Several fantasy books where the protagonist is the villain. There is no limit to utilizing characters in a fantasy story, which is one of the reasons why it is such a great genre. Sometimes, the best part about a fantasy book is the side characters that boost the protagonist. Other times, the protagonist shines on their own.

Fantasy TV shows are usually defined by their villains, an example of how the antagonist is a critical part of any successful fantasy narrative. There are even several fantasy projects where the villain shines just as brightly as the heroes. That does not mean the heroes are less exciting; however, the antagonists are often so fascinating that they rival the heroic characters. Whether it is because of the villain's complex backstory or tragic narrative, certain fantasy books have excellent reasons why the villains are just as compelling as the heroes.

10 The Lord of the Rings By J.R.R. Tolkien

Sauron

J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic series has its fair share of antagonists. However, none of the franchise's antagonists live up to the ultimate villain, Sauron. Sauron was originally a Maia who ed forces with Morgoth because he craved power and the conquest of Middle-earth. Sauron is a unique villain because he does not appear in a substantial form in The Lord of the Rings. He is the primary antagonist, but Sauron becomes the Eye after his first defeat before the events of The Lord of the Rings.

Sauron reigned for hundreds of years through multiple ages despite only being the Eye. There has never quite been an antagonist as iconic as Sauron—in fact, other fantasy stories have villains inspired by The Rings of Power's Sauron. The Rings of Power follows Sauron's ascent to dominion over Middle-earth during the Second Age. The TV show provides a more in-depth look at what makes Sauron just as compelling as Galadriel. Still, even as just a presence in the original Lord of the Rings book, Sauron stood out as a fascinating villain that changed fantasy forever.

9 Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Glinda Arduenna Upland

The primary antagonists of Gregory Maguire's Wicked book are the Wizard, who takes absolute power over Oz by tricking its civilians, and Madame Morrible, who is behind the oppression of Animals. However, Glinda Arduenna Upland is arguably a villain, too. In later installments of Maguire's series, Glinda proves that she has goodness inside her, but she is undoubtedly antagonistic in the first book. Glinda knows what the Wizard and Madame Morrible are doing to Animals is wrong, but she returns to Shiz University and marries into a wealthy family while turning a blind eye to Oz's injustices.

However, Glinda is still a compelling book villain because of the propaganda the Wizard's regime twists: Glinda is labeled as "Glinda the Good" because she is charitable with her husband's wealth, but she does nothing to improve the lives of Oz's civilians.

Wicked makes big changes to Gregory Maguire's book, including making Glinda even more complicit in the Wizard and Madame Morrible's crimes. However, Glinda is still a compelling book villain because of the propaganda the Wizard's regime twists: Glinda is labeled as "Glinda the Good" because she is charitable with her husband's wealth, but she does nothing to improve the lives of Oz's civilians. She has a high social status ranking in the Emerald City but does nothing with her influence to help the oppressed.

Glinda's silence is complicity, illustrating that some of the most compelling antagonists might not appear as villainous at all. One of the messages of Gregory Maguire's book is to demonstrate how propaganda affects society, and Glinda's role is crucial in executing this theme. She does not have to be a classic evil person with scheming plans to be a villain; all Glinda has to do is remain silent while the Wizard and Madame Morrible continue their tyranny.

8 A Song of Ice & Fire By George R. R. Martin

Cersei Lannister

The Lannisters are a compelling villainous family as a whole. Tyrion's book counterpart is the definition of morally gray, while Jaime will go as far as attempting to murder an innocent child to protect his secrets. Tywin is arguably the most villainous of them all, given his brilliantly strategic mind, ambitious plans, and ruthless personality. However, Cersei Lannister, Tywin's only daughter and Dowager Queen of Westeros through her marriage to Robert, is the most compelling Lannister—and one of the most riveting characters in A Song of Ice & Fire.

Cersei modeled herself after Tywin. She adopted Tywin's ideas, became just as cunning and ambitious, and followed her father's tips and tricks to emulate him. However, Tywin barely looked at her because she was a woman. Tywin has very traditional views of gender roles, which Cersei resents immensely. However, Cersei does everything in her power to prove Tywin wrong, rising higher than her father could have ever dreamed of. Cersei is everything that makes Tywin a compelling villain with a more complex personality because of everything she had to work for that her brothers and Tywin never had to.

7 Shadow & Bone Trilogy By Leigh Bardugo

The Darkling (Aleksander Morozova)

Leigh Bardugo's books contain many compelling villains, but the Darkling, the primary antagonist of the Shadow & Bone trilogy, is arguably her best. The Darkling is the Leader of Ravka's Second Army and the Grisha, but in a shocking plot twist, he turns out to be the villain. The Darkling is not the only antagonist—Nikolai Lantsov's parents, the King and Queen of Ravka, are also villains, as well as other nations for their oppression of Grisha. However, the Darkling is the primary villain because he is responsible for protecting his people, the Grisha; instead, he betrays them.

The Darkling is a compelling villain because he once had noble intentions. When he was a young boy, Grisha had to hide their powers and live in secrecy because Otkazat'sya, non-Grisha people, hunted and killed them. As a result, the Darkling became motivated to create a haven for Grisha, which led him to secure their safety in Ravka by striking a deal with the throne. However, the Darkling slowly becomes corrupt because he creates a mass weapon of darkness, the Fold. The Darkling stopped caring about protecting his people and started caring only about his ascent to absolute power.

The Darkling was once motivated to free his people from the oppression they endured. However, at the end of Siege & Storm, the second installment, he allies with Fjerda—a country committing genocide against their Grisha—to gain control of Ravka. The Darkling becomes his own worst enemy because he allies with his people's oppressors for his own personal gain. The Darkling is now responsible for oppressing and murdering his people. The Darkling's journey to become his own worst enemy makes him one of the most compelling villains in fantasy.

