As you will see in Such A Good Girl by Amanda K. Morgan, nothing will keep you turning page after page quite like a protagonist who doesn’t tell you their whole story. Riley Stone seems perfect on the outside, but as you discover more about her and her nonnegotiable plans to keep things that way, you see that she’s not as good as she claims. Riley is single-minded and determined, and her ability to rationalize her actions puts her solidly on my list of favorite unreliable narrators. And the thing is, you’ll find yourself liking her for it. As you read, you’ll find out she isn’t such a “good girl,” and you’ll realize that you don’t quite mind that.

There’s definitely a trend lately that has caused us to reexamine the so-called villains of stories (Maleficent for example). Their pasts have been unfolded and dissected, the tragic backstories presented to better understand their diabolical motives, often in the hopes that they will spend the rest of their story redeeming themselves in the eyes of the hero.

BUT WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BEING EVIL JUST BECAUSE?? I miss the good ol’ days of sociopaths with too much money, power, charisma, or even better—a perfect combination of the three.

Nothing is more fun than a villain who likes doing bad things for the sake of it. Someone who enjoys the power that comes with being able to manipulate situations and coem out on top. Naturally, I had to list the chaotic evil masterminds that have a special place in my heart. And if you think about them, I bet you’ll agree with me. Sometimes you have to appreciate the pure ruthlessness and evil that comes from a great villainous character. So, from Dolores Umbridge to Cruella de Vil, here are some of my favorite evildoers.

DOLORES UMBRIDGE

Professor Umbridge is the villain everyone loves to hate. She genuinely gets joy out of causing children misery and that’s just plain wrong…but it makes for a fantastic villain. In some ways, Dolores is worse than Voldemort. Voldemort, at least, has a rhyme and a reason to his evildoing. Dolores is the Harry Potter equivalent to the Joker. She makes children suffer just for the fun of it and just because she can.

AZULA OF THE FIRE NATION

Azula, from Avatar: the Last AirBender, is the Princess of Sadism herself. She’s the prodigy and favorite of her father, the Fire Lord, and lives up to her predecessors’ legacy of cruelty and barbarism in the name of her nation’s expansionist motives in the Four Kingdoms. Azula demands perfection from all who serve her, which in her opinion is everyone, and you do not what to be on the wrong end of her lightening attacks.

YZMA

Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove is the first one that comes to mind, she’s hilarious, ruthless and turns into a cat. She goes after what she wants without any hesitation.  Can you really blame her for wanting lazy Kuzco off the throne? Plus, she says “Pull the lever Kronk!” And let’s not forget her cruelest moment….

LOKI

Loki is such a deliciously complicated character. He’s the trickster god—his job is literally to mess you up. But the beginning of his slippery slope into muckery is not without reason. When he discovers he’s been deeply, truly wronged, Asgard help the target of his vindictive brilliance.

ANTON CHIGURH

Anton Chigurh may not be the most recognizable name on this baddies list, but his haircut definitely is. This mysterious hit man terrorized us in Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men, and was brought to the big screen by the always fantastic Javier Bardem. More than simply a silent assassin, he takes pointed pleasure in his ability to outsmart and out-chase both his targets and his completion, using any weapon at his disposal—most memorably a captive bolt pistol, or cattle gun. Driven by a singular purpose of completing his task and swayed only by the outcome of a coin flip, he is a spine chilling embodiment of death, and my favorite villain.

PRESIDENT SNOW

President Snow from The Hunger Games is just diabolical. There is nothing he won’t do for power and he has absolutely no remorse for any of his actions. There’s a certain level of awe you have to have when reading about someone who will go through such measures to get to where they want to be. He’s poisoned himself, killed anyone who stood in his way, and put his body through the ringer. He’s so ruthless he’s barely human.

CERSEI

Carsei from Game of Thrones is understandably evil. Most of what she does is to gain political power, to protect her family, or for love. There’s a level of respect you have to have for someone who is that ruthless for such relatable reasons. I think a lot of people would do pretty much anything for the people they care about most. Also, there aren’t enough portrayals of evil women with political goals and aspirations. Female villains tend to be women scorned or looking for revenge. There’s something refreshing about a ruthless woman who’s ruthless of her own volition, and not because someone has pushed her there.

CRUELLA De VIL

Let’s be real, Cruella is the ultimate villain. She wants to kill PUPPIES. If that’s not the ultimate in ruthlessness I don’t know what is. And yet, you can kind of understand her motives, because she’s doing it for fashion. It’s her passion. It’s her art! Yes, she could probably get a great looking faux spotted coat, but that would be inauthentic. Still doesn’t make her any less evil, though.

Did I miss your favorite ruthless character? Let me know in the comments!