The Book Tower

From Booking Through Thursday.

Who’s the worst fictional villain you can think of? As in, the one you hate the most, find the most evil, are happiest to see defeated? Not the cardboard, two-dimensional variety, but the most deliciously-written, most entertaining, best villain? Not necessarily the most “evil,” so much as the best-conceived on the part of the author…oh, you know what I mean!

Of all the books I’ve read recently, my favourite literary villain has got to be Steerpike from the Gormenghast trilogy. He’s certainly evil, but he’s also deliciously conceived as you can really see his mind ticking over as he hatches his plots and schemes to get what he wants. When he meets his downfall you’ve been with him for a long time, over the course of two lengthy novels, and his passing creates a mixture of jubilation and regret.

The most evil villain I’ve recently encountered is Chigurh from Cormac McCarthy’s No Country For Old Men; devoid of any moustache twirling charm, but a captivating character nevertheless. He inhabits a world where the villain has certainly left the pantomime stage behind…