Best Villains of 2016

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Anaerfell, Calamity, Into the Shadow Wood, Les Miserables, Siren's Song, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Magician's Nephew, The Prince Warriors, The Warded Man, Top Ten List, Unfinished Tales, Villains

Welcome to the third installment in my Top 10 of 2016. Be sure to check out my previous posts if you missed them, and check back in the coming days for the remainder of the series. Today I cover the best villains from books I read in 2016, so read on to find out who made the cut!

December 26: Best Books I’ve Read in 2016
December 27: Best Book Covers of 2016
December 28: Best Villains of 2016
December 29: Best Boyfriends/Girlfriends of 2016
December 30: Top 10 Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2017

10. Poneros from The Prince Warriors by Priscilla Shirer

The unseen evil force responsible for the never-ending war going on in Ahoratos, and the fictional stand-in for the forces of evil in our own world. His behind-the-scenes presence is strong enough to earn him a spot on the list.

9. Braeden from Into the Shadow Wood by Allison D. Reid

Granted, he never actively appears during the novella, but his fingerprints are all over the things descending upon Einar and his companions. The sinister overtone to this book grants Braeden a spot on this list.

8. Jadis from The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

She snaps Uncle Andrew into complete subservience. She attempts to tempt Digory into using an apple for his own selfish wants, which would have twisted its power to make him and his mother miserable instead. And she will become the White Witch now that she has been unleashed upon Narnia.

7. Tyran and Drast’s father from Anaerfell by Joshua Robertson and J.C. Boyd

There is a lot of evidence throughout that Drast and Tyran have been molded into who they are by their father, who is abusive and power-hungry, which leaves the reader questioning whether the actions of the two brothers are their own fault or if the blame should fall squarely on the shoulders of their father.

6. Glaurung from Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien

He manipulates Turin Turambar and his family into a tragedy that leaves them all dead. Glaurung is a sinister dragon that puts Smaug to shame, and is a part of one of the most heart-wrenching and memorable tales that Tolkien ever wrote.

5. Prof from Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

An unexpected shift, placing one of the primary heroes and the mentor of the series into the role of a super villain for the final book in the series. Things are intense as David and company try to defeat their old leader who has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

4. Fernand Mondego, Danglars, and Villefort from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

They betrayed Edmund Dantes for various reasons, each one remaining silent as the man wrongly suffers for years of imprisonment. You cannot help but cheer Dantes on as he exacts his plots for revenge over the course of the book.

3. Inspector Javert from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

The dogged persistence shown by Javert as he pursues Jean Valjean time and again makes him a memorable villain. His struggles with the morality of the situations, as the book winds down to its end, elevated him to become an even more interesting character.

2. The Rock Demon from The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

This thing is massive. It loses an arm and spends a lot of the book chasing after the main character, who was responsible for the dismemberment. This demon is the thing of nightmares, as are many of the things that made appearances in the first book of this series.

1. Draewulf from Siren’s Song by Mary Weber

Ancient, wolf-formed shapeshifter whose armies are sweeping throughout the land, conquering kingdoms and dispatching rulers. Draewulf is exactly the villain I both love and hate, and the fact that his power continues to grow stronger makes him a looming threat.

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Book Review: Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

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Bad Metaphors, Book Review, Brandon Sanderson, Calamity, Epics, Reckoners, Superheroes

If there ever was a review I didn’t want to write, a book I didn’t want to finish, it would be this one. Because I don’t want to end my experiences with the Reckoners trilogy…

Title: Calamity by Brandon Sanderson, Book 3 of the Reckoners Trilogy

Published by Delacorte Press on February 16, 2016

432 Pages (Hardcover)

Blurb and Praise:

From the bestselling author of the Mistborn series and Words of Radiance comes Calamity, the final book in the New York Times bestselling Reckoners series. What started in the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Steelheart and continued in the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Firefight now concludes in Calamity.

When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back. . . .

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.

Praise for the Reckoners Series:

“The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive.”—James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series

“Another win for Sanderson . . . he’s simply a brilliant writer. Period.” —Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind

[STAR] “Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high-intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance . . . leaves [readers] panting for the sequel.” —Booklist, Starred

“Action-packed.“—EW.com

“Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store.” —The A.V. Club

“An absolute page-turner.“”—Publishers Weekly

“A straight-up Marvel Comics-style action drama.”—Kirkus Reviews

And if all those reviews don’t get you excited to read this trilogy, maybe this non-spoiler review of this book will:

My Take: I wanted to read this book like a kid wants to eat a giant lollipop. I was excited to read the book just like the kid gets excited about lollipops, but I didn’t want it to end too soon just like the kid who gets the giant lollipop so they can savor the experience a little longer. Yes, this series will be full of  intentionally bad metaphors, and Calamity certainly had some memorable ones in there. The humor that Sanderson laced into this book, as well as the previous books, makes this a fun read while the action and intrigue makes it an entertaining romp through a world where superpowers don’t go to the good guys. Or, rather, it seems that everyone who gets superpowers turns bad, and they are known as Epics.

It is difficult to write a spoiler-free review of the final book in a trilogy like this, but I want this to be a comprehensive review for more than just this one book. I want someone to read this and go pick up the entire trilogy (Steelheart, Firefight, Calamity) plus the short between the first two (Mitosis). The Reckoners are back in action in this finale that certainly lives up to every expectation that it promised. The showdown that has been coming is epic. And Epic.

But that isn’t even the main target for the book. The one complaint that could be voiced is that once this big showdown is over, there isn’t enough time to properly build up for the other final showdown. But the plans of the Reckoners, especially those made by the main character, David, never work out like they should anyway so extra time to plan and scheme would have been prolonging a story longer than it needed to.

More information is learned about the powers that the Epics possess and how they came to get those, and some of those Epics seen in previous books take their powers to the next level in this one. Seriously, it is amazing what Sanderson had them doing with these powers.

One sign of a great trilogy is being able to reflect back, at the end, and see how things not only progressed from Book One to the ending but also to see how things in the early chapters allude to later events or become significant later on down the line. In that respect, Calamity delivers. I will always look back upon the Reckoners trilogy as a fantastic series. Steelheart was the first Sanderson book I ever picked up and I’ve been waiting anxiously ever since Firefight was announced shortly after I finished that book. I could herald this series for being about superpowers, which it certainly has plenty of that, but this series is so much more than a mere superhero series. It is action and excitement, mystery and intrigue, bad kissing and bad metaphors, exaggerated stories and mysterious backgrounds, and just plain fun.

I cannot recommend this book, and this trilogy, enough. Put it on your TBR list right now and you won’t regret it. Allow Steelheart to rope you in and you’ll thank me when you finish Calamity.