“What would the world be like without Captain James Hook?” Villains I Can’t Live Without

I wasn’t actually planning on making this post… Somehow though, I couldn’t let my thoughts rest after talking about why villains are the greatest and I started mulling over which crooks are the very best at being bad guys…

AKA what villains could I not live without? Well, I’m here to tell you which baddies are some of my faves:

Captain Hook– there’s a very obvious reason why I named Hook in the title of this post- he’s probably one of the best villains of all time! (not just because I love the movie Hook) As a man who grew into a tyrant, he is the perfect foil for someone who doesn’t want to grow up at all. There is no better symbol of what a person can become if they let their worst impulses get the better of them. Indeed, what would the world be like without Captain James Hook?!

Richard III– I’m mostly trying to avoid putting anti-heroes on this list, because then I really could go on forever. Still, out of all Shakespeare’s villains, this is the one I find most compelling. I especially wanted to mention him, because I was reading the most incredibly thoughtful post a couple of days ago from Cameron @Here Be Wyverns (seriously recommend checking it out), where he described how you can’t make someone less villainous with a backstory and, well, I thought that’s it exactly. Characters like Richard III are a great example of this- they’re the sort where you see where they’re coming from and yet it’s impossible to excuse their actions. Plus I had to include dear old Richard; he’d have got the hump if I didn’t 😉

Joffrey Baratheon– GRRM has created some of my all-time favourite villains- yet I don’t think there’s any that I loathed more than Joffrey! (and that’s saying, especially since Ramsay Bolton was in the running!) One of the reasons he’s my pick is not only because he’s one of the first big bads in the story, he also somehow managed to get a lot of the action rolling by being such a vicious idiot. Also, as Drew pointed out in my why I love villains list, he’s a very notable villain- this one’s for you Drew 😉 I don’t think I can formulate the words “I love Joffrey as a villain” though- he’s not even remotely lovable.

Cathy Ames– aside from how much I love her introduction, she’s one of the most spiteful, vicious characters in literature. I love to loathe her.

 

 

 

Lydia Gwilt– it’s fairly simple why Armadale is one of my favourite classics: it has one of my favourite villains. I adore this femme fatale- she’s not one to be underestimated.

 

 

Mrs Danvers– MRS DANVERS IS EVIL. That is all. (Seriously, I’ve hated this woman since I was 10)

 

 

The Grand High Witch– I always get the heebie jeebies whenever I think about the Witches- those long nails, bald heads and basically the fact that she’s pure evil made me terrified of her- arghh- like I said I don’t like to think of her!

 

Dragwena– it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since I read this trilogy, I will always be terrified of the witch characters in Doomspell. With extra sets of teeth and a snake wrapped around her neck, there’s something endlessly ominous about her.

 

 

Hollowgast– that name is pretty genius, embodying a period of time and sense of dread, and subsequently demonstrating some of the inventiveness that made this series so powerful for me. I don’t always find myself fearing generic monsters in books, however, there’s something so unsettling about the creatures in Peculiar Children.

Sauron– a lot of people would perhaps argue that Sauron is more of a force of evil and so not the best villain. However, not only is he creepilicious as a dark force overshadowing Middle Earth, having read the Silmarillion now, I can see how fully fleshed out he is, well, minus the actual body 😉

Dolores Umbridge– more sinister than Voldemort, more unsettling than the Dementors, Umbridge definitely takes the biscuit for being my most hated Rowling villain. There are no words to describe how much I loathe this woman.

 

Smaug!!! I was desperately trying not to include two Tolkien villains- but I can’t help it! I pretty much love all of Tolkien’s baddies, nonetheless, Smaug takes all the gold medals for being my favourite fictional dragon.

 

And finally some “you know who” villains ie ones that would be spoilery to name:

So what do you think with my list? Agree or disagree with any of them? And who are some of your favourite villains? Let me know in the comments!

4 for 4- April Mini Reviews

Hello- happy Friday!! I don’t know about where you are, but it’s been a lovely sunny day over here in good old England for a change, so I’m soaking up the sun while I can…

(And yes, I’m being totally British starting this post by talking about the weather- *that’s* not stereotypical at all… anyone want some tea?)

Anyhoo, I’m back today with my mini review feature where I catch up on some of my ever-growing backlog of unreviewed books- if you want to hear more about this, you can check out my post from last month. Without further ado, let’s get to it!

The Sun Is Also A Star– Unusually for me, even though I loved the author’s other book Everything Everything, I frickin hated this. I’m totally not a fan of stories where people just fall in love in a day- especially since I didn’t feel like the main characters even gelled. And frankly, this might get me a lot of hate, but I didn’t find her situation as sympathetic as it was supposed to be. I don’t really feel like getting into political debates at the minute, so I’m just gonna say this book was clearly aimed at very left wing individuals and as a centrist I couldn’t get on board with the factual discrepancies and blatant propaganda. If you’re super into political messaging in books and are very left wing, you’ll love it… otherwise, avoid like the plague!

Rating: 1/5 bananas

Hollow City & The Library of Souls– I really intended to do proper reviews for these, but I realised I must have been too absorbed in the stories cos I didn’t take any notes. What I can tell you about these books is that if you loved the first one, these are both a great continuation of the story and worked just as well for me! I found the world building in both of them equally imaginative and just as intriguing as the first. And I don’t know what it is about it, but I felt really connected to the narrator’s voice. Also BIG shout out and thanks to Fernanda who hosted a giveaway where I won Hollow City!!

Rating: 5/5 bananas

 

(apiece- that’s an awful lot of bananas!)

 

Heartless– meh- this wasn’t terrible by any stretch of the imagination. Looking back on it though, I didn’t personally connect with the characters and didn’t enjoy it as much as the Lunar Chronicles. Also proceed with caution: do not read if you are remotely hungry!

Rating: 3/5 bananas

Okay- I don’t know if that was cheating to do just three reviews, but there were four books here… so… Either way have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments!

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children Was Picture Perfect

Now, you may or may not have noticed from the type of books I review on here, I don’t really go for graphic novels or books centred around pictures all too often- but after reading this I’ve realised I need to change that- pronto!

With the images and plot working in tandem, I found Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children both compelling and atmospheric. Yet this isn’t a traditional graphic novel, with the pictures being a response to the story, but, even more interestingly, the photos actually dictated the direction of the narrative! It’s certainly an unusual way to tell a story- and I didn’t expect to like it all that much- but this book surprised me in so many ways!

One of the most surprising aspects of the book was that it deals with some very deep and mature themes. On the one hand it is a story about being different- cleverly doubling the narrative of the Holocaust with an analogy for the Holocaust- so that the story of what it is like to be an outsider is told twice over. On another level, it is about exploring one’s own psyche and reconciling with the dark and dangerous parts of one’s own mind. Through the prism of the narrator’s eyes we see and what it is like to doubt your own sanity.

It’s pretty genius stuff and for that alone I would have been impressed with the book. But what really sold me on was how flawlessly this sum of parts came together. With the help of an eclectic cast of characters and his brilliantly organised visuals, Riggs really did create the picture perfect story.

Rating: 5/5 bananas

I can’t wait to read the next one- and thanks to the lovely Fernanda over at Mystery Date With A Book I won’t have to wait long- here’s the copy of Hollow City I won in her giveaway:

So I am well aware that this book is about as divisive as Marmite is in Britain- you either love it or hate it! For that reason I’d like a show of hands -*figuratively speaking*- what did you think of this book? Let me know in the comments!