“I’m into, oh murders and executions mostly. It depends.”
Sometimes it’s good to be bad, right? Whether it be in TV, film or books, villains and antagonists can be the stars of the show. Antagonists in stories can do things that heroes can’t. They give writers the freedom to be creative and explore endless possibilities. Antagonists can break the rules and go beyond limits. This is perhaps why villain protagonist books have become one of the most popular types of stories for writers over the years. Join us here at What We Reading as we look back at the best books where the main character is the villain!
American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis
Gaining infamy thanks to its 2000 adaptation starring Christian Bale, American Psycho is the story of Patrick Bateman. A wealthy and handsome investment banker living in Manhattan, Bateman narrates his life to readers and explains how he is living a double life as a bloodthirsty serial killer.
Blending horror with black comedy, Ellis’ novel is a satire aimed at the yuppie movement and rife consumerism of the 1980s. Bateman’s quips alongside his brutal acts make American Psycho one of the most enthralling books where the main character is the villain.
Check Out The Best Books Like American Psycho
If We Were Villains – M.L. Rio
If We Were Villains introduces readers to Oliver Marks, a man who has recently served for a murder he may or may not have committed. The day of his release finds Detective Colborne, the man responsible for his imprisonment, eagerly awaiting him, curious to uncover the truth of what transpired a decade ago.
M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains is a mystery-thriller novel that follows a group of young theatre performers. But when they discover one of their own dead, they must all come together and deliver the performance of a lifetime to convince the police that none of them is the villain they seek.
Check Out The Best Books Similar To If We Were Villains
Vicious (Villains #1) – V.E. Schwab
Nominated for Best Fantasy in the Goodreads Choice Awards, V.E. Schwab’s Vicious is a masterfully-told superpowered tale of ambition and jealousy. Readers follow Victor and Eli, two young men who believe the right concoction of adrenaline and near-death experiences can grant someone extraordinary powers.
Ten years on, Victor has escaped from prison and Eli is on a personal crusade to eliminate all those who have gained superpowers from their work together. With the loss, betrayal and powerful powers behind them, Vicious is the first entry in a gritty comic-book-style series where having superpowers doesn’t make you a hero.
Check out the Differences Between Villains And Antagonists
A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess’ timeless vision into the future of law and order, A Clockwork Orange follows a young man named Alex. Through iconic inventive slang, Alex narrates his story of leading a gang of young men who rampage across a dystopian United Kingdom.
Alongside his heinous violence, the book follows Alex as he is pursued by the state authorities and their efforts to reform him into a more agreeable member of society. One of the most controversial books of its time, A Clockwork Orange is a disturbing dive into good, evil and the nature of human freedom.
Nimona – N.D. Stevenson
A Best Graphic Novel and Comic nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards, Nimona comes from the acclaimed webcomic from N.D. Stevenson.
In the book, readers follow villains Nimona, a young shapeshifter, and Lord Ballister Blackheart, a man with a fiery vendetta. As a team of sidekicks, they work together to carry out cunning acts, aiming to reveal to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his cronies are not the heroes everyone assumes them to be. But, as their escapades grow bigger and bigger in scale, Blackheart soon learns there is far more mystery to Nimona than he ever could have realised…
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides
Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient follows Alicia Berenson. On the outside, it looks as though she is living the perfect idyllic life. That is until one day her husband returns home from a fashion shoot, she shoots him five times and then refuses to speak another word. Hidden away at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London, psychotherapist Theo Faber is tasked with uncovering the motivations behind what led to such a violent act.
This shocking psychological thriller takes readers to the heart of this mysterious woman and her decision to shoot her own husband.
Check out our The Silent Patient Review
Grunts – Mary Gentle
If you have ever played a tabletop fantasy game or read an epic fantasy book, you will know that orcs are always the grunts that are entirely expendable to a writer. The ‘villains’ of the piece only exist to line up and be chopped down by the heroes.
Set in the world of Tolkien and one of the best books like The Lord of the Rings, Grunts is the hilarious story from Mary Gentle that flips this trope on its head. One of the most imaginative books where the main character is the villain, it is told from the perspective of the orcs and gives readers an insight into how this supposedly mindless infantry actually feels about the fantasy writing formula.
Because You Love To Hate Me – Amerie
Amerie edited the collection, “Because You Love To Hate Me,” which consists of thirteen uniquely told stories, each from the perspective of different villains.
Featuring contributions from bestselling authors and viral Booktubers, this young adult anthology reimagines some of the most iconic fairytales every reader is familiar with, only now from the viewpoint of the misunderstood bad guy of the piece. From Jack and the Beanstalk to Sherlock Holmes to Medusa, these stories explore the vengeance, rage, heartbreak and pain that motivate an iconic villain.
Grendel – John Gardner
Beowulf is the famous Anglo-Saxon tale of a heroic man who slays a monster named Grendel. In his acclaimed 1971 book, John Gardner presents his take on the age-old tale of one of the first monsters in the English language.
Told from the perspective of Grendel, Gardner’s book is a heart-wrenching and powerful look into loneliness and how hatred can fester. Following the monster on the outskirts of human society, it is one of the best villain origin stories and a fresh look at one of the most significant stories in literature.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
