015 at 11:57 AM

    Melissandre - Kushiel's Dart (and sequels)
    Chauvlin-the Scarlet Pimpernel (and sequels)

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousOctober 16, 2015 at 12:34 PM

    After a fitful night's sleep thinking about all the villains in text, I want to resubmit two and withdraw Borges and L. Bob. Although Borges is such a great bad guy (I mean tryin to deny the whole world Comedy!) and L. Bob is trying to turn the entire world into his zombie army using Asherah's linguistic virus ... I feel like a better case for best villains in text can be made for either Dr. Victor Frankenstein, or The Vogons. Victor was very bad in lots of little ways, the Villain who thinks he is the Hero. And the Vogons, well, they blew up the whole earth so some Intergalactic bureaucrat could get to work 5 light years faster ...

    ReplyDelete
  26. JohnnyOctober 16, 2015 at 12:44 PM

    Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Bank from The Grapes of Wrath.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Alex HarmanOctober 16, 2015 at 10:27 PM

    I'll second the Vogons, especially Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, as he not only captain led the ship that demolished Earth, but also subjected Ford and Arthur to a reading of his poetry. I don't suppose there are enough Peter F. Hamilton fans around to get any seconds for them, but I'll nominate Quinn Dexter from the Night's Dawn trilogy and MorningLightMountain from "Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained" -- both its original form and its offshoot, the Starflyer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 17, 2015 at 11:49 AM

      Second Quinn Dexter - although I loved Al Capone from Nightdawn too!

      Delete
  28. UnknownOctober 17, 2015 at 11:17 AM

    The government in the Ender saga. For the willful blindness and abdication of morality.
    The angel Islington from Neverwhere.
    Just to tease Strex Corp...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 17, 2015 at 11:53 AM

      Second Islington (though I thought C&V had the best of the villany in Neverwhere!)

      Delete
  29. papadiabolousOctober 17, 2015 at 6:44 PM

    Dracula, from Dracula
    Shiwan Khan, from The Shadow

    ReplyDelete
  30. RebeccaOctober 19, 2015 at 10:14 AM

    Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter Bk V - doing evil in the guise of good
    Have to ponder on my second choice(s)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 21, 2015 at 2:58 AM

      Second Umbridge. So much more interesting than Voldemort.

      Delete
  31. UnknownOctober 20, 2015 at 10:54 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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