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Villain origin stories books
19
items Stories that explain exactly how the villain became the villain.
Sections
4
My favourite 5
New releases 2026
Top Series
Main List
My favourite 5
My favourite 5: Villain origin stories
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 16+
Two former friends and rival scientists become each other's greatest enemies after a near-death experiment gives them superhuman abilities.
Morally grey doesn't begin to cover it — you'll root for the 'villain' the whole way through.
Two former friends and rival scientists become each other's greatest enemies after a near-death experiment gives them superhuman abilities.
Morally grey doesn't begin to cover it — you'll root for the 'villain' the whole way through.
Vicious - by V.E. Schwab
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 13+
Long before she was the Queen of Hearts, Catherine just wanted to open a bakery — this is the story of how that dream curdled into cruelty.
A tragic, beautifully written answer to 'why is the Queen of Hearts so awful?'
Long before she was the Queen of Hearts, Catherine just wanted to open a bakery — this is the story of how that dream curdled into cruelty.
A tragic, beautifully written answer to 'why is the Queen of Hearts so awful?'
Heartless - by Marissa Meyer
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
A crew of six dangerous outcasts is offered a fortune to pull off a heist that could get them all killed.
Every member of this crew is a villain-in-training by someone's definition — and that's exactly the appeal.
A crew of six dangerous outcasts is offered a fortune to pull off a heist that could get them all killed.
Every member of this crew is a villain-in-training by someone's definition — and that's exactly the appeal.
Six of Crows - by Leigh Bardugo
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 16+
A mortal girl raised in the treacherous High Court of Faerie schemes her way into power among the very fae who despise her.
Jude is one of the most compelling 'becoming ruthless on purpose' arcs in YA fantasy.
A mortal girl raised in the treacherous High Court of Faerie schemes her way into power among the very fae who despise her.
Jude is one of the most compelling 'becoming ruthless on purpose' arcs in YA fantasy.
The Cruel Prince - by Holly Black
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 16+
The Greek witch of myth — feared, exiled, and vilified — finally gets to tell her own side of the story.
Turns a 'monster' of legend into one of the most human characters in fiction.
The Greek witch of myth — feared, exiled, and vilified — finally gets to tell her own side of the story.
Turns a 'monster' of legend into one of the most human characters in fiction.
Circe - by Madeline Miller
New releases 2026
New releases 2026: Villain origin stories
★★★½ (3.5/5) — Ages 16+
A dark, secretive Oxford setting where old grudges and new ambition collide.
Worth checking closely — the elite-academic setting and rivalry angle suit this sublist.
A dark, secretive Oxford setting where old grudges and new ambition collide.
Worth checking closely — the elite-academic setting and rivalry angle suit this sublist.
Oxford Blood - by Rachael Davis-Featherstone
Top Series
Top Series: Villain origin stories
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 16+
Two former friends and rival scientists become each other’s greatest enemies after a near-death experiment gives them superhuman abilities, across two morally grey books.
Original-IP anti-hero fiction at its sharpest — you’ll root for the ‘villain’ the whole way through.
Two former friends and rival scientists become each other’s greatest enemies after a near-death experiment gives them superhuman abilities, across two morally grey books.
Original-IP anti-hero fiction at its sharpest — you’ll root for the ‘villain’ the whole way through.
The Villains series - by V.E. Schwab
Main List
Main List: Villain origin stories
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 16+
The untold story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, long before Dorothy ever landed in Oz.
A genuinely clever reframing of a story everyone thinks they know.
The untold story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, long before Dorothy ever landed in Oz.
A genuinely clever reframing of a story everyone thinks they know.
Wicked - by Gregory Maguire
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 16+
The sequel to Vicious, following the same cast as a new player enters their deadly game of power.
Just as sharp as the first, with an even bigger cast of anti-heroes to love and fear.
The sequel to Vicious, following the same cast as a new player enters their deadly game of power.
Just as sharp as the first, with an even bigger cast of anti-heroes to love and fear.
Vengeful - by V.E. Schwab
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
The Six of Crows are back for an even more dangerous job, with betrayals waiting around every corner.
