10 Great Reads With Despicable Villains

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic hosted by The Broke and the Bookish is a freebie about villains, and I decided to list 10 literary bad guys (and one very nasty girl) who've stuck with me. I have an abominable memory, so if I can recall their vileness years after reading the book, you can bet these are some hateable characters. The funny thing is, I enjoyed every single one of these books. I suppose that shows how useful a despicable villain can be in creating a dynamic story and making the hero shine!

1. Dolores Jane Umbridge

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling

This list isn't really in a particular order, but Hogwarts High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge certainly holds a spot toward the top. You might expect Voldemort to be my HP villain of choice, but at least J.K. Rowling gives some reasoning for his malevolent ways. Umbridge is evil purely because she enjoys it.

2. Captain Jack Randall

"Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon

It's been a while since I've read the book, but I watched the first season of the show much more recently, and Black Jack Randall is a sadist, a rapist, a manipulator, and just generally the scum of the earth.

3. Brother Luke and Dr. Traylor

"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara

Poor childhood Jude in "A Little Life" was victimized by not one but two abhorrent men, both of whom were in a position to help him if they wished. Instead, they took advantage of a vulnerable young boy in the worst possible ways.

4. President Coriolanus Snow

"The Hunger Games"

Ah, President Snow, power-hungry mass murderer who controls a nation through fear and brainwashing. Like some of the other villains on this list, he gets pleasure out of toying with his targets.

5. Brady Hartfield

"Mr. Mercedes" by Stephen King

I will never forget the horrific scene where Brady does nothing to help his violently dying mother, who has unwittingly eaten some hamburger he poisoned with a blood thinner. Oh yeah, and he's a mentally ill serial killer, too.
(my review)

6. Tom Watson

"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Tom Watson, narcissistic sociopath, gets the award for most fucked-up mental manipulation of the people around him. Ugh.
(my review)

7. Charlie Manx

"NOS4A2" by Joe Hill

Charles Manx is an immortal monster of a man who gets his lifeblood by spiriting off little children to a wonderful place called Christmasland in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith. He also preys on vulnerable (though not particularly likable) men to assist him in his abductions.
(my review)

Real-Life Villains

These three are perhaps even more hateable because they're real people.

8. Mutsuhiro Watanabe, aka "The Bird"

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrad

The Bird took full advantage of his position of power at a Japanese POW camp to be a sadistic asshole who made sure to destroy the faintest shred of hope -- not to mention the joy he took in doling out physical abuse.
(my review)

9. Dr. H. H. Holmes

"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

The phrase "gas jets" still gives me the willies after reading this book, which is partly about an 1800s dentist/killer of (many, many) young women for sport.
(my review)

10. Michael Vick

"The Lost Dogs" by Jim Gorant

If you ever had any doubt that Michael Vick participated in the dog fighting ring that was found on his property, this book, penned by one of the investigators in the case, will set you straight. Some of the passages about the absolutely disgusting treatment of the dogs literally turned my stomach.
(my review)