Sometimes the best part of a story is cheering for the worst person in it.
Heroes are fine. Noble, self-sacrificing, sometimes even charming. But villains are the reason your favorite stories stick in your head. They’re messy, magnetic, and more fun than any “chosen one” with a shiny sword.
Books where the main character is the villain flip the script and force you to root for someone you’d definitely avoid in real life. They make betrayal intoxicating, power grabs fascinating, and every terrible decision unputdownable.
If you’re ready to walk on the dark side of fiction, these reads will have you questioning your morals.
Why Do We Love Villain Main Characters So Much?
Villain protagonists scratch an itch heroes never quite reach. Heroes give us inspiration; villains give us catharsis. They say the quiet parts out loud, do the things we secretly wonder about, and burn bridges with a confidence most of us only dream of.
There’s also freedom in following the “bad” character. Villains aren’t weighed down by noble causes or moral absolutes. They blur lines, make awful choices, and somehow drag us along for the ride. You don’t have to agree with them; you just have to admit you can’t look away.
At the end of the day, cheering for a villain lets us explore darker questions without consequence. What would you sacrifice for power? Is vengeance worth your humanity? Or is it simply fun to revel in the chaos, guilt-free, because it’s all on the page?
The Dark Side of Storytelling
Villain-led books come in every flavor: scheming con artists, charming manipulators, power-hungry rulers, and straight-up monsters. Fantasy, thriller, literary fiction, no genre is safe from a villain stealing the spotlight.
Below, you’ll find ten books where the main character is the villain, each one proof that the dark side really does have better stories.
