Magnificent Bastard / Literature A to J

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# - B

• 1632:
  • Sultan Murad IV, who is currently the most effective enemy of the U.S.E., spent years pretending to be in denial about the "Ring of Fire" before launching an attack with modernized airship weapons. He learns from his defeats, such as training snipers of his own when his enemy uses them against him, is determined to write his own page in the history books, and is known for actions such as executing some of his men for fleeing in battle but ordering one of his officers to pretend to give the dead men's families pensions in seeming defiance of Murad—when in reality it was the latter's idea—to inspire loyalty among the other airship crews to that officer.
  • Pedro Dolor is a Spymaster from the Vatican plot line, who serves as The Heavy against Ruy, Sharon and the others. Dolor is a mysterious, imposing figure who appears out of nowhere to serve Cardinal Borja, working to thwart the goals of more sympathetic characters, such as by ambushing one of Harry Lefferts' rescue missions or infiltrating a city with the intent of killing the Pope. Dolor is is also fully willing to kill any subordinates who become liabilities to him, but is also utterly disgusted by the rampant sadism among many of his allies, and his efforts are designed to gain more trust from the usurper Pope and the Spanish crown, who he plans to turn on once he achieves enough power in revenge for being abandoned on the streets of Madrid and ignored by Spain's nobles as a boy.
  • Salqam-Jangir Khan, head of the Kazhak Khanate, is hired to attack the heroes of the Russian plot line. Upon realizing that the Russians will make better allies than enemies, he quickly switches sides, while taking the one who hired him prisoner and turning the guy over to Bernie and his allies as a sign of good faith. Khan becomes an ostensible subordinate of the Russians, seeing it as an opportunity to get them to support his dynasty as hereditary governors and forestall any coup attempts. Salqam then proceeds to become head of the new nation's pro-slavery faction but is willing to allow slaves to have the right to vote, signifying that they are not to be seen as subhuman and may elect representatives who are more likely to free them. Khan also pledges to execute any of his nobles who try to control the votes of their slaves, suspecting this will give him a chance to execute his political rivals.
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, born Prince Dakkar, is revealed as the son of an Indian Raj whose family was slaughtered for his rebellion against the British. Nemo has since abandoned civilization to create his own by his brilliance and force of will, resulting in the Nautilus-an ingenious submersible that Nemo travels the world with, striking fear into the hearts of the British by destroying their ships. Nemo is polite even to his prisoners, taking everything they need from the sea and their own victims, while maintaining a air of civility and geniality, showcasing his unmistakable charisma and drive.
• About the Cunning Mistress Fox, by Josef Lada: The Fox herself is an inventive, daring, and highly determined Uplifted Animal. Early in her life, she is brought as a pet for Vobinuška's children and, during her time with them, learns to talk, read, and write. After she escapes to the woods, she decides to live by her own wits. When a few attempts to emulate classic fables and fairytales fail, the Fox, via eavesdropping on Březina the forester's house, learns how to use the telephone and cons the town butcher Špejlík, calling him to order ham in Březina's name. Even when Březina gets wise to it and he and Špejlík try to set a trap for her, the Fox watches them do it and instead brags to Špejlík she'll rob his shop on an appointed day. She pulls it off, first visiting the town in human disguise to prepare the plan and then arriving at the promised time, stealing two hams, and avoiding capture by an Angry Mob headed by Špejlík by virtue of disguising herself as a fox skin. Later, the Fox reconciles with Špejlík and becomes a beloved national celebrity after she finds a purse of money Špejlík has lost and returns it. By listening under Březina's window, the Fox gets inspired to apply for the post of a junior forester at Raspberry Hill. Practicing for the job, she unwittingly chases Prince Halapartna himself out of the forest, but he finds it so impressive and hilarious that he appoints her to Raspberry Hill where she happily works as a forester from then on.
• Accel World:
  • White Cosmos is the King of Oscillatory Universe, the secret leader of the Acceleration Research Society and the older sister of Black Lotus. Aware that all previous Virtual Worlds were destroyed, Cosmos became determined to finish Brain Burst by all possible means, like leading the brutal murder of Saphron Blosson and lying to her pupils or manipulating her own sister to murder the Red King when he was trying to create a lasting peace, causing Lotus' exile in both real and virtual worlds. Years later, Cosmos summons the virtual ghosts of fallen Burst Linkers, leads experiments on living players and uses the Luminary to control powerful virtual beings to deal with the unbeatable Tezcatlipoca. When Tezcatlipoca is born, Cosmos immediately seizes control of him, thanks her enemies for their unwilling help for her plans and kidnaps Lotus' boyfriend while using the threat of Tezcatlipoca to blackmail him to be her spy, confusing Silver Crow with the contrast between her affable attitude and her atrocities.
  • "Black Vise" is the vice-chairman of the Acceleration Research Society. Actually Ivory Tower, one of the Seven Dwarves of Oscillatory Universe and the right-hand of White Cosmos, Vise uses his ability to change forms to maintain dual identities and run hidden experiments in the Accelerated World. Having participated on the brutal murder of Saphron Blossom in the past, Vise offered mercy to her boyfriend, who became the infamous Chrome Disaster out of grief. Fascinated at such power, Vise used and discarded other Burst Linkers such as Dusk Taker and the unwilling Wolfram Cerberus to create a second Chrome Disaster using the Negative Incarnation stored on the ISS Kits. When Nega Nebulus discovers links between the Society and the White Legion, Ivory Tower evacuates the Society members and participates on the defense of White Legion Territory, showing respect towards his enemies and being forced to expose his Black Vise form to save himself. When his secret identity is revealed to the other Kings, Vise sacrifices himself to trap them into a death loop after declaring his excitement at seeing that the impulsivity of Nega Nebulus could challenge his careful planning.
• Aesop's Fables:
  • "The Deer Without a Heart": This story is similar to the Panchatantra story "The Ass Without Heart and Ears", and the fox proves to be just as conniving. After the lion kills the deer, the fox takes the opportunity to eat the deer's heart when the lion isn't looking. When the lion confronts him, the fox claims that the deer couldn't have had a heart if it knowingly returned to danger.
  • "The Eagle and the Beetle": The Beetle wants to avenge the death of his friend the Hare (or of her offsprings' in some versions), killed by a female Eagle. Following the Eagle to her nest, the Beetle made her eggs fall off while she was busy eating the Hare. Successfully repeating the process the next year despite the Eagle moving her nest higher as a safety measure, the Beetle even manages to make the Eagle's eggs fall off a third time despite the Eagle having Zeus/Jupiter guard said eggs. Tricking the god into standing up and making the eggs fall off his lap by either dropping a ball of dung on his robe or flying around his head depending on the versions, the Beetle gets away with his deeds, Zeus/Jupiter deciding to have them reproduce at different times of the year to ensure such problems don't repeat.
  • "The Fox and the Crow": The fox in this story shows why one should be wary about words of flattery. Hoping to trick the crow out of a piece of cheese in it's beak, the fox appeals to its ego by requesting to hear its "beautiful voice". When the crow complies, it drops the cheese and the fox quickly grabs it and flees, but not before calling the crow out for its foolishness. The Buddhist Jataka Tales have a similar story with the same moral, with the fox being replaced with a jackal.
  • "The Fox and the Goat" : A thirsty fox fell down an inescapable well while he was looking for water. Talking a goat nearby into jumping in the well by telling him how delicious the water is, the fox asks him to use his back to escape, promising to help him out afterwards. Successfully getting out of the well as a result, the fox leaves the goat to his fate, berating him for leaping into an inescapable situation without thinking twice about it.
  • "The Wolf and the Shepherd" : The Wolf, wanting to eat a flock of sheep guarded by a Shepherd, came up with a long-term plan. Repeatedly hanging around the flock without harming them under the watchful eyes of the Shepherd, he earned the latter's trust, who eventually came to see the Wolf as a friend. When the Shepherd went to the city, he left the flock in the Wolf's care, leading to the latter jumping on the opportunity, eating and slaughtering the whole flock and getting away with it.
• Airman: Conor Broekhart is a bright young inventor whose life is ruined when he gets framed for the murder of King Nick and his mentor Victor Vigny by the vile Hugo Bonvilain. Incarcerated at the Little Saltee prison mines and given the new identity of Conor Finn, Conor uses his cunning and wits to survive against the corrupt guards and dangerous inmates. He fends off and defeats Otto Malarkey using a mining tool as a makeshift blade, which wins Malarkey's respect, turning him into an ally. Conor also gets into the good graces of a guard named Arthur Billtoe, providing him invention designs in exchange for favors that Conor uses to make equipment for his own escape. Conor masterminds a Great Escape: building a parachute, hiding in a blind spot, then — disguised as a chef — faking getting dragged away by a coronation balloon he designed. Conor later uses his mentor's old laboratory to construct a hang glider and adopts the persona of the Airman, a flying French thief, to fly back to Little Saltee, steal diamonds he buried, and terrorize guards like Billtoe, before helping his old allies defeat Bonvilain.
• Alex Rider:
  • "Yassen Gregorovich", real name Yasha, is a ruthless and efficient SCORPIA-affiliated assassin. After escaping the destruction of his home village, he uses his wits to survive before being rescued by a SCORPIA assassin. During his training, he develops a friendship with an undercover John Rider, who encourages him to leave the organization. After finding out that Rider is an MI6 agent, he decides to remain with SCORPIA, his first target being the man responsible for the destruction of his hometown. In the present day, despite his willingness to work alongside villains such as Herod Sayle and Damian Cray, he proves to have a moral code, as he refuses to directly kill children. He shows a particular soft spot towards John's son Alex, telling him that he shouldn't be a spy and that he should be living like a normal 14-year-old.
  • Point Blanc: The Gentleman is an assassin-for-hire, named such because of his tendency to gift flowers to the families of his victims. In the first chapter of "Point Blanc", he successfully kills billionaire Michael J. Roscoe by hacking into his office building's mainframe, moving his elevator up a floor, and replacing it with a hologram, causing him to "accidentally" fall to his death. By the time Roscoe's body is found, the Gentleman has long since disappeared, making him the rare Alex Rider villain to get away with his crimes.
  • Skeleton Key: General Alexei Sarov was an esteemed commander in the Russian army, who has become disillusioned with the end of the Cold War and the suffering of his people. Introduced as he coolly outwits and kills two mercenaries who try to blackmail him, Sarov plans to overthrow the corrupt Russian president and lead his country to become the dominant power in the world. Inviting the president to dinner, Sarov has him drugged and steals his plane, planning to trigger the explosion of a hazardous site of nuclear submarines, then release a doctored video to make the president appear indifferent to the crisis, which will spark an uprising and drive the president from power. Sarov handles every situation with a charming, sardonic wit, maintaining a genuine respect for Alex Rider for his sense of duty, and even handles his defeat with composure, calmly bidding Alex good-bye before shooting himself.
• Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves: Morgiana is a slave-girl defined by her loyalty to her master Cassim and his family. Tasked with concealing Cassim's violent death after his run-in with the Forty Thieves, Morgiana buys up medicine from the apothecary and leads a blindfolded tailor to sew his body back together so Cassim's brother Ali Baba can bury him, then foils two attempts by the thieves to find the house by marking neighboring houses similar to her own. When the thieves sneak into the house in oil sacks, Morgiana tricks the thieves into staying put by imitating their leader, then boils most of them alive by filling each sack with hot oil. Even when her freedom is given in some versions, Morgiana comes back one final time to kill the thieves' leader after seeing he intends to break Ali Baba's hospitality, earning herself a fine marriage and a share in the thieves' treasure.
• All the Wrong Questions: Hangfire, true name Armstrong Feint, is the chairman of the Inhumane Society and mastermind of a plan to destroy the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea and its inhabitants. Once a kindly zoologist, Hangfire became livid with the town's policymakers when they made a series of ill-advised decisions that killed countless local animals for little real benefit. Beginning his revenge spree by murdering an old Colonel who had the town's oldest tree torn down to build a statue of himself, Hangfire stays one step ahead of the heroes at all times as he dismantles Stain'd-by-the-Sea's infrastructure piece by piece, taking actions such as burning down the town's only school to force its children to transfer to a fake school run by him, kidnapping the heiress to its largest business, subverting the town's last remaining medical staff and police officers to protect him, and manipulating his own daughter, Ellington Feint, to bring him a statue of the Bombinating Beast, which would give him the ability control to the real Beasts to have them devour the town's children, avenging his beloved animals by giving the town a traumatic reminder of what really matters.
• American Gods: Mr. Wednesday, in truth the god Odin, is the architect of a great deal of misfortune in the story to feed his purposes. Wednesday arranges the death of hero Shadow's wife to recruit Shadow to his purposes, later revealing that Wednesday is Shadow's father, having sired him and manipulated Shadow's life for decades so Shadow could serve his purposes. With his power waning in America next to the new Gods, Wednesday engineers a war between gods and an ongoing conflict to trick them into a huge battle so Wednesday can harvest their power for his purposes. Wednesday remains charismatic and charming, despite his vicious cunning, still caring about Shadow at the end, even as he attempts to ascend to greater heights at the cost of old gods and new alike.
