The Villain as an Unexpected Reader Favorite
I’ve written my share of villains over the years, and most serve their purpose within my stories well. They’re the ruthless tyrants, the merciless mages seeking to further their power, and sometimes, a vengeful god hell-bent on destroying the world just to get their way.
Most of my villains aren’t meant to be likeable. They’re horrible people, often without morals, acting solely to further their own agendas. Whether they seek power, riches, or absolute control, none of them should be considered a reader’s favorite character.
And yet, there is Dranamir.
She is one of the Soulless from The Relics of War, and a character that was never meant to become anyone’s favorite. She is the only Soulless in the series with point of view chapters, which might be why some people were initially intrigued. But she’s one of the worst characters of all my books, from a moral standpoint. Her body count is probably the highest of any villain I’ve ever brought to life, she enjoys inflicting pain and torture, and she is responsible for two of her world’s greatest atrocities (if you’ve read the related novel, Serpentus, you know what I’m referring to.)
Which is why I continue to be baffled when a reader tells me Dranamir is among their favorite. One of my beta readers for the series once compared her to Darth Vader in terms of the overall villain aura she possesses, so maybe that’s why some readers like her. (I mean, I think Darth Vader is pretty damned cool, and he’s not supposed to be likeable either…So maybe that reader was on to something.)
Where Dranamir differs from my other villains is that she’s a powerful mage. She can do things with magic that few others—even in her world—could ever dream of. Maybe it’s partially her overt use of magic to wreak destruction that draws the readers in. My other villains don’t have that flashy brand of danger.
Of my published and upcoming books, only Dranamir does.
Colin from The Caein Legacy is a tyrant king, but he’s no mage, and he usually sends others to do his bidding. In Hunted, the villain isn’t as clear cut; the main character could be considered the villain herself, though she’s fighting against an organization that would see her kind dead. She does some things that a more noble person would never dream of, yet she’s not inherently bad, either (I like to think of her as morally gray.) And in Wraith and the Revolution, the big bad isn’t a single person, but a megacorp with too much control over the galaxy. Sure, that corporation has a lot of cool tech, but it doesn’t have the same feel as Dranamir’s magic. There are individual players that, from certain perspectives, could be construed as villains, but they’re not the ultimate “bad guys.”
My husband, who describes himself as my “biggest fan,” is among those who like Dranamir, despite all the evil she does. He likes her so much that he’s attempted to insert her into some of my other stories (that aren’t even set in her world!) He does it as a joke, taking advantage of the few times I forget to close my laptop when I walk away, but I’m still surprised every time.
So, what is it about Dranamir? If you’ve read the series and have an answer to this question, I’d love to hear it, because this whole situation continues to baffle me.
And if you haven’t, there are a couple ways you can encounter her. First, in The Relics of War series (which is where you’ll see her in action the most), or alternatively, in Serpentus, where she’s glimpsed from afar a few times. If you want to know her character better, I’d suggest beginning with the series, but if you just want to see what this world and its conflict is all about, then check out Serpentus, which is a standalone.
Thanks for reading! I’ll leave you with a couple screenshots of my husband’s attempted Dranamir-insertion into my other stories. 😊
This particular insertion occurred while I was writing Serpentus.
And this one was added to one of the books in The Mage War Chronicles (it might have been book 4, though I don’t remember for sure.) Obviously, these don’t stay in the text, but I save the screenshots because they make me laugh.