Delivers on every character's darker edges — a satisfying, twisty follow-up.
The Six of Crows are back for an even more dangerous job, with betrayals waiting around every corner.
Delivers on every character's darker edges — a satisfying, twisty follow-up.
Crooked Kingdom - by Leigh Bardugo
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 16+
Jude has power now — and has to hold onto it by any means necessary, even if it means becoming exactly what everyone feared.
Deliciously cutthroat, with a moral compass that keeps spinning.
Jude has power now — and has to hold onto it by any means necessary, even if it means becoming exactly what everyone feared.
Deliciously cutthroat, with a moral compass that keeps spinning.
The Wicked King - by Holly Black
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 13+
In a world of superheroes and villains, a young villain infiltrates the hero academy to bring it down from within — and starts to question everything.
A fun, high-stakes flip on the usual superhero story, told from the other side.
In a world of superheroes and villains, a young villain infiltrates the hero academy to bring it down from within — and starts to question everything.
A fun, high-stakes flip on the usual superhero story, told from the other side.
Renegades - by Marissa Meyer
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 13+
The second Renegades book, as the line between hero and villain gets even blurrier.
Keeps the moral tension of the first book while raising the stakes.
The second Renegades book, as the line between hero and villain gets even blurrier.
Keeps the moral tension of the first book while raising the stakes.
Archenemies - by Marissa Meyer
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 14+
In a city ruled by monsters born from human violence, the son of a crime boss and the daughter of a peacekeeper form an unlikely alliance.
Atmospheric and morally complicated, with monsters that ask real questions about what makes a person 'bad'.
In a city ruled by monsters born from human violence, the son of a crime boss and the daughter of a peacekeeper form an unlikely alliance.
Atmospheric and morally complicated, with monsters that ask real questions about what makes a person 'bad'.
This Savage Song - by V.E. Schwab
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 14+
The conclusion to This Savage Song, as new monsters and old loyalties collide.
A satisfying, bittersweet close to a genuinely original duology.
The conclusion to This Savage Song, as new monsters and old loyalties collide.
A satisfying, bittersweet close to a genuinely original duology.
Our Dark Duet - by V.E. Schwab
★★★★ (4.0/5) — Ages 13+
A Beauty and the Beast retelling about a prince trapped in a curse that turns him into a monster every season — and the girl determined to break it.
Explores what happens when the 'beast' keeps failing to become better, with real emotional stakes.
A Beauty and the Beast retelling about a prince trapped in a curse that turns him into a monster every season — and the girl determined to break it.
Explores what happens when the 'beast' keeps failing to become better, with real emotional stakes.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely - by Brigid Kemmerer
★★★½ (3.5/5) — Ages 14+
A conquered princess, kept as a puppet by the queen who murdered her mother, finally starts plotting her revenge.
A solid start to a trilogy about what it costs to become the ruthless ruler you need to be.
A conquered princess, kept as a puppet by the queen who murdered her mother, finally starts plotting her revenge.
A solid start to a trilogy about what it costs to become the ruthless ruler you need to be.
Ash Princess - by Laura Sebastian
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 18+
A gifted war orphan rises through a military academy and into a brutal war that pushes her toward devastating, godlike power.
One of the most powerful 'hero becomes something terrifying' arcs in recent fantasy — not for the faint of heart.
A gifted war orphan rises through a military academy and into a brutal war that pushes her toward devastating, godlike power.
One of the most powerful 'hero becomes something terrifying' arcs in recent fantasy — not for the faint of heart.
The Poppy War - by R.F. Kuang
★★★★½ (4.5/5) — Ages 14+
Decades before he becomes the tyrannical President Snow, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow mentors a female tribute from District 12 in the tenth Hunger Games — and the choices he makes along the way start to reveal exactly who he'll become.
A genuinely chilling villain origin story — you watch ambition curdle into cruelty in real time.
Decades before he becomes the tyrannical President Snow, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow mentors a female tribute from District 12 in the tenth Hunger Games — and the choices he makes along the way start to reveal exactly who he'll become.
A genuinely chilling villain origin story — you watch ambition curdle into cruelty in real time.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Collins