• And Then There Were None: Judge Lawrence John Wargrave, aka U. N. Owen manages to craft the ultimate Locked Room Mystery and only his desire that someone appreciate his genius allowed the mystery to be solved. Wargrave, deep down, is an admitted sadist with a bizarre sense of justice and only enacts his cruelties beyond the guilty and evil. When he realizes he is fatally ill, Wargrave has nine unrepentant criminals lured to an island with him where he begins murdering them, and avoids suspicion by luring a doctor there into helping him to fake his own death, then murdering said doctor as well. Wargrave proceeds to eliminate his other victims, pressing the final main character who had manipulated a child in her care to his death into suicide. Wargrave ends his plan by committing suicide in such a way that obscures the way he died, with only a written confession in a bottle thrown into a sea revealing the truth.
• Angel Mage: Liliath was a nun driven to despair when her attempts to summon her angel-lover Phalinel into a human host resulted in many deaths and lead the survivors from the destruction before entering a sleep for hundreds of years until she is able to revive her beloved. Manipulating control of a group called "The Resenters" who are descendants of the Survivors of Ystara for her plans as well as to kill those in her way, Liliath takes the name "Milady" and outwits and kills those within the group who seek to undermine her power. Seducing the Queen with a show of skill and charm, Liliath begins her ritual to revive Phalinel with all the cards in her hand, only stopped by being turned into an angel herself, still getting everything she wanted.
• Angels of Music: The Phantom, aka Erik, is the leader of the Opera Ghost Agency, a Charlie's Angels-esqe detective agency which Erik uses to profit off. A quiet, calculating schemer, Erik constantly devises new ingenious and ruthless plans in order to succeed which include: secretly hypnotizing his Angels without their knowledge to act on his signal to disable Cagliostro; setting up a mole to infiltrate the murderous Red Circle and expose them before butchering the Red Circle for their crimes; and destroying Charles Foster Kane's plan to fund a war between Europe and America that would mean his beloved Opera house would be demolished. Equal parts cold manipulator and complex mastermind, Erik is genuinely protective of his Angels to the point that he sacrifices himself to save one and ends up taking himself and his nemesis Cagliostro to an apparent watery doom.
• Angie's First Case:
  • Heather is the leader of a notorious gang of burglars known as the Wolfpack and is one half of an Outlaw Couple with her partner Warren. She is a maid who scouts out wealthy locals to rob and remains below the radar, getting the police to think of the Wolfpack as an undisciplined and all-male group. The gang is only caught due to an incredible fluke, and Heather is a Defiant Captive afterward.
  • Warren is the loving boyfriend of Heather and field leader of the Wolfpack. He is a skilled lockpick, carefully shadows house owners to make sure they will be absent during robberies and sticks to a careful time table while commiting robberies. When Angie and her friend Jess accidentally stow away in his van before the gang's last job, he is less gruff with them than his friend Kurt but does threaten them before telling Kurt to watch them every second while Warren carries out the heist. After Jess escapes, Warren ties Angie up and hastily alters his plan by having Heather pick up him and Kurt in her car (with Kurt then hiding in the trunk) in an effort to avoid being spotted by the cops Jess is alerting. This plan only fails beause Jess is still hiding nearby to hear this and Warren believes Kurt's mistaken claim that Jess fled outside.
  • Mr. Wells is a storekeeper known for his being charitable to customers, but is also the mastermind of an intricate counterfeiting operation, along with his two sisters, one of whom he has beaten up for double-crossing him. When he is worried that the Wolfpack might inadvertently expose his operation, he preemptively transports evidence of his crimes out of town. To ensure that the police won't stop his transport van, he has goons stage a murder nearby to divert the authorities and has a body shop alter his van so no one will be able to identify it afterward. Like the Wolfpack, he is only captured after a series of unforseeable chances give Angie the right clues to piece together about his crimes.
• Animorphs: The Ellimist was once a mortal Keetran known to his friends as Toomin, who, through a series of cosmically improbable events, ended up becoming a reality-warping entity. As the Sole Survivor of his kind, Toomin's transformation into the Ellimist begins after breaking free of "Father". Toomin learns to steal the millions of assimilated minds from Father, then uses this near-limitless knowledge to integrate himself into a super advanced spacecraft, travelling the galaxy as a technological deity to help planets prosper. However, the Ellimist comes into conflict with Crayak, who seeks to eradicate all life. Unable to stop Crayak's trail of death, the Ellimist instead counters by spreading new life on uninhabited planets that outpaces Crayak's work. The two technological gods battle one another, wiping out a tenth of the galaxy in the crossfire, which ends in the Ellimist and later Crayak entering a black hole and merging with space-time to become true gods. Continuing to play a Cosmic Chess Game, Crayak is responsible for the Yeerk crisis ravaging the galaxy, while the Ellimist manipulates the formation of the Animorphs as his warriors. The Ellimist assists the Animorphs from the sidelines numerous times, often exploiting loopholes to give them help without technically breaking the rules of the game.
• Anno Dracula: Christina Light, the Princess Casamassima, is a charismatic, intelligent Italian-American socialite turned vampiric anarchist and terrorist seeking to create a better world. Light is a master manipulator who plays and seduces men to her cause before disposing of them when they are no longer of use. Bringing Kate Reed to her cause, Light reveals to her a plot to bomb the Tower of London, causing Kate to attempt to stop it. Her actual endgame is to have Kate framed and executed for the botched bombing to make her a martyr to rally an army against Dracula. Defeated, Light returns and outplays General Majin, combining with Yuki Onna to create a safe haven for vampires in Japan called Casamassima Bay. Light then spends an entire century perfecting a way to ascend to godhood, planning to usher in a new dawn of peace and prosperity for human and vampire-kind alike.
• Another End to the Empire, by Tim Pratt: Mogrash is the warlord of an empire who hears of a prophecy from a seer about a boy in a nowhere village which states: "If allowed to grow to manhood, he will take over your empire, overthrow your ways and means, and send you from the halls of your palace forever." Instead of razing the village to the ground—knowing how those things usually go—he decides to build a school there and help the village while zeroing in on potential rivals. Eventually focusing in on three boys, he ends up adopting them and further honing their skills, while they help revitalize and reform the empire. Eventually giving up governance to one of the boys, who ends up reforming and running the empire better than he ever could, he realizes the prophecy has come true, just with him happy and content instead of dead. He then decides to happily retire with the seer.
• Anti Magic Academy The 35th Test Platoon: Sougetsu Ootori is the hammy, silly Chairman of the Inquisition, using his seemingly harmless personality and position on the side of good to hide the fact that he is a god seeking the destruction of the planet. Fooling enemies and allies alike with his fake persona, Sougetsu simultaneously serves as the Principal of the Anti-Magic Academy, building it from scratch and training hundreds of youngsters with potential in a variety of skills. Sougetsu manipulates his students to carry out a bevy of plans for him unbeknownst to them, and plays members of Valhalla and the Alchemists alike to his tune, ultimately planning to force Takeru to strike him dead and doom the planet to annihilation thanks to Sougetsu's connection to the life force of the world. Driven by an engineered desire to destroy all things—himself included—Sougetsu nonetheless respects his foes and has a roaring good time carrying out his plans, chuckling even when beaten that he regrets nothing and is pleased with how he lived his life.
• Arc of a Scythe:
  • Scythe Rand, real name Olivia Kwoon, is the witty and clever second in command to Scythe Goddard. After Rowan decapitates Goddard and nearly kills Rand, she starts working to make Goddard High Blade. Recruiting Scythe Brahms to help her, Rand has Brahms organize two nearly successful assassination attempts on Scythes Curie and Anastasia. Rand tricks Rowan's friend Tyger into believing that she's training him to become a Scythe, falling in love with him in the process. After having Brahms glean Rowan's father to lure him into a trap, Rand reveals that she had been getting Tyger into peak physical condition so she could graft Goddards head onto his body. Rand and Goddard then stun the Scythedom with Goddard's revival in order to ensure his rise to High Blade. After Goddard spurns her affections and embarrasses her in front of Brahms, Rand releases Rowan, pinning it on Brahms so Goddard will kill him. After Goddard becomes High Blade, Rand acts as his second in command, trying to reign him in and ultimately kills Goddard in order to revive Tyger.
  • The Thunderhead is the Benevolent A.I. that oversees the world and protects humanity. The Thunderhead continuously counteracts the plans of Scythes Goddard and Rand, utilizing subtle clues to guide people and sidestep it's inability to interfere with the Scythedom. Fearing that Goddard may cause society to collapse, the Thunderhead started a plan to stop him and ensure humanity's survival. The Thunderhead has Greyson gain the trust of thousands of Tone Cultists, and has Nimbus Agents start building spaceships on the Kwajalein Atoll where Goddard can't stop them. It then has Scythe Anastasia expose Goddard for destroying the Thunderhead's space colonies, publicly ruining him and causing him to order the Genocide of the Tone Cultists in his rage. The Thunderhead, planning for this, uses Greyson's connections to transport the bodies of the Cultists to the Atoll and load them onto the ships. The Thunderhead then sends the ships off to establish colonies on other planets, ensuring that humanity will live across the universe.
  • Gleanings' "The Mortal Canvas": Scythe Af Klint is a polite, art loving Scythe who believes that post-mortal art lacks the soul of mortal-age due to immortality making people complacent. Af Klint approaches the art class of Ms. Cappellino and challenges her students to create the best piece of art possible in the next two weeks, with the best artist gaining a year of immunity. The students fear that the loser will be gleaned, a fear Af Klint feeds by gleaning a barista in front of them and creating a public spectacle out of the competition. Through the fear of gleaning, one student creates a truly meaningful piece of art which is hailed as the last piece of mortal-age art, exactly as Af Klint hoped. After the competition Af Klint reveals that the competition was a way of bringing Ms. Cappellino satisfaction with her life before it ended before gleaning the grateful teacher.
• Arsène Lupin: Arsène Lupin himself is a charismatic, suave Gentleman Thief always ready with a gambit and a smile. A brilliant Master of Disguise who performs daring heists while first sending his calling card to alert his marks of his coming, Lupin sometimes relies on his reputation to get his marks to simply surrender their loot. Lupin repeatedly pulls off gambits once a story, always playing the police, his marks and even worse villains than he to secure victory. In some cases, Lupin cases classic misdirection, even escaping from jail in disguise just because he'd promised to escape beforehand, resulting in the police believing he did so and testifying that he could not be Lupin in court. With a brilliant mind, unmatched flourishes of style and even a deep love for those closest to him, Lupin set the stage for many gentleman thieves to follow.
• Artemis Fowl series:
  • Artemis Fowl II himself is a teenage criminal mastermind and heir to the illustrious Fowl Crime family. A true Evil Genius, Artemis exploits a law of the fairies to force them to give him gold by kidnapping one of their agents, Holly Short and holding off their siege for a full day, outwitting them the whole while. In the second book, Artemis convinces Holly to begin trusting him and aids in dismantling a conspiracy headed by Opal Koboi and her partner Briar Cudgeon, with Artemis' revelation causing the enraged Opal to kill Cudgeon for his planned treachery. He goes on to save his father from the mob by faking killing and then reviving him. Artemis later outplays a brutal businessman, tricking the man into letting himself be attacked by the fairies. After claiming his prize, Artemis even circumvents his own ordered mind wiping, having an ally of his store his memories to be returned to him later on. Even in his eventual turn to good, Artemis remains an intelligent and suave gentleman, now using his skills to protect the fey from harm and going from one of their greatest enemies to their greatest ally.
  • Mulch Diggums is a renowned master thief. Recruited to infiltrate Fowl Manor for a reduced prison sentence, Mulch breaks in and acquires hidden information, before faking his death and escapes with stolen gold. Restarting his life as human millionaire Lance Digger, he is recruited to break into Koboi Industries and is rewarded a "two day head start". Taking the identity of expert infiltrator "Mo Diggence", he is ordered to capture Artemis, but instead assists the heroes in bypassing Spiro's high-tech security. Returning to custody, Mulch escapes after Holly is framed for murdering Commander Root. Getting himself recaptured, he persuades his interrogator to let him steal a shuttle and rescues Holly and Artemis. Mulch boards Opal's ship and relocates her explosive charges, tricking Opal into detonating her own ship and reforms after being pardoned of his crimes.
  • "LEPrecon" & The Atlantis Complex: Turnball Root is a criminal genius and older brother of Commander Julius Root. Extorting information from a LEP officer with a deadly spider, Turnball then captures Holly Short during her LEP initiation to use her as bait for Julius, setting up a backup trap in case his first scheme with Holly failed. Incarcerated after defiantly trying to kill himself to evade capture, Turnball manages to regain his magic in prison and brainwashes a guard into giving him a computer to hack a LEP space probe. Using the probe to break out of prison while eliminating any witnesses and evidence, Turnball tries to force the heroes into helping him restore youth to his dying human wife and when she chooses to end her own life, Turnball gracefully opts to die with her.
• Asian Saga's Shogun: Lord Yoshi Toranaga flawlessly combines The Chessmaster and Manipulative Bastard gloriously, playing an endless game of Xanatos Speed Chess when his plans get derailed. Both Toranaga and his nemesis Ishido had sworn to their late master that they would protect his young son until he was old enough to rule, but Ishido believes Toranaga intends to supplant the boy and become Shogun himself, and he's absolutely right. Toranaga proceeds to manipulate the entirety of Japan, pulling off a set of brilliant, almost impossible gambits to provoke Ishido into war, marginalize his rivals and allow Toranaga to move against them with full support of the populace. In the end, Toranaga's brilliance ends in him completely crushing his rivals and ascending to the position of Shogun with aplomb, with narration even stating that his victory "wasn't an Act of God. It was an Act of Toranaga."