6 Vicious By V.E. Schwab

Eli Cardale

V.E. Schwab's Vicious explores the blurry lines between hero and villain. Therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint who the ultimate antagonist is because both main characters, Eli Cardale and Victor Vale, have committed villainous acts. However, Eli is the more compelling villain because of the trajectory of his arc. Victor and Eli are initially college roommates who discover they are EOs—humans with extraordinary abilities. Victor initially presents as the villain, while Eli seems to be righteous. However, in a shocking twist of events, the trajectory of their arcs takes them in opposite directions.

A decade later, Victor breaks out of prison to protect the EOs because Eli, in his unwavering belief in his self-righteousness, begins a campaign to kill EOs, despite being one himself. Both Victor and Eli are compelling characters, but Eli is the more riveting villain because he genuinely believes everything he does is for the greater good. Victor never pretends to be something that he isn't, making him more of an antihero, but Eli commits heinous acts while claiming to be a hero.

5 An Ember In The Ashes By Sabaa Tahir

The Nightbringer

There are quite a few villains in Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes, from Commandant Keris Veturia to Marcus Farrar. However, the series' primary antagonist, The Nightbringer, is the best and one of the most compelling villains in young adult fantasy fiction. The Nightbringer is the King of the Jinn, a group of ancient magical fey. The Nightbringer's biggest motivation is revenge—he wants to avenge his people, whom the Scholar Emperor imprisoned. However, in becoming obsessed with revenge, the Nightbringer loses himself and becomes even more evil than the Scholar Emperor was.

The Nightbringer weaponizing his pain as revenge is what makes him such a compelling villain.

The Nightbringer is obsessed with revenge because he feels like he failed his people—he survived and escaped imprisonment, but his people did not. As their leader, the Nightbringer becomes utterly devastated over the loss, which drives his revenge. He allies with the Martials, the Scholars' enemies, to colonize and oppress people, justifying it by claiming it is just revenge for what the Scholars did first. Despite the Nightbringer's madness, he is in a lot of pain, never having reconciled with his loss. The Nightbringer weaponizing his pain as revenge is what makes him such a compelling villain.

4 Empirium By Claire Legrand

Corien

Corien is the antagonist in Claire Legrand's Empirium trilogy. He is an angel, a species that precedes humanity and has special abilities. However, a war between the angels and humans soon ignites in Avitas, their world, which ends with the humans imprisoning the angels after they wreaked chaos. While the angels are imprisoned behind the Gate, Corien plans revenge against humanity, using the protagonist, Rielle, to accomplish his plans. Corien takes over Avitas and rules a tyrannical empire for thousands of years.

The most compelling characters in Empirium are the protagonists, Rielle and Eliana. However, Corien is just as riveting because of his highly intellectual mind and ability to manipulate circumstances to adhere to his plans. Corien is calculating and patient when planning his revenge—he even gives characters like Tywin Lannister a run for their money. Corien's chapters are mesmerizing and exciting; his antagonistic role is one of the best things about Empirium.

3 The Poppy War By R.F. Kuang

Yin Nezha

The primary villain in The Poppy War, a historical fantasy fiction book series, is the Gray Company, a religious institution founded by the Hesperians. The Hesperians want to take over and colonize Nikan, eventually mass converting the people to their religion. The Hesperians have many vessels to execute their plans, including the Dragon Warlord and his family. The Dragon Warlord's second eldest son is Yin Nezha, the golden boy at Sinegard. Nezha and Rin are initially enemies, but they become friends, only for Nezha to betray Rin by choosing his father and the Hesperians over Rin and what is right.

Despite The Poppy War's many villains, Yin Nezha is the most compelling and one of the best characters. Nezha is notably one of the worst people at the beginning of the trilogy because of his arrogance, cruelty, and racism. Unlike his family, Nezha has the potential to be a good person but ultimately chooses his family's bigotry and imperialism time and again. However, everything Nezha does is because he genuinely believes it is the best for Nikan, illustrating that if Nezha had a different upbringing, he would have a different approach with the same motivation—doing what is best for Nikan.

2 The Lost Book Of The White By Cassandra Clare

Sammael

The Shadowhunter Chronicles has a different antagonist for each series. Some of the villains are notably better than others, but none of them particularly rival the heroes the way Sammael does in The Lost Book of the White, the second installment of The Eldest Curses. Sammael is one of Hell's Greater Demons. In The Lost Book of the White, his primary goal is to claim Diyu, the Chinese version of Hell, for himself to rule. However, he is only able to take over Diyu because he is fully formed on Earth again due to Simon Lewis destroying Lilith's form.

Sammael is highly compelling because his arc in The Lost Book of the White sets up the final Shadowhunter books, such as Belial in The Last Hours. However, Sammael's role is the most effective in driving the overall narrative of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

1 The Hollow Star Saga By Ashley Shuttleworth

Riadne Lysterne

Similarly to other fantasy book series, the Hollow Star Saga by Ashley Shuttleworth has various antagonists, but none of them live up to Riadne Lysterne, the ambitious Queen of Seelie Summer. Her goal is to become the High Queen, but her path to executing her plans makes her as compelling as the heroes. Her plans involve raising the Seven Sins to ironborn hearts into Philosopher's Stones—a unique idea that is a testament to Riadne's calculating ambitions.

The Hollow Star Saga's other villains are also fascinating fantasy characters, but only Riadne keeps the narrative second-guessing and the heroes on their toes. She is also the mother of one of the four protagonists, which raises the stakes of her role as a villain. There is never a dull moment in Riadne's chapters; she is always scheming and conniving, seemingly one step ahead of everyone else.