• Attack of the 50-Foot Wallflower, by Christian McKay Heidicker: Elizabeth "Liz" Link is a brilliant scientist who serves as a member of a triumvirate overseeing a secret monster creation lab, and by far the smartest and coolest-headed of the trio. Aware of the existence of the bizarre being known as the Man in the Sky, Liz believes that he will destroy the world if he is not sufficiently appeased with carnage to watch, and so with her colleagues in the lab has created all the classic monsters of 1950s films to terrorize the populace and keep the Man entertained. Dosing protagonist Phoebe Lane with Gamma Rays to turn her into a giant as her latest "project," Liz threatens Phoebe's mother to force her to play the part of a destructive monster, and when she refuses dispatches a swarm of giant man-eating ants to clean up all the loose ends. When Phoebe triumphs over even these, Liz writes her a sincere letter of apology and congratulations before disappearing into the unknown.
• Attracopel: Vigilante of London: Dr. Harry Twister is the eccentric head scientist of Tornadite Inc., who secretly plots to take over England and remake society in favour of intelligence, having organized dozens of heists over several months. When Twister finds Alex, he trains him to become a vigilante and take down Wolfalco, who is killing dozens of people. One night, Twister manipulates Alex and Ben into helping him steal the energy relic, falsely telling them that Wolfalco was plotting to steal it. Once Twister has his hands on the relic, he successfully takes over London very quickly. Twister genuinely believes that favouring intelligence will help society advance, and will go to any lengths to enforce his new rule, attempting to strip Alex of his powers at the end, and summoning a giant electric tornado to kill all the rebels as a last resort. Even though, in the end, he gets his powers taken away, and soon gets caught in his own tornado, he calls Alex's move impressive.
• The Aurelian Cycle:
  • Atreus Athanatos was an to the Triarchist regime who led a revolution against over their crimes. Becoming First Protector of Callipolis, Atreus instated meritcratic reforms as well as stamping out any dissent. Atreus instates strict rationing measures during a famine and suppresses resistance to it. After the Triarchy manages to seize power in Callipolis and Atreus faces death he calmly accepts his fate and offers advice on how to overthrow them.
  • Princess Freyda Bassileon of the Bassilean empire defied tradition and became the first female heir to bond with a dragon. Forming an alliance with Ixion Stormscourge of the Triarchy-in-exile, but is disgusted by his sadism. Using her dragon and food supplies she's brought she allows the Triarchy to take over Callipolis and makes them into a puppet state. After the Triarchy is defeated she makes a deal with Callipolans to give them their independence in exchange for them backing her claim for the Bassilean throne.
• Azincourt: Ghillebert, seigneur de Lanferelle, "The Lord Of Hell" is a brilliant soldier who leads the attacks on the enemies of France. Effortlessly outwitting numerous enemies and destroying the English archers, Lanferelle becomes aware of Nicholas Hook when Hook rescues Lanferelle's bastard daughter Melisande. Disapproving of her with an English archer, Lanferelle kills one of Hook's friends to provoke him and deliver a message, leading to a long enmity between them. Despite his strategic acumen, Lanferelle is taken hostage by Hook at Agincourt, where Hook's enemy Tom Perrill attempts to murder him. Learning the man had threatened Melisande, Lanferelle accepts a sword from Hook to kill Tom before honorably surrendering as Hook's hostage.
• Babylon (2015): Kaika Itsuki, a young and charming mayoral candidate, is a key mastermind behind the Shiniki Initiative, seeking to pass the suicide law so he can commit suicide and give his dying son Taiyo his heart. Itsuki hired Ai Magase to eliminate his enemies and build support for his cause by forcing people to commit suicide, while also avoiding law enforcement by working through Magase. Invited to a televised debate by Zen Seizake, Itsuki effortlessly counters every argument against his law and answers every question presented to him, convincing multiple governments worldwide to pass his law with his charm and reasoning.
• Baccano!:
  • Luck Gandor is an unfailingly polite mob boss who runs the Gandor crime family alongside his brothers, Berga and Keith, using his affinity for charisma and manipulations to function as the practical brains and face of the organization. Having slowly brought the Gandor family into more power than it's ever held with his strategies and people skills, Luck instills total respect from those under his control with his cool head and refusal to bring the chaotic force of drugs into his corner of Manhattan. Giving even those who betray his trust the opportunity to redeem themselves yet never hesitating to coldly execute them if they prove undeserving of his friendship, Luck keeps even the likes of Claire Stanfield and Maria Barcelito under control and uses them to further the Gandor's control over Manhattan, taking out rival crime families and turning enemies into allies every step of the way. Upon becoming immortal, Luck pays back fellow immortal scumbag Dallas Genoard for murdering Luck's friends by sinking him in a river to drown unendingly, however later shows mercy to Dallas' younger sister Eve and allows her to save Dallas from his horrible fate, showcasing that Luck's morals and standards are just as notable as his ruthlessness.
  • Claire Stanfield is the feared hitman known as "Vino," functioning as the single most dangerous character in the story while simultaneously being one of the most entertaining. A brutal badass who has pulled off impossible feats for years, Claire's introductory story sees him slaughtering his way through dozens of murderous criminals to protect the passengers aboard the Flying Pussyfoot train, Claire having used the railroads as means of travel by disguising himself as a conductor. Upon setting up in Manhattan under his close friends, the Gandors, Claire immediately brings respect and fear to the small crime family with his mere presence, and goes about utterly decimating rival gangs to secure power for the Gandors, using his affinity for disguises to play the arrogant Gustavo Bagetta right into a trap. As fun as he is deadly, Claire always has a snappy one-liner and a healthy dose of his zany egotistical outlook on the world to make even the most psychotic enemies blanch at his sheer audacity, befriends many characters from all walks of life with his affable personality, and has a genuine love for the silent Chane Laforet, eager to do whatever it takes earn her affection and respect.
• The Ballad of Black Tom: Charles Thomas "Black Tom" Tester begins as a talented hustler who finds himself roped into the wicked schemes of white supremacist occultist Robert Suydam. First proving his cleverness by delivering an occult tome while plucking out a key page, Black Tom eventually embraces darkness as a result of his father's murder and assists Suydam in taking over New York tenements before revealing he had tricked Suydam to take over his schemes and murders him. Forcing the Detective Malone to gaze into the abyss at the "Sleeping King," an Eldritch Abomination he plans to awaken to end the corrupt and racist world he despises, Black Tom also cuts away Malone's eyelids to remind him that blindness is no longer a choice.
• The Black Company: The Lady is one of the strongest sorceresses in the world. Once the wife of the monstrous Dominator, the Lady left him to rot in his prison while she took his minions, the Taken as her own, setting out to conquer the world. Brilliant and ruthless, the Lady forms a curious bond with Crokus, the historian of the Black Company while also using her wits and skill to stop her husband's return and defeat him forever. Later losing most of her power and becoming simply "Lady," she helps lead the Black Company in the South, even organizing a massacre of unfriendly religious leaders who are an obstacle to stopping the Evil Sorcerer Longshadow.
• Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda: Kindred Spirits by Maurice Broaddus: Hunter is the adopted brother of the T'Challa. Wishing to serve Wakanda, Hunter forms his own intelligence agency but is fired by Black Panther, because his methods were too extreme. Wanting to get back into Black Panther's good graces, Hunter discovers a plot by the Chinese government to use economic deals with countries bordering Wakanda as a cover for a secret military buildup. Hunter plans to use bombs to destroy the Chinese military hardware, willing to risk a war with China in order to protect Wakanda's interests.
• Black Tide Rising: Islands of Rage and Hope, "All Inhale to the King, Baby", and "Fire in the Sky": Eric Magnus Lamont is a dishonorably discharged U.S. Army Ranger and Erudite Stoner who preserves a decent number of Miami people and buildings during the Zombie Apocalypse, appointing himself king of the territory and claiming that all of the people outside of it are future subjects he has yet to meet. His lifestyle and persona as The Hedonist and a Large Ham hide a brilliant tactician and Realpolitik expert who keeps his subjects loyal with calculated displays of respect, Bread and Circuses, functioning infrastructure, and clever security measures against the infected. He supplies aid to other communities who ask for it in exchange for being considered a royal patron, but is willing to torture and kill people who attack him while sending the survivors home with a message threatening to airdrop zombies in their backyard in the event of future hostilities. Lamont is one of the franchise's most successful warlords and manages to peacefully coexist with his neighbors and other factions as the threat of the infected lessens.
• Black Widowers: More Tales of the Black Widowers:
  • "The Iron Gem": Jeweler Latimer Reed's dinner guest is an undistinguished man who a mutual acquaintance brings to Reed's home. Reed shows his guest a family heirloom and the package in which his great-grandfather mailed it to his family. The guest recognizes a rare stamp on the package and steals it. He distracts Reed by pretending to be oddly fixated on the heirloom and attempting to buy it, first with pleasant words but minuscule sums, then for a large amount of money but with insulting words that make Reed refuse. He does such a good job of distracting Reed that it is ten years before Reed learns what happened, and by then he has no way to track down his dinner guest and no way to prove his former ownership of the stamp.
  • "No Smoking": Williams is a socially awkward young executive who spends years plotting a million-dollar embezzlement. He and his partner Adams trick the company into teaching them the computer skills necessary for the theft. They apparently agree that whichever one of them receives a promotion will carry out the theft after two years of building trust and then wait out the manhunt in a slum before they split the money. Williams and Adams are the finalists for the position and Williams deliberately makes a bad impression to force the company to promote Adams, who carries out the theft successfully, only for Williams to kill him to get all of the money for himself. Williams only comes under suspicion due to an unconscious habit that reveals he was deceiving the interviewer who decided not to promote him.
• Bob Lee Swagger books:
  • Shooter: Hugh Meachum is a CIA black ops specialist who oversaw the assassination of JohnF. Kennedy in the name of stopping The Vietnam War. Having concocted the plan to do so on the fly, Meachum displays great ingenuity in tactics, charisma in persuading his accomplices and nobility in lamenting pointless deaths caused by his assassin. Desiring to stop the spread of Communism after America does enters the Vietnam War, Meachum becomes involved in increasingly ruthless murders, as he builds up resources and even fakes his own death when the government catches on to him. After settling into his new identity, he draws his enemies in with leaked fake conspiracy theories, observing who goes to investigate them. Still holding some honor and valuing his men and respecting Bob Lee, Meachum even dies confessing his worst betrayals, refusing to die with them kept secret.
  • I, Sniper: Anto Grogan is a brutal ex-SAS sniper turned contract killer who plots a series of murders to mask his actual target, throwing investigators off his trail for most of the novel. When Swagger arrives in disguise, Grogan feigns being fooled and gives false information to send Bob Lee on a chase implicating innocent parties. Kidnapping Bob Lee to torture him as he closes in on him, Grogan attempts to rationalize his client's actions with apparent conviction, shows some admiration for Bob Lee's refusal to crack, and meets his end boldly facing Bob Lee in a final Sniper Duel.
  • G-Man: Braxton and Rawley Grumley are a pair of bounty hunter brothers hired to find an antique machine gun. They expertly track Bob Lee's progress as they also pursue the gun and become good at ferreting out useful information to stay ahead of the heroes. The Grumley brothers have a reputation for resorting to brutal methods in pursuit of a quarry, but find themselves admiring Bob Lee due to his status as a war hero and resolve to use non-fatal tactics to overpower him and take the machine gun. When captured, they manage to walk away with the machine gun, their freedom, and no hard feelings on either side by offering Bob Lee what he really wants: the truth about his grandfather, which they discovered during their investigation. They even state that they were planning to give Bob Lee that information anonymously even if they had managed to beat him.
  • Targeted: The man known only as Delta is a black ops soldier turned mercenary and security guard for cartel transports. He has never lost one before the novel, and when he does in the opening chapter, he survives the ambush due to being Crazy-Prepared enough to wear a bullet-proof hat. When his ambushers are arrested, Delta is hired to kill them in prison to prevent a Mob War. Aided by a bomb maker named Niner, he makes the DEA aware of how important the prisoners are and plans to kill them in transit. When his canny targets escape in route to the ambush sight and take a nearby congressional hearing hostage, Delta adapts his plan immediately, choosing a plan that will let him infiltrate the hostage situation while Impersonating an Officer and kill his targets rather than trigger a bloodbath that will kill everyone present and make him and his boss public enemies. His plan succeeds flawlessly, with Delta fighting alongside of an oblivious Swagger to take out two of the hostage-takers. Delta is stopped by a By-the-Book Cop as he leaves but avoids being exposed due to keeping his cool and a distraction provided by Niner.
  • Pale Horse Coming: Davis Bonverite is the illegitimate half-brother of Cleon Bonverite, who abused Davis for having an African-American mother. Cleon killed Davis's mother, Davis burning their father alive in his bed thinking that he was the culprit. Decades later, a wealthy Davis seeks to get revenge on Cleon and free the oppressed African-American townspeople and convicts being exploited, tortured, and experimented on. Davis tricks the determined, well-connected Earl Swagger and his friend Sam Vincent into visiting the Bonverties' hometown, Thebes, for another reason and getting targeted, tortured and nearly killed by Cleon's men]. Earl and Sam escape and set out to destroy Cleon's operations in revenge, exactly as Davis intended. Davis sneaks into the town himself, cleverly hidden in a boat of waterproof coffins his shell companies are distributing through the region, which also serve as rafts for the convicts and townspeople to finally escape in. Earl and a group of allies eliminate Cleon's men and Davis kills Cleon. Even after being mortally wounded, Davis takes comfort in the success of his plan and how he leaves behind sons to continue his line.
• Bowdrie's Law's "Strange Pursuit", by Louis L'Amour: Charlie Venk is a charismatic outlaw who is willing to commit murder but once kept an associate from killing an innocent bank teller and then easily outdrew the resentful associate in a duel. When another of his partners wakes up early in a failed attempt to steal a robbery's proceeds, he finds Charlie already gone, and his own share still there. Charlie escapes being lynched by swapping places with a brutal sheriff in the dark right before the hanging, slugging the lawman, and mimicking his voice. Even while he's on the run for murder, he takes the time to fall in love, tricks three rival suitors into picking a fight with him, and beats all of them at once. Even after Charlie narrowly loses a duel to a lawman he led on a chase through Injun Country, the man is charmed enough by Charlie to only wound him and let him see his girlfriend on their way to prison.
• The Broken Empire Trilogy: Qalasadi is a Moorish mathmagician that uses his skills in mathematics to predict possible outcomes with near perfect accuracy. Entering the Jorg's grandfather as an advisor, he almost successfully poisoned them all while letting Jorg take the blame. Disappearing Korg would track Qalasadi down and on the way prevent the scheme of a murderous AI, which what Qalasadi wanted to happen. Always charming and polite Qalasadi achieves all his goals.
• The Builders:
  • The Captain is a former soldier seeking revenge against High Chancellor Mephetic. Having failed multiple times before, the Captain recruits former members of his gang so they can all infiltrate the Capital and kill Mephetic and the Toad Lord. After killing Zapata and his gang and recovering the Toad Lord's brother's body during a train robbery, the Captain is captured when he's betrayed by Gertrude and Reconquista. Having planned this in advance, the Captain waits patiently in his cell until his crew returns and breaks him out; he and his gang mow down the rest of Mephetic's forces as they lay waste to his fortress. When the Captain finally confronts Mephetic, he signals Boudica to murder him with her snipe rifle and later kills the Toad Lord himself, thus fulfilling his quest for revenge.
  • High Chancellor Mephetic is a manipulative backstabber who staged a coup during the War of the Two Brothers. After gaining power and becoming ruler of the Gardens, Mephetic soon discovered his adversary he betrayed, the Captain, was still alive. Eager to finally have another shot at killing him, Mephetic had Reconquista and Gertrude infiltrate his gang so he would know the Captain's whereabouts and plot when to ambush him. After Mephetic captures the Captain due to Gertrude's help, he later kills Gertrude herself after she betrays and attempts to murder him. When the Captain's gang storm his fortress and kill most of his forces, he accepts his fate and tries to blow up the whole fortress while he and the Captain's crew are all still inside, preferring death over having to continue his underwhelming, tiresome job.
  • Gertrude, a.k.a. "the Underground Man," is a member of the Captain's crew and an underground crime lord. After being persuaded to take out High Chancellor Mephetic, Gertrude eagerly joins the Captain's crew and assists him with taking out some of his forces. Secretly working for Mephetic already, Gertrude aids the Captain until betraying him during a shootout so Mephetic's forces could capture him. Once invited to Mephetic's keep, Gertrude coolly tells Mephetic that she had poisoned many of his guards and that helping him capture the Captain was their plan the whole time; she attempts to murder him moments later.
• The Burning Hills, by Louis L'Amour: Jacob Lantz tracks down any enemies of autocratic Cattle Baron Bob Sutton who flee rather than fight and has never lost a quarry's trail before being sent after Trace Jordan. Lantz's gut instincts, keen eyes, knowledge of the vast terrain, and patient, calculating nature let him figure out many of Jordan's escape routes and hiding places even while Jordan is being sheltered by a local family. Lantz helps his companions corner Jordan but stays out of the ensuring gunfight once it becomes clear that Jordan has both the moral high ground and the skill to defeat all five of his remaining pursuers. Lantz then helps treat the injuries of the wounded Hindeman and goes to deliver a message to the rest of the SB men that the feud is over, noted to have put up an impressive fight and chase after his mission is interrupted by an Apache war party.
• By the Great Horn Spoon!, by Sid Fleischman: "Cut-Eye" Higgins is a wily thief who proves to be Jack and Praiseworthy's most cunning adversary. Posing as a mild mannered judge, Higgins steals the money Jack and Praiseworthy could've used to purchase boat tickets to California, fooling everyone into believing that he's too refined to be a criminal. Although his scheme is later uncovered, Higgins escapes the ship when it docks, stealing Dr. Buckbee's map to a large gold deposit and traveling through an isthmus in Panama to reach California. Now posing as a dentist to extract the gold teeth from miners, Higgins avoids giving up his gold map to Jack and Praiseworthy by lying that it was stolen. Later facing execution for stealing a horse, Higgins persuades Praiseworthy into convincing the town to delay his sentence in exchange for the map, which turns out to be worthless. When this gambit works, Higgins uses one of his forceps to escape jail, evading justice once more.

C - D

• Cadillac Beach of the Serge Storms series: Doug is introduced as a hapless, hard-partying salesman who gets dragged into one of Serge's dangerous adventures after killing a mobster in a prank gone wrong, but the ending reveals a devoutly brilliant new side of his personality. Doug is really a mob hitman who deliberately killed the mobster—a potential informer—and made it look like an accident so he'd have an excuse to tag along with Serge during Serge's search for a cache of stolen diamonds. As soon as Serge finds the diamonds, Doug drops the act, takes everyone prisoner, and reveals how he's been manipulating Serge for the entire book. When an impressed Serge compliments Doug's acting skills, Doug happily reveals that he's already a part-time actor looking for his big break. Doug then prepares to kill everyone, promising to do so painlessly, only to be foiled by blind luck.
• Carmilla: "Carmilla" herself, real name Mircalla Karnstein, is the pleasant friend of heroine Laura. Having been forcibly turned centuries ago, Carmilla is one of the last vampires of Styria and befriends her prey before inevitably feeding on them to death. Despite this, Carmilla seems to truly and deeply care for Laura, winning her and her family over even as she preys on those nearby, all while Carmilla expounds on her beliefs over the nature of life, love and death with nothing short of melancholy eloquence.
• "The Car Park Attendant": Joe and Molly Simpson are a seemingly unassuming couple from a small English town. Joe founds and manages an illegal car park in front of a zoo's gates, with the zoo thinking he is employed by the town and the town administration thinking he works for the zoo. Molly manages the finances and ensures the family stays Secretly Wealthy so that nobody would suspect they are involved in anything criminal. On Molly's suggestion, she and Joe buy an estate in Majorca where they move after retiring, having earned more than three million pounds with their car park. The town council and the zoo only find out about the fraud after the couple leaves England, but Joe and Molly are never charged with it, since the council can't afford to announce they haven't noticed an entire car park for forty years.
• Catch-22: Milo Minderbinder may be a mere mess officer, but he has connections all over the world and is—among other titles—mayor of an Italian city and imam of a Middle-Eastern country. Due to mastery of international import and export, including goods from Germany, and blatant pinching of various army supplies, even leaving stylish notes, he makes himself ludicrously rich, and becomes gradually even more of a capitalist wonder by turning his eye to private contracting with both the Allies and Axis. He eventually pulls off the amazing feat of bombing the regiment's own airfield for the Germans but easily avoids getting court-martialed due to his seemingly-unlimited funds. His only mistake is buying too much cotton from Egypt, but he takes care of that by convincing General Cathcart that the troops should be fine eating his excess cotton, provided they cover the cotton in chocolate sauce first.
• Catlow, by Louis L'Amour: Abijah "Bijah" Catlow is a brave, rambunctious, and surprisingly crafty cow hand who earns the wrath of arrogant Cattle Barons with a Start My Own scheme that threatens their profits. A Crime of Self-Defense against a Dirty Cop makes Bijah a want man. Catlow seeks revenge by stealing their cattle, and luring a hired assassin into a fatal trap. He graduates to less justifiable crimes like trying to steal $2 million in silver from the Mexican government to finance a new life with his girlfriend Cordelia even though he already has a modest nest egg. Catlow is characterized by his ability to make friends, his bravery in a fight, his loyalty and consideration to his allies, his ability to b a Graceful Loser, his close friendship with his pursuer, U.S. Marshal Cowan, and his ability to adapt his plans in the face of adversity. Even when the robbery fails, Catlow keeps his surviving men from being arrested, turns himself in out of respect for Cowan, and then promptly breaks out of jail. Catlow then goes straight, takes Cordelia to Oregon for an honest and prosperous life, and names his first child after Cowan.
• C. Auguste Dupin: Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin himself is the eccentric originator of the Great Detective archetype. Ever seeking a challenge for his intellect, in his first tale Dupin observes the grizzly scene of a mother and daughter beaten to death. Deducing a terrified "Ourang-Outang" was responsible for the murders, Dupin threatens its captor into admitting the truth before letting both off, happy just to solve the mystery. After the body of a young woman is found years later in the river, Dupin uses only a series of largely incorrect newspaper and eye witness reports to discover and report the murderer to the police. In his final outing, Dupin outwits a cunning Minister blackmailing the Queen by examining his behavior, stealing back the letter the Minister was using as leverage, only passing it on to the police after being paid handsomely and leaving a fake with the Minister to enjoy the downfall of the man who once wronged him.
• The Chaos Cycle: Gavran is the mysterious and intelligent raven familiar of the deity known as the Dreamwalker. Tasked with helping the Dreamwalker with getting back her powers in her latest reincarnation (Miya) , Gavran acts as her protector to ensure that nothing happens to her. In order to re-empower the latest incarnation of the Dreamwalker, Gavran carefully manipulates a doctor named Mason Evans and carefully manipulates him into helping said incarnation get her dreamstone, despite the great danger that Mason will go through. Gavran later helps to teach Miya to master her abilities to help her best various demons. Helping to trap her hated Arch-Enemy Velizar, Gavran helps Miya destroy him for good and retires to be at her side once more.
• Child Ballad: Robin Hood himself is the dashing outlaw who operates out of Sherwood Forest known famously for his partisanship towards the destitute. Forming a band of Merry Men he either charmed into service, compelled into following with his insane charisma, or offered partnership after being bested by their own skill, Robin Hood and his companions together combat many corrupt nobles, rich folk, or friars, including Prince John, usurper of the throne, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Finding himself in many situations where he had to use his skills with a bow, ability to think fast and strike attractive deals, or be a Master of Disguise and fool his opponents, Robin Hood's audacious legend—regardless of the many additions and subtractions to it—endures timelessly as an allegory for charity and opposition to tyranny.
• The Children on the Hill, by Jennifer McMahon: The "Monster," in truth Violet "Vi" Hildreth, was a girl taken in by Dr. Helen Hildreth for her experiments. Growing attached to the newly arrived "sister" Iris, Vi grows to see herself as a monster and eventually kills the doctor for her actions. Burning down the lab and parting from Iris, Vi forms a secret network to liberate girls from abusive households, outwitting police and even her own sister, revealing she never harms the girls, but allows them to kill their abusers before escaping with her latest protege.
• Chronicles Of The Bitch Queen: Queen Talyien is the infamous "Bitch Queen" of the Oren-yaro. A brilliant strategist and blademaster alike, Talyien proves her ingenuity time and again whether it be evading assassination, tricking or killing her foes, or making allies across an entire continent with her quick thinking and diplomatic skills. Upon coming face to face with the vicious Prince Yuebek and her father's plans to have her marry him, Talyien proceeds in repeatedly trying to eliminate the monstrous prince before enacting a plan to use Yuebek's own magical powers to save the empire from chaos by manipulating him, marrying him in a sham ceremony and playing on his pride to ensure he would aid her in her struggle, all the while letting him think he has complete control over her. Using her cunning one last time, Talyien deduces the means to defeat Yuebek before finally rejecting her father's hold over her, and fakes her death to gain some peace for herself and her loved ones.
• The City Beautiful, by Aden Polydros: Fievel "Frankie" Portnoy is Alter Rosen's Love Interest and a very charming Jewish thief and gangster. Starting off as an abused street kid, Frankie reinvented himself with his various meticulously planned thefts and quickly rose through the criminal underworld. Knowing the right hands to shake and which deals to make, Frankie has made him very successful and even plans to go straight. Helping Alter to solve the murder of his friend Yakov, Frankie proves critical in helping get evidence and sneakily defeats the various vile men that they come across. Ultimately Frankie helps end the plans of the monstrous John Whitby to burn down the city and ends the novel happily with his boyfriend.
• Clawing at Glass:
  • Avis is a day-vamp defined by his desire to end Batlord Talvor's "Red Dawn" genocide campaign and return House Noon to its former peaceful ways, no matter what ruthless means are required. Allying with the nightmarish forces of the Red King and Trick-Jack, Avis used them to assist him in subverting Talvor at every possible point, saving dozens of orphaned war children and taking them under his wing while slaughtering his more wicked day-vamp brothers at every possible opportunity. Kicking the story off by murdering Talvor and framing it as a casualty of the battlefield, Avis manipulates the unstable Kryce into continuing Talvor's villainy so as to push him into handing control of the powerful Conflagration over to Avis under the belief it will assist the Red Dawn, when truthfully Avis plans to use the Conflagration to turn on Kryce and end the war. Though Left for Dead by the White Queen's champion Zada, Avis survives and allies with enemies of House Noon to manipulate his way into gaining title of Batlord, using the newfound power to overcome Kryce and the Red King once and for all. Avis comes out of the story completely on top, leading House Noon into peace talks and looking forward to a bright future for all of Inoptica now that the wars have ended—in major part due to his machinations.
  • Auditor Zada of House Midnight is a seemingly perky and friendly wing-sage who attends the depressive surgeon Jondi. Secretly a sociopath working for the White Queen, Zada arranges brood attacks to force Jondi to rise to his potential, later betraying and all but destroying House Midnight while assisting the Queen and the Red King in bringing war to Inoptica. Having betrayed even them by bargaining with the god of Inoptica, the Watcher, Zada makes Jondi the Watcher's host to achieve the end of the Queen and King, ending in exile upon earth while vowing that no matter what happens, she will never end in her quest to uncover feeling.
• The Clocks: Millicent Pebmarsh is a stoic, determined Soviet agent working undercover in England in the guise of an ordinary hard-working schoolteacher. Intent on ridding herself of "softness" to devote all her life to her cause, Millicent gives her daughter Sheila away to be raised by her sister. When Millicent's eyesight begins to fail, she does not let it discourage her, taking a course in Braille so that she would be able to teach blind children — and to use Braille books for sending sensitive information to the USSR. When a British agent finds her out, Millicent has her associate kill him in a hit-and-run before he can reveal anything. After a murdered man is found in Millicent's house (killed by people who have nothing to do with her), she astonishes the police with her composure, reasonable attitude, and detailed testimony, taking care to comfort the shocked young typist who found the body but neglecting to tell said typist she is her own daughter. Millicent's cover is only blown because the agent run over by the car lives just long enough to scribble down the vital clue pointing to her. After her attempt to stab Colin, the one to expose her, fails, Millicent accepts her defeat with grace and refuses Colin's offer of an escape with a two-hour head start. She tells him that even in prison, there are opportunities to recruit people for her cause, and waits calmly for the police to arrive.
• Code Lyoko Chronicles: XANA is the Big Bad of the original series and Aelita's childhood friend. Having mysteriously survived Season 4's events, XANA possess a young American named Eva Skinner. Going to France, XANA-Eva joins the Lyoko-warriors with the intent of destroying them from the inside before killing all humanity. Successfully seducing and brainwashing Odd, XANA has both Odd and Eva act like their usual selves to remain under the radar, while planning to virtualize itself in the First City to reach Lyoko and regain its power. Revealing its presence once Odd and Eva are virtualized in the Mirror and the First City respectively, XANA takes advantage of Jeremie unlocking the wall separating the First City and Lyoko to regain its power. Dissatisfied with Aelita, XANA joins Green Phoenix, hoping that they would help it become human. Even when its attack on Kadic is thwarted, XANA manages to steal half of the Code : DOWN, thus preventing the heroes from killing it. Reconciling with its childhood friend, XANA pulls a Heel–Face Turn and helps the heroes against the Green Phoenix. Sacrificing itself to destroy the First City, XANA is later revived and finally becomes a human.
• Codex Alera: The Realm of Alera is a hotbed of political intrigue, so it stands to reason that it's full of clever schemers, but two of them cement themselves as head and shoulders above the rest:
  • Gaius Sextus is the aging but still formidable First Lord of Alera. Dedicated to maintaining peace and stability in the Realm by any cost, Sextus uses his powerful abilities of furycrafting and equally sharp political mind to stay several steps ahead of his enemies. Generally considered the only thing standing between Alera and all-out civil war, he uses his expansive intelligence network to keep abreast of events across the Realm and even on the rare occasions when he's blindsided, he still keeps his cool and never loses control of the situation. Even in death he succeeds in sacrificing himself to deal a heavy blow against the Vord and arranges for his grandson Tavi's most dangerous enemies to be killed so he can survive to take the throne. Ultimately, even Sextus's enemies have a great deal of respect for his power and cunning, and know they underestimate him at their peril.
  • Aquitainus Attis, High Lord Aquitaine, is one of the most powerful nobles in Alera and Sextus's main political rival. Though he presents himself publicly as a drunken playboy, he's incredibly charismatic and his hedonistic façade hides a keen political mind. Rather than seeking to usurp Sextus directly, he instead focuses on gathering influence so that when the old man finally dies, Attis will be the only one in a position to succeed him. Furthermore, he also works against the conspiracy of his fellow nobles who assassinated his friend Septimus, the First Lord's son - a group which includes Attis's own wife, whose skills he also makes use of to advance his own ambitions. When Alera is invaded by the Vord, Attis puts himself at the forefront of the fight and holds his people together through one of the greatest disasters in their history, and upon his death even his enemies mourn him and must acknowledge that though he may not have been a good man, he was a great leader who used highly dubious means but always worked for his vision of a better Alera.
• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown: Gavriel was made into a vampire as a teenager by the monstrous Lucian Moreau. Feeding on humans, Gavriel gained a taste for the guilty and became a prolific killer and was named personal assassin to the king of vampires, "The Spider". Captured and tortured by the Spider after a falling out, Gavriel kills his master to take his name and begins playing Lucian, convincing him to "hunt" Gavriel while masquerading as the Spider himself. Tricking Lucian into confessing his role in starting the vampire apocalypse, Gavriel utterly destroys his enemy, ending the work ruling vampirekind with his lover.
• Conan the Barbarian: Conan of Cimmeria himself is a man who adheres only to the rules he himself sets. In the original stories, Conan sets out from Cimmeria to see the world, becoming a thief, reaver, slayer and eventually the king of the greatest kingdom in the world. Facing off repeatedly against sorcerers, monsters and rogues, Conan first becomes a brilliant thief who rescues the trapped creature Yag-Kosha from the evil sorcerer Yara. Throughout his career, Conan becomes a daring pirate and lover of the Queen of the Black Coast, Belit, whose love is enough to pull her back from death itself to fight at his side while constantly outwitting his opponents, taking control of countless crews or war bands with willpower and endurance enough to survive being crucified in the desert. Conan finally leads a rebellion against the depraved King Numedides of Aquilonia, killing him to ascend the throne where he reigns as a just and fair king, while constantly outplaying and defeating those who might seek his throne. Creating an immortal archetype for fantasy heroes willing to take underhanded means to stop greater evil, Conan remains a brilliant rogue through history.
• The Count of Monte Cristo: Once a naive boy, Edmond Dantes, the titular Count, is a ruthless schemer who will stop at nothing to take revenge. Taking his time to study his betrayers under his new identity, Dantes convinces his enemies to invest with him, knowing he will ruin them. Winning the loyalty of Albert Morcerf by saving him from a kidnapping he himself arranged, Dantes proceeds to reveal the existence of the surviving daughter of the ruler Albert's father betrayed to ruin him, as well as the bastard son of one of his other enemies after having introduced his wife to poison to destroy his household.
• The Cousins: Paula Donahue is the cheerfully amoral accomplice to her sister Theresa's revenge plot against Adam and Anders Story, who murdered Theresa's son and Paula's nephew. When Mildred Story, the brothers' mother and Theresa's employer, dies, Theresa assumes her identity, bringing Paula along to impersonate herself. The sisters then disinherit the Story children and live large off Mildred's usurped fortune for twenty-five years without anyone suspecting a thing. When the Story grandchildren start to pick apart the scheme, Paula burns Mildred's mansion down and escapes as Theresa dies and other accomplices are exposed. Graceful in defeat, Paula later writes to the grandchildren to praise their investigative skill and inform them of her desire to continue pursuing Adam and Anders until they are brought to justice.
• The Culture: Veteuil in Surface Detail is a ruthless soldier who starts out fighting for the Pro-Hell side in War on heaven, working to sabotage the Anti-Hell side. However, Veteuil opts to sabotage the Pro-Hell side, sabotaging them and helping the novel's heroes to ensure the death of the hell side. A genius strategist, Vetueil manipulates and uses everyone over the course of the novel with none the wiser, possibly even working for the mysterious culture. In the novel's final line, Veteuil's true identity is revealed to be a repentant Elethiomel Zakalwe, the Chairmaker, who has been seeking his redemption for centuries.
• Dances with the Dragons: Cardinal Moldeen Ogus Gyunei is the mastermind behind the series events, seeking to unite the Alshok Territory with the Seven-Cities Alliance and prevent the catastrophic Holy War from occurring. Arranging for the assassination of his own decoy, Moldeen uses this to expose and then kill the traitor in his organization. Hiring two assassins to use as bait to lure out a defector, Moldeen is also revealed to be responsible for the failure of the first treaty, which he did to create favorable conditions for Alshok. Admitting to be willing to deceive, betray, spill blood and even support oppressive regimes in the name of his end goal, Moldeen will stop at nothing to create a world where future generations can live in happiness.
• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF: Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Soldier, is an expert combat specialist and strategist who previously assisted her sister Junko Enoshima’s plan to kickstart "The Tragedy". Collaborating with Junko in her mission to wipe out the Hope’s Peak survivors, Mukuro began to have a realization after she was saved by her friend Makoto Naegi from one of Junko’s deadly traps. Able to go hand to hand with Sakura after being accused of being the mastermind, Mukuro creates a distraction by taking advantage of Toko’s split personality Genocide Jack as she escapes with Makoto’s bleeding body to heal him. Disowned by her controlling, abusive sister, Mukuro switches sides and outwits Junko by pulling off a wild gambit to free her friends and ensure their survival. Mukuro ends the story willing to help rebuild the world, and to stop whatever plan Junko has in store.
• The Dark Knight novelization, by Dennis O'Neil: The Joker is a brilliant, nihilistic madman who seeks to give Gotham a "better class of criminal". The Joker showcases his audacity and intelligence at the start of the story by staging the robbery of a mob bank, tricking all of his hired thugs into killing each other, then keeping the cash for himself while using a stolen school bus to cover his escape. After convincing local crime bosses to hire him to murder Batman, the Joker stages assassinations of public figures and the kidnapping of Batman's Love Interest all in attempts to force Batman to unmask himself, and the Joker later allows himself to be captured by police just so he can stage an escape and kill a mob witness. Eventually deciding that his "game" with Batman is too fun to end, the Joker overthrows his ostensible bosses and continues to terrorize Gotham until his defeat at Batman's hands, which Joker accepts with laughing glee before revealing that his backup plan of corrupting Harvey Dent into villainy has nonetheless ensured victory for the clown. With a genuine belief in his chaotic code that his film counterpart lacked, which is best illustrated when he gives an elderly woman a hundred bucks on a whim, the novel's take on the Joker manages to be an even more complex, intriguing villain than he is in the film.
• Date A Live: "Nightmare" Kurumi Tokisaki was once a normal, human girl. After being turned into a Spirit and lied to by the First Spirit after killing her best friend, Kurumi resolved to undo the First Spirit's existence no matter what it took. Introduced as a mysteriously charming transfer student, Kurumi stays one step ahead of Shido Itsuka and Ratatoskr, ultimately engineering a Sadistic Choice where either a spacequake destroys the city or her "City of Devouring Time" consumes Shido's entire school. After being saved from a rampaging "Efreet" by Shido, her next appearance sees her help Shido against Miku and DEM while trying to uncover Nia's location. Helping Origami go back in time to stop her parents' murder, Kurumi learns the horrible truth and uses her time powers to help Shido correct the mistake, including convincing her past self to offer aid. Against the overwhelming might of Mio Takamiya and Isaac Westcott, Kurumi put a clone back in time as a contingency to impart critical knowledge to Shido in case she's killed and steals back Nia's Qlipha Crystal from Westcott to even the odds. Brimming with self-confidence to match her enigmatic nature, Kurumi was both a deadly enemy and a pivotal ally.
• The Day of the Jackal: "The Jackal" is a Professional Killer hired to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle whose operation is only caught on to thanks to a member of his organization blurting out his codename under torture. The Jackal infiltrates Paris and manages to stay a step ahead of the authorities the entire novel. In one instance, when seemingly cornered, the Jackal asks a series of seeming innocuous questions of the police officer, gleaning all he can from the man before realizing it is safe to eliminate him. The Jackal constantly misdirects the authorities, placing himself in the perfect position to assassinate de Gaulle and when he is finally tracked down, it is only seconds before he pulls the trigger on his target.
• DC Icons series:
  • Batman: Nightwalker: Madeleine Wallace, a young member of a group of left-wing anarchists called the "Nightwalkers", is accused of robbing and murdering several wealthy people in Gotham City and is being held in Arkham Asylum, when in reality her brother Cameron killed those people and Madeleine is taking the rap for him. Bruce Wayne is forced to work at Arkham for community service and Madeleine decides to talk to him. Bruce tries to get information from Madeleine and she convinces him to scramble the security cameras so they can talk alone. Madeleine tells Bruce convincing lies and half-truths to make herself appear sympathetic and tells Bruce of a minor Nightwalker safehouse to gain his trust. Madeleine uses origami to send messages to other Nightwalkers and uses the security back door Bruce created to escape. Madeleine hacks into Bruce's less secure bank accounts to steal his money and gives it to the poor. Madeleine and Cameron take control of WayneTech drones and use them to hold a Wayne gala hostage to force Bruce to give them access to the rest of the accounts. Madeleine opposes her brother when he tries to murder Bruce and Madeleine seemingly is killed by Cameron, only to have faked her death and escaped.
  • Catwoman: Soulstealer: Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, rose up from illegal street fighter to pay for her sister's medical bills to become a skilled member of the League of Assassins in two years. After discovering a way to use Lazarus pit formula to cure her dying sister, Selina leaves the league and heads back to Gotham City where she starts a crime spree in order to recruit both a skilled biochemist to help her complete it in Poison Ivy and a way to contact the Joker and make a deal with him in Harley Quinn. Starting a massive, flashy crime spree to take control of the criminal underworld and outwitting Luke Fox's attempts to evade her, Selina lets herself get captured eventually, knowing she'll be transferred to Arkham Asylum due to the infamy shes gained and uses Joker and his army to defeat the League of Assassins members who've come for her, by promising it to him, only to backstab him and hand him over to the police. Selina is a cunning, seductive figure who genuinely grows to care for Harley, Ivy and Luke and ends the book succeeding with her plans to save her sister, heading off for her next heist.
  • Superman: Dawnbreaker, by Matt de la Peña: Lex Luthor is a rich young man visiting Smallville from Metropolis for mysterious reasons. Lex convinces young people in town (including a young Clark Kent and Lana Lang) to investigate the disappearance of Mexican immigrants in town, thinking that the powerful Mankins Corporation is responsible. After being caught flat-footed the first time he investigated a Mankins facility, he is better prepared the second time, having satellites spy on another Mankins facility, bringing a dart gun to take out guards, equipment to climb the facility's walls and camera equipment to capture footage of the Mankins Corporation's crimes. After Clark defeats the Mankins Corporation, revealing their crimes and leading to their major officials getting arrested, Clark discovers that Lex's company, Luthor Corp, bought up the Mankins Corporation's assets, with Clark unwittingly having helped Lex take down a powerful rival and setting up a more powerful enemy he will have to deal with in the future.
• Deception Point: Director William Pickering, National Reconnaisance Office Agent Rachel Sexton's seemingly unimposing employer, seeks to prevent the privatization of space travel for the sake of national security. Sending evidence of a Senator's misconduct to a White House staffer, Pickering commissions a forged meteor made from deep sea fossil and has it warped using hydrogen fuel. Subsequently placing the forged meteor near Ellesmere Island, Pickering forcibly has a Canadian geologist report falsified information for an unknowing NASA to find before having the geologist thrown to his death. When the forgery is discovered by Rachel, oceanographer Michael Tolland and astrophysicist Dr. Corky Marlinson, among others, Pickering attempts to have the team hunted down to preserve the ruse. During the final confrontation with the trio, Pickering intercepts an SOS from Rachel, telling her Senator father not to release the information about the forgery if he wants to ensure Rachel's survival.
• Deltora Quest:
  • Dain is a Grade 3 Ol and the Shadow Lord's ultimate spy. Joining the Resistance against the Shadow Lord's tyranny with a fake backstory, he seemingly aids the hero Leif and his companions to gain their trust. Weakened by the magic of the city Tora, Dain tricks the heroes into thinking he's grieving over the city's abandonment. Once the Belt of Deltora is complete, Dain, believed to be the heir of the kingdom, stages his own capture, and morphs into a dagger to continue spying on the heroes. Once exposed, Dain disarms Lief, tries to destroy the Belt, and foils an attempt to ambush him. Even after his death, Dain had most of the heroes captured and nearly completed his master's scheme.
  • Tom is a Magitech salesman. He is very charming to his customers and offers a discount to members of the Resistance, but has also rigged his shop to be theft proof. He however cannot resist his greed when offered gold, exchanging them for muddlets that did not belong to him. When the heroes spot him assisting the Shadow Lord's forces and confront him about it, Tom proclaims that he is a neutral party who will do business with anyone so long as he can make a profit.
• Die drei Lieder, by Ludwig Uhland: "The harpist" is a young man determined to avenge his brother who was treacherously slain by King Sifrid. Joining the crowd of musicians at court, he steps forward when Sifrid asks who has the most beautiful song to perform. Announcing he knows three songs, the harpist proclaims, as the first one, that the king murdered his brother, and as the second one, challenges him to a fight to the death. Defeating and killing the king, the harpist announces his third and loveliest song: a triumphant declaration that his revenge is complete.
• The Dispatcher: Brennan Tunney is a pragmatic fourth-generation Chicago mobster who grasps how, between lower risks, bigger stakes, and tax write-offs, Good Pays Better. He spends years transitioning his crime family into legitimacy, but is willing to protect those interests with gangland methods. Even in a world where 999 out of 1,000 murder victims inexplicably resurrect, he is The Dreaded and is aware of chilling but rarely used Loophole Abuse ways to permanently kill someone. In the third book, he manipulates the downfall of stocks that Corrupt Corporate Executive rivals own, while also giving Tony evidence to expose them and sabotaging the escape route of the worse of the pair so that he will be left to the mercy of criminals far more ruthless than Tony himself. Nostalgic about old Chicago neighborhoods, contemplative about how people spend the favors he liberally bestows, and clever and playful in his cat-and-mouse game with police surveillance, Tunney is the only major criminal in the books to consistently prosper and retain Tony's grudging respect.
• The Divine Comedy: Ulysses, the famed hero of The Trojan Cycle, is encountered by Dante and Virgil within the realm of Bolgia. Ulysses helped to annihilate the city of Troy with his brilliant scheme of the Trojan Horse that brought the Greeks into the city. Having been lost at sea after, Ulysses won the hearts of his men with his subtle charm and manipulative wit, leading to his death in a bold attempt to explore further than any mortal man ever had before and accepting his resulting damnation with dignity and grace.
• The Donkey Rustlers, by Gerald Durrell: David and Amanda are two children who come for their yearly holiday to the island of Melissa and learn that their friend Yani, after his father's death, owes a huge debt to the miserly village mayor. To help him, they come up with the idea of stealing all of the village's donkeys, hiding them on a nearby island and later ransoming them; Amanda coming up with the strategy and David fleshing out the details, such as sabotaging the village bridge to find out if donkeys can swim. Their plan, executed with some help from Yani and their father, works like a charm: the villagers and the police think that the donkeys were stolen by Communists and believe that David and Amanda, who feign wide-eyed innocence, are nothing but helpful. Eventually, after a reward is offered by the mayor, David and Amanda pretend to dramatically find the donkeys and publicly give their reward to Yani who instantly pays off his debts, the mayor powerless to retaliate even when he realizes he's been swindled.
• Don't Be a Hero, by Chris Strange: Morgan Shepherd, better known as Quanta, adored superheroes as a youth and, upon superheroes being defamed and derided by society, makes a plan to bring back the world's reliance on and love for them. Assembling a team of villains he recruits through both charisma and bribery, Quanta stages prison breaks, hijacks a television station, and even allows his own capture only to then escape as part of his scheme. Quanta's final plan is to become a global threat, reviled by humankind simply so that only superheroes can take him down and bring back the "age of the hero," even as he shows disgust at some of his partners' sexually perverted and sadistic personalities. Pulling off his scheme with excellence and all while suffering from a crippling brain tumor that is slowly killing him, Quanta sets the stage for heroes to return and, noting that he's grown attached to being a villain, hopes to serve as a threat for the heroes to fight for years to come.
• A Dowry of Blood:
  • Constanta, the first of Dracula's brides, is a charming and intelligent vampire who meets her husband after raiders kill her mortal peasant family. Seduced by Dracula and becoming a vampire, Constanta revels in her newfound immortality and marriage before the realization of her husband's true nature sets in. At first unhappy with her husband taking Magdalena as a new bride, Constanta steadily befriends her and experiments with the limits of immortality. After a young man named Alexei becomes the last consort, Constanta plots with the others and lures her monstrous husband into a trap to ultimately destroy him before planning to make a new family built on love and trust.
  • Magdalena, the second of Dracula's brides, is a sultry and charismatic vampire. A true Machiavellian mastermind, Magdalena masterminds her father's exile by leaking his secrets to take his position and than later rules her position with a mix of seduction and ruthlessness. Magdalena was sired after catching Dracula's eye due to her ruthlessness and intelligence and continues to have those traits as a vampire. Researching the secrets of immortality with her fellow brides, Magdalena keeps Dracula off her tail by playing on his feelings. Eventually, when her fellow bride of Dracula Constanta reveals the true depths of Dracula's evil, Magdelena helps keep him occupied and helps the other spouses destroy him so she can create her own destiny without anyone controlling her.
• Dreamblood Duology: Prince Eninket, while still a child, learned how the Hetawa controlled his kingdom of Gujareh through Dreamblood addiction. Resolute to stay in control, Eninket murdered his father and most of his siblings to take power, then investigates the history of his country to discover the Hetawa murdered their founder when they were unable to control him. Using this to blackmail and control the Hetawa, Eninket decides to become a god through the consumption of massive quantities of Dreamblood, sincerely believing an immortal monarch will be best for his people and beloved wife and children. Needing to cause tens of thousands of deaths for such an amount of Dreamblood, Eninket corrupts an elderly Gatherer into becoming a Reaper, then assembles a mercenary army to attack the neighboring nation of Kisua, intending for his Reaper to devour both armies and generate the Dreamblood he needs. To further his plan, Eninket intends for his army to conquer all of Kisua, then march forth on the rest of the world. Locking away his only surviving brother for trying to stop him, Eninket plans for the novice Gatherer Nijiri into becoming yet another Reaper for his schemes and is only ultimately stopped by Nijiri's unforeseeable defeat of his first Reaper.
• Drenai:
  • Legend: Ulric is the great Khan of the Nadir. A brilliant leader who forges the Nadir people into a unified strong in a series of dynamic campaign, Ulric intends to expand his dreams of conquest and take even the mighty Drenai. Overrunning most of the known world with his own will and might, Ulric lays siege to Dros Delnoch, the stronghold of the Drenai, and challenges the defenders to their limits. Stating how much he loves the defenders for their resistance, Ulric shows his honor when he allows the gates to open in a temporary peace so the defenders might give a worthy funeral to the legendary warrior Druss.
  • The King Beyond the Gate: Tenaka Khan, Ulric's descendant, is a half-Nadir warrior who helps to challenge the mad Drenai emperor Ceska. Helping the Drenai to route Ceska's forces and hold the line strategically, Tenaka travels to the Nadir to unite them with his own skill and charisma, leading them back to destroy Ceska's power and kill the evil emperor. Later conquering the Drenai after taking Dros Delnoch, Tenaka later returns from the dead to help Drenai heroes bring down his own evil son Jungir, before accepting his final fate and following Jungir into the afterlife.
• Dr. Gideon Fell: The Crooked Hinge: John Farnleigh is a rebellious and hedonistic young aristocrat who loses his legs in a fight with another boy seeking to steal his identity. He spends the next twenty-five years as a carnival hustler, alternating between using prosthetic legs or pretending to be a dwarf rather than legless, then learns his former assailant is impersonating him, has inherited the family fortune, and is married to John's childhood friend Molly. John enters a relationship with Molly, who is being blackmailed by her husband and they plot to kill the fake John Farnleigh. Wearing hidden prosthetics, John arrives at his ancestral home, charms the false John's circle of acquaintances, acts like he's certain to prove his identity as the real heir and has nothing to fear, then kills his imposter while using his hidden reduced stature to stay out of sight below a hedge and make it look like his victim was stabbed while standing alone. Fleeing the country with Molly as the investigators close in on him, John sends his friend a letter detailing everything after escaping.
• Dune:
  • Paul Atreides is the only son of Duke Leto Atreides and his Bene Gesserit wife, Lady Jessica. After his father's death, Paul departs to Arrakis, aka Dune, with his mother and ascends to lead the Fremen people. Conducting a rebellion against the House of Corrino and his grandfather Vladimir Harkonnen, Paul achieves not only victory but deposes the Emperor and takes the throne himself. Conducting himself by his prescience of the future, Paul launches a crusade to unite all humanity while setting up his enemies to destroy each other, even allowing his beloved Chani to die to adhere to his future visions before setting off to the desert to die. Returning years later as a mysterious hermit, Paul rallies the people against his sister Alia's tyranny when she is manipulated by the evil spirit of their grandfather, paving the way for his children to seize the universe themselves.
  • Dr. Wellington Yueh is a Suk medic sworn to House Atreides. When his beloved wife Wanna is kidnapped by the Harkonnens, Yueh becomes a reluctant spy and traitor, seamlessly assisting in the downfall of House Atreides. Knowing Wanna is likely already dead and that he will soon follow but unable to defect taking the chance she may yet still live, Yueh delivers the captive Duke Leto to Vladimir Harkonnen and faces death himself, but not before installing a trap tooth in Leto's mouth so the Duke may spare himself a slow end and perhaps even take Harkonnen with him.
• Durarara!!: Izaya Orihara is an information broker and one of the most dangerous men in Ikebukuro wanting to declare his "love" for humans by manipulating them for his own amusement. Introducing Masaomi Kida to his follower Saki Mikajima she would have Saki form a romantic relationship with Masaomi while Izaya instigates a gang war between Masaomi’s gang, The Yellow Scarves, and The Blue Square, leaving Masaomi vulnerable, endangering Saki, and dismantling both gangs in the process. Also a member of The Dollars, Izaya has recruited thousands into the Dollars before turning them against their leader by reveal to them his identity, Mikado Ryuugamine, allowing them to reek havoc throughout Ikebukuro. After being stabbed by "Jinnai Yodogiri", Izaya would allow himself to be capture, tricking his captors into revealing information on "Jinnai Yodogiri" before sending his newly formed group to defeat them afterwards. Also holding immense animosity for Shizuo Heiwajima for not being able to manipulate him, Izaya has provoke Shizuo constantly, cost him his job, frames him for murder, manipulates a girl to kill Shizuo, and tries to kill Shizuo himself. When Shizuo manages to beat Izaya, he attempt to goad Shizuo to kill him, content that the masses witnessing Shizuo will then view him as a monster.

E - F

• Eisenheim the Illusionist, by Steven Millhauser: In this short story upon which The Illusionist (2006) was based, the title character, born Eduard Abramowitz, moves to Vienna where he entertains audiences with inexplicable tricks, even possibly causing the disappearance of a rival Stage Magician for aggressing him. Returning after a year's absence, Eisenheim entertains with illusions of immaterial people and when the police move to arrest him out of fear for his power, vanishes himself, leaving no trace to explain his illusion technique, thus immortalizing his work.
• The Elenium: Martel is a renegade Pandion Knight, Dragon-in-Chief to Azash, archenemy of protagonist Sparhawk, and the primary planner behind everything the villains do. Having procured the poison that Primate Annias needed to incapacitate Queen Ehlana, Martel moves about Eosia, stirring up trouble in Rendor and Lamorkand in an effort to draw the Church Knights out of Chyrellos and make it easier for Annias to gain the Archprelacy by way of intimidation. When Sparhawk and his companions foil these plans and restore Ehlana to health, Martel convinces the Rendors to invade Arcium, then attacks Chyrellos with his own private army of mercenaries. Robbed of victory by way of divine intervention when the Child-Goddess Aphrael steps in and leads King Wargun's army to Chyrellos, Martel lures Sparhawk to Zemoch, so that Azash can deal with him, and steal the Bhelliom—the entire plot of the series, from the poisoning of Ehlana onward being revealed as part of a scheme to force Sparhawk to uncover Bhelliom and then take it from him. Out for his own profit first and foremost, Martel used Annias, Zemoch Emperor Otha, and even Azash, as means to his ends, hijacking all of their plans in order gain revenge on Sparhawk and empower himself.
• The Emperor's New Clothes: The two swindlers are a pair of con men who trick the fashion obsessed Emperor. The two convince him that they can weave clothes so fine that fools and those unfit for their positions won’t be able to see them. Requesting expensive materials for the clothes on top of their pay, the swindlers in truth weave nothing but anyone who looks at the "clothes" lies and claims to see them so as to not be seen as fools. When the "clothes" are finished the swindlers tell the Emperor that they are so light that he'll feel like he's wearing nothing at all and abscond with their loot while the Emperor is publicly humiliated for holding a parade while naked.
• "The End of the World at Eight O'Clock" by Stanisław Lem: Rowton is a journalist who isn't above lying for the sake of making a splash. Sent to infiltrate a secret academic conference, he succeeds in doing so by being a Crazy-Prepared Master of Disguise and masquerading as a government agent. He learns that Professor Farragus has invented a Fantastic Nuke that can destroy the world, and his sensationalist article about it, as well as his interview with Farragus's opponent, provoke Farragus into swearing to activate his weapon. Rowton immediately sends the news to his editor and then proceeds to use his people skills and disguise talents to track down Farragus and stop him from destroying the world, figuring that otherwise, nobody would be around to read the newspaper's next issue.
• Erast Fandorin:
  • The Winter Queen:
    • Lady Astair is the founder of a large chain of orphanages where every child's talents are discovered and nurtured. Those of her fosterlings whose gifts are best suited for politics, the military, or the police, she trains to rise to the highest ranks and push for the liberal reforms she feels the destitute world desperately needs. Through one of her alumni, a Femme Fatale, she manipulates two rich students into bequeathing their fortunes to her and then arranges their deaths: as she puts it, "One can't clean the Augean stables without getting dirty". She likewise uses her other various alumni to try killing and then brainwashing Erast Fandorin when he gets close to the truth in his investigation; when that fails, she calmly accepts her defeat and, before blowing herself up, even lets Fandorin go, making him promise not to hunt down her kids, arranging for a bomb to be sent to him should he break his word. A Granny Classic who genuinely loves her kids and genuinely respects and pities Fandorin, Lady Astair holds worldwide politics in her grasp for decades.
    • Ivan Brilling is one of Lady Astair's alumni and a member of her Azazel program. A brilliant police officer, he joins the Moscow investigation of Azazel and fascinates young Erast Fandorin with his administrative and deduction talents as well as his personable, easygoing manner. He steers the investigation away from Lady Astair and towards an unrelated nihilistic group. When Fandorin insists on following the real clues, Brilling tries to talk him out of it but, as he isn't giving up, agrees and gives him a promotion before sending him to be killed by Azazel's London branch. Meanwhile, Brilling unmasks the nihilists' group, claiming it's Azazel. After Fandorin manages to escape and rushes to him with proofs of the conspiracy, Brilling instantly makes a new plan to put all the blame on Lady Astair's right-hand man Cunningham, intending to make it look like Cunningham and Fandorin killed each other in a fight. Fandorin just barely succeeds in killing him, almost at the cost of his own life, and Brilling's last word is "Azazel". A true genius of deduction and a genuinely friendly man who is loath to kill Fandorin and says as much, Brilling is remembered fondly in the police even after The Reveal and remains a major role model for Fandorin in the future books.
  • The Turkish Gambit: Anwar Effendi is a Turkish politician and spy, subtly manipulating the politics in his country and pushing for liberal reforms while always staying in the shadow himself. Under his other identity—brilliant French journalist Charles Paladin—he accompanies the Russian army in the Russo-Turkish war and, by skillfully feeding misinformation to the high command, makes sure to prolong the conflict. He pays a Romanian colonel, a gambler who is deep in debt, to assist him in his scheme, and then kills him under the pretext of a duel once he is no longer useful. He shoots an officer carrying a critically important message during a battle and frames another officer for that, killing him too and making it look like suicide. His last plot, luring Russia's best general into a trap, fails after Anwar is unmasked by Erast Fandorin, but Anwar knows that his main goal of weakening the Russian Empire is achieved. He calmly shoots himself, refusing to surrender. Combining his ruthlessness with genuine charm and Old-School Chivalry, Anwar hides so well in the guise of Charles Paladin that for a long time, Fandorin refuses to believe his own conclusions about Paladin's true identity.
  • The Death of Achilles: Achimas Welde is a high-class Professional Killer. Extremely composed and patient, he scrupulously fulfills every assignment he undertakes. Achimas feels no malice towards his victims and has a fatalistic philosophy, realizing that the fate to die will come for everyone, including him, at some point. Tasked with killing General Sobolev, Achimas does it with an untraceable poison and steers the investigation away by framing the German intelligence. When Erast Fandorin tracks him down, Achimas fights him as a Worthy Opponent. Even mortally wounded, Achimas never loses his cool: he tells Fandorin he will likely be killed on government orders and gives him a means of escape, in exchange for Fandorin helping out Wanda, the girl Achimas loves. Achimas dies calmly, feeling it has been a good life.
  • Special Assignments' "The Jack of Spades": Momus is an extremely charming, clever, creative conman and Master of Disguise. He sets up grand, daring projects such as a fake bank or a fake lottery, going as far as to advertise in a police newspaper. Whenever Erast Fandorin and the police seem to catch him red-handed, Momus calmly says they have no actual proof of his involvement in the cons. Finally, after Momus's latest scheme helps Fandorin catch a cruel and dishonest general, Momus is Let Off by the Detective, but his beloved partner Mimi is arrested and tried for fraud. Disguising himself as a lawyer, Momus makes sure she gets acquitted, in addition, exposing the prosecution counsel as corrupt. Together with Mimi, Momus leaves Moscow in triumph.
• Everworld: In this dark world where All Myths Are True, these gods and monsters reign above their peers in brilliance:
  • Loki is the Norse God of Lies, Destruction and Trickery and one of the most devious deities to inhabit Everworld. A master manipulator, Loki usurped Odin himself and uses his imprisonment to blackmail the Vikings into warring with the Aztecs. Using his powers to bring the witch Senna from the normal world into Everworld, Loki plans to use her as a way to escape the wrath of the monster god eater Ka Anor against him and his fellow deities by trapping Ka Anor in this world alone. Loki spends his series pursuing the heroes and even launches a deadly sneak attack against the Round Table to get Senna back. At the end, when Senna perishes and his initial plan isn't possible, he gracefully allies with the heroes and helps save them from his mad daughter Hel, showing her who is the ultimate master of the Norse underworld.
  • Merlin the Magnificent is the greatest sorcerer in existence and plans to unite the various deities of Everworld against Ka Anor. Merlin can change tactics on a dime and skillfully pursues our heroes and Senna to stop her from falling into Loki's clutches, always willing to manipulate a deal here and there to make it easier. Merlin is also prepared for if stuff goes wrong, such as making his home base into a giant trap to capture invading armies. Merlin is also willing to listen to others to improve his plans, using the advice of Christopher to manipulate the downfall of Senna and her followers by playing them against each other using illusion magic. Merlin later allies with Loki to help save the heroes and forge an alliance to defeat the monstrous Ka Anor and his machinations.
  • Discover the Destroyer: Nidhoggr, the dragon of the underworld, is a massive beast who serves nobody but himself. A surprisingly cheerful, erudite and charming being, Nidhoggr enlists the service of the young heroes to delve into Hel's realm, manipulating them for his own ends and using them to secure his own position without any risk to himself.
  • Brave the Betrayal: Eshu is the Trickster God of the Yoruba and a messenger of the higher gods. Upon the entrance of the heroes to his domain, Eshu is perplexed by their unwillingness to sacrifice animals and resorts to numerous different forms to sway them, also luring Jalil into the midst of a flood in the form of David. Eshu continues to taunt and sway the heroes with psychological tricks, ending with the last laugh by causing the deaths of Vikings they were attempting to save.
• The Evil Queen, by Gena Showalter: Everly Morrow, after a torrent of ill and abuses from others as well as love for her sister, decides to embrace her title as the legendary "Evil Queen". Everly takes over the kingdom of Sevhun as its new queen after killing her husband who forced her into marriage and exiles the deceased king's daughter, Princess Farrah, later foiling Farrah's attempts to usurp her and runs circles around her. After being captured, Everly bonds with Farrah's brother Roth and plots to escape, all the while using her Adorable Evil Minions to spy on things for her plans. Eventually escaping using said minions to cut off the fingers off one of her jailers, Everly manages to outwit Farrah and has her sealed forever into a glass coffin where she'll end up having to experience her crimes over and over again. Everly ends the book as the only antagonist on top, having left the others in the dust and now gains tremendous powers as well as both a marriage to Roth and control of the kingdom.
• Ex-Heroes: Max Hale is a witty sorcerer who casts dark magic rituals to take control of the demon Cairax and possess its body for superhero work, becoming a popular defender of the helpless. While defending his home city from zombies, Max is infected and killed after trying to French kiss a zombified Jessica Alba and his spirit horrifically tortured by Cairax, enduring until finally after days that feel like years of resistance and defiance, he agrees to help Cairax conquer the wasteland in return for his soul's freedom. Max returns to life by possessing a newly deceased body and makes his fellow heroes think he is forcing them in a cowardly manner to protect him from Cairax while helping Cairax possess a Fallen Hero. Max is mortally wounded after unexpectedly betraying the heroes, but lives long enough to see his friends defeat Cairax with a plan Max gave them. Max reveals he was working towards Cairax's death and his own salvation the whole time, passing away for the second time without fear.
• The Expanse's Auberon novella: Erich re-emerges from the 30-year timeskip as the ruler of the eponymous planet's underworld. He embarks on a campaign to blackmail Laconian governor Biryar Rittenaur. Erich first tries to bribe Biryar, and when that fails, manages to escape simply by implying that Biryar's guards are in his pocket. Erich is ruthless to his enemies, but supportive to his allies. When Erich blackmails Biyrar over Biryar's wife embezzling money from Laconia, Biryar tries to kill himself. Erich talks Biryar down and convinces him to be more true to himself by accepting Erich and his corruption. Erich was introduced as a petty criminal with no legal status and ends the series as the shadow ruler of an entire planet.
• Fables for Robots by Stanisław Lem, "How Erg the Self-Inducing Slew a Paleface": Erg the Self-Inducing is an adventurer with a natural gift for picking locks. When the key used to turn on Princess Electrina's brain is stolen and the king calls on the knights and mercenaries for help, promising them the Standard Hero Reward, Erg pretends to leave with the rest but instead goes into hiding and lies low for a year and six weeks, while his rivals either get killed or give up. When he is sure all competition's eliminated and nobody will get suspicious about him returning too soon, he comes to court and spins a Space Opera-like tale of the amazing adventures he supposedly had while searching for the key. In truth, he turns Electrina's brain on simply by using his natural ability. He marries Electrina, inherits the throne, and lives Happily Ever After, never getting found out, which prompts the Lemony Narrator to remark that the story's not a fairytale, since in fairytales, virtue always wins.
• Father Brown: M. Hercule Flambeau is an archcriminal and master thief, who is well known for being a Master of Disguise. First introduced in The Blue Cross, Flambeau befuddles the police to sneak into a convention of priests, disguising himself as one to steal a holy artifact. Only stopped by the genius of Father Brown, Flambeau accepts his defeat with grace and style but returns many times to pull off new brilliant heists until he ends up becoming a brilliant detective in his own right.
• The Fell of Dark: Vivian Duclos was once an ambitious woman who refused to abide by the time's sexist standards and educated herself within a witch coven before opting to become a vampire. Revitalizing the vampires after her sire's death, Duclos resolves to craft a utopian world for humans and vampires alike, allying with Azazel to do so and showing ruthless cunning and guile at every turn. Crushing any who dare plot against her while showing a kind side to her subordinates, Duclous ultimately outplays Azazel when she realizes he means to betray her and ends the book with her grasp on power stronger than ever.
• Fevre Dream: Joshua York is a vampire who seeks peace with humanity and the betterment of his whole race. With his brilliant intellect, York spent years experimenting on and studying the relationship between vampires and their thirst for human blood, avoiding suspicions for the rash of murders he commits for decades. Upon developing an elixir that serves as a substitute for blood, York begins travelling the country and swaying vampires to his new, less violent way of life, promising prosperity for human and vampire alike in the future. Though overpowered and enslaved by the elder vampire Damon Julian, York subverts Julian's schemes at every turn even from his subservient position, and as soon as the opportunity arises, York schemes with his longtime friend Abner Marsh to outwit and murder Julian once and for all. Honoring Marsh's memory long after he passes and bringing his people the peace he has so longed for by the end, York completes the prophesy among his kind foretelling of a new age and proves himself the true Pale King.
• Five Kingdoms:
  • The torivor Trillian grew bored with eternity in his home universe and set out to discover new worlds with his partner Ramarro. Although the pair were quickly imprisoned upon arriving to the Outskirts, Trillian became a major figure of influence in the kingdom of Elloweer as he amassed a following of utterly loyal Red Guards, and has boasted to have personally trained every enchanter of any consequence in the past few centuries. Despite his forthright intention to conquer the Outskirts when he inevitably escapes, Trillian is content to play the Long Game and serve as a reliable ally to the princesses in their fight against Ramarro, seeing the fellow torivor as competition to be removed.
  • Sky Raiders: Lyrus is a semblance tasked with protecting the sky castle Parona, which he believes to be a sacred proving ground for heroes. After his eyes are opened to the truth Lyrus agrees to serve Cole and let the Raiders take the castle's treasures in exchange for him continuing to act as Parona's protector, although this deal would really allow him to initiate further trials so he can both fulfill his role of testing visitors and get a chance at participating in genuine combat. With his deception revealed and the monsters eventually slain Lyrus continues to uphold his pledge to Cole, helping him and Mira escape Parona as he bids them a pleasant farewell.
  • Rogue Knight: Sigmund was a dwarf servant in the employ of the shapecrafters who was chosen to be the vessel for Honor's power. Rebelling against his masters, Sigmund took on the identity of the titular Rogue Knight and began travelling across Elloweer, growing a coterie of loyal knights as he slays every champion he comes across. Gaining the popularity of the common people and the ire of the nobility for abolishing taxes in every city he conquers, Sigmund and his knights conduct a series of robberies when Rustin Sage refuses to duel the Rogue Knight, and he effortlessly disarms a knight sent to stop him without laying a single blow. With an undefeated record in combat, Sigmund nevertheless surrenders Honor's power back to her when she proves her worthiness and pledges his support to her cause.
  • Death Weavers: Sando, an echo with the appearance of an elderly beggar, is in truth one of Ramarro's Co-Dragons. Proposing reasonable bindings to his marks and disguising any eccentricities under the explanation that it protects him from the call of the homesong, Sando ingratiates himself to Cole by repeatedly helping him avoid capture. Sando uses this trust to manipulate Mira into a situation where she can be captured without risking damage to her physical body, and initiates another deal with their ally Desmond to trick Cole into leading him straight to Destiny.
• The Folk of the Air: The cunning, charismatic General Madoc is the high general of Elfahme who desires to expand and rule Elfahme and adopted the heroine Jude Duarte and her sister and raised them as his own after killing their parents. Allying with Prince Balekin Greenbriar, Madoc skillfully pulls a coup while making Balekin think that he'll be his easily fooled puppet. Instead, Madoc turns the tables on him and plans to use his adopted son who is secretly one of Eldred's descendants as a Puppet King allowing him to become the ruler of Elfhame instead. After being foiled by Jude, Madoc changes tactics and uses Jude's twin sister to trick Jude's lover King Cardan into freeing him from his vows to the crown so he can begin his attempted takeover. Madoc later manipulates the poisoning of the Queen of the Undersea to ensure her daughter will now be forced to side with him in his war against Cardan, pushing him to the edge of total victory. Madoc skillfully mixes wit with cunning intelligence while possessing many admirable traits like love for all of his children even Jude and even steps down gracefully into exile when she shows that the people of Elfhame side with her.
• The Forbidden: The Candyman is a murderous urban legend who kills those who summon him, using this to enhance his own mythology as he proceeds from victim to victim in an almost gentlemanly and refined fashion. Upon encountering Helen, who is debunking his myth, the Candyman intends to make her his victim and lures her to a trap to trick her to her death in front of a massive crowd, ensuring his myth will live for so much longer, with Helen now a part of it.
• Fantastic Mr. Fox: Mr. Fox is every bit as fantastic as the book's title suggests, a cunning and stealthy creature who regularly steals the chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys from the foul farmers, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, using the wind and his surroundings to avoid detection, and bring food home for his family. When the farmers finally corner he and his family and drive them deep underground, Mr. Fox, with the help of his four cubs, dig towards the neighbouring farms, and, from memory alone, he finds Boggis's Chicken House, Number One, Bunce's storehouse, and Bean's secret cider cellar, with enough food to feed not just his starving family, but the other woodland animals affected by the farmers' hunt. Openly affectionate towards his family, not afraid to get his hands dirty, happy to give and take credit where it's due, and charming and persuasive enough to win over a morally reluctant Badger, Mr. Fox ends the story, as the leader and hunter for the other burrowing animals, leaving the obsessed farmers to wait outside his hole in vain.
• Fantastic Four: The Baxter Effect by Dave Stern: The Mad Thinker is one of the Fantastic Four's most persistent foes. The Thinker is unhappy with how his life turned out and has an ambitious plan to change it. The Thinker and his androids infiltrate a demonstration at the Baxter Building of Reed Richards' newest invention, the Q-Ray. The Thinker and his androids manage to overpower the Fantastic Four, with the Thinker enacting several countermeasures and backup plans to defeat them. The Thinker changes the Q-Ray and uses it to rewrite reality itself, changing it so he is a hero and a member of the Fantastic Four. When Ben Grimm begins to suspect the truth. the Thinker uses his android doubles to fool Grimm and Reed Richards and uses the Q-Ray to change reality again.
• Frankenstein: The Monster, also known as "Adam Frankenstein", is the creation of scientist Victor Frankenstein and abandoned by his master. Searching for a place in the world, shunned and persecuted for his nature, Adam grows to loathe Victor and blame him for his ills, returning to destroy him. First murdering Victor's younger brother William and framing his friend and governess Justine for the act, Adam promises to leave Victor in peace if Victor will make him a companion and mate. When Victor goes back on the deal, Adam vows to return on Victor's wedding night, letting Victor think he is in danger while Adam murders Victor's wife Elizabeth, luring Victor into the cold wastes of the north to suffer alongside him in an endless pursuit. Upon Victor's final end, Adam can only feel sorrow and resolves to end his own life so that another like him will never exist again, declaring a farewell to the world and to Victor Frankenstein.
• From the New World: The monster rat Squealer plays the part of a smug coward while plotting the downfall of the bigoted Kamisu 66 village. Having the psychic heroes Saki Watanabe and Satoru Asahina help him defend against an attacking monster rat colony, Squealer goes on to overthrow his psychotic queen and creates a technologically advanced democratic society. Absorbing other rat colonies into his, Squealer uses another meeting with Saki and Satoru ostensibly to find their friends but takes the opportunity to take in another colony and steal a psychic child to raise to fight against humans who cannot use their powers on another human. Launching his attack on Kamisu, Squealer nearly wipes his enemy out and even when caught, reveals monster rats' history as mutated humans and remains defiant until the moment a pain-inducing parasite takes over his brain, his plight touching enough for Saki to personally end his misery.
• Full Disclosure:
  • Polite, unassuming cabinet secretary Angelo Frangipani is told by his friend, Speaker of the House Frenlingheusen, that the President has just enough votes to avoid being impeached by Congress. Frangipani then votes for enacting the 25th amendment during a cabinet meeting, knowing that Ericson won't be impeached but will lose confidence in his ability to lead after seeing how narrow the vote is. Frangipani then comes to Ericson with a plan to get unreliable Vice President Arnold Nichols to resign with Ericson on the condition that Republican Frenlingheusen picks a Democrat as his VP. Frangipani and Ericson then mislead Nichols' political patron Bannerman into thinking Frenlingheusen will make him the new VP, so Bannerman will force Nichols to resign. The book ends with Frangipani poised to become the next Vice President, with Frenlingheusen having no idea about his Machiavellian scheming. Ericson has a good idea of what Frangipani's goals were but feels content that Frenlingheusen and Frangipani will do a good job in the White House and have rid it of Bannerman and Nichols' bad influence.
  • Soviet Foreign Minister Vasily Nikolayev plots to assassinate both Premier Kolkov and President Ericson to keep his unstable boss from starting a war with the West, feeling that the two men dying together will unite their countries. Nikolayev acknowledges the casualties and when Ericson's mistress asks to accompany him on the helicopter ride Nikolayev plans to shoot down, he considers whether the lovers would be happier dying together before telling her that there's no room. Nikolayev's plan hits a snag when Ericson survives, and he initially tries to deny reliable doctors access to Ericson, only relenting when Secretary of State Curtis and White House Chief of Staff Cartwright propose a narrative where they claim Kolkov died taking a bullet for Ericson. Nikolayev becomes the new president but is quietly placed under house arrest after the assassins' bodies are identified. Though he struggles to convince his government that he's worth more to them alive than dead, he never loses his dignity throughout the experience and displays genuine sadness when his remaining accomplices are quietly executed. Though Nikolayev's position is weakened, Ericson feels that he might still be able to talk his way out of being killed.
• Fu Manchu: The title character himself is the single most compelling character in the Sax Rohmer novels. Despite his villainy, Fu is charismatic, bold, educated and with a vision for the future to see his nation restored to greatness. Ruler of the Si-Fan syndicate, Fu returns time and again with brilliant schemes that are only ever matched by his enemy Sir Dennis Nayland Smith through sheer tenacity, as even Nayland Smith admits Fu is his intellectual superior by far. Fu schemes to conquer the world and subvert entire nations, but he is not without a code of honor. At times, Fu has even arranged for the downfall of fascist and communist leaders, and will always keep his word, as well as sending Nayland Smith a gift for his enemy's wedding. A brilliant archcriminal and one of the first supervillains of literature, Fu Manchu repeatedly demonstrates his superiority, with little being able to do anything but delay him in his schemes.
• Fuzzy Nation:
  • Jack Holloway is a MegaCorp surveyor and former attorney who was disbarred for helping a guilty client nearly escape justice. He uses his encyclopedic knowledge of the law to browbeat negotiators and is unaffected by threats against his life He simultaneously strikes a rich vein of minerals and discovers a new sapient alien life-form, the fuzzys. Jack seemingly sets himself up as an advocate of the aliens while using court rulings in their favor to make his employers give him a bigger share of the mining profits. When his schemes endanger the fuzzys, Jack sacrifices his potential fortune to engage in Courtroom Antics that destroy the corporation's position and ensures the fuzzys' safety. As a Consolation Prize, Jack ends up being made a minister in the fuzzys' new independent planetary government. He ends the book by saying that he prides himself in keeping other people from knowing what his goals are and that he may not be the good man the fuzzys think he is, but he was the right man to save them.
  • Brad Landon appears to be the loyal and efficient assistant of Wheaton Aubrey, but turns out to be Aubrey's superior, who is observing him in the field to determine if he has the required skills to be CEO. Landon acts as a conciliatory figure, making rational-sounding business proposals and polite conversation even as he's working hard to screw people over for the sake of the company's bottom line. No one ever suspects his true status until he reveals it to put Aubrey in his place. He makes it clear that his supposed boss has failed the test devised for him and that things could would have gone much worse if not for his supervision of Aubrey. He makes an effort to extend an olive branch to Jack and the fuzzys in the hope that they'll allow the company to return to the planet in the future once their anger cools down.

G - H

• Gentleman Bastard: Luciano Anatolius, alias the Grey King, alias Capa Raza, used Locke Lamora and the other Gentleman Bastards as disposable pawns in his campaign against Capa Barsavi and the Camorri nobility, forcing Locke to impersonate him so that he might fake his own death, and then killing off most of the team with ease. With twenty-two years to plan out his revenge on Barsavi and the nobles for the death of his family, Anatolius leaves few details unattended to, killing off Barsavi's gang bosses and inserting his own men into leadership positions, hiding his Co-Dragons among Barsavi's personal bodyguard, and hypnotizing the chief of the Secret Police into bringing his hidden Wraithstone weapons into the Duke's ball. Successful at taking over the Barsavi organization and killing off Barsavi's entire family in the process, the newly minted Capa Raza comes within a hairsbreadth of taking out the whole of the Camorri nobility, before Locke and Jean manage to halt his rampage.
• Gentlemen of the Road: Zelikman and Amran are a pair of Jewish con artists and travelers who style themselves "Gentlemen of the Road," Frankish and Abyssinian respectively. robbing people on the road and staging fake duels to make moeny, the two are roped into a plot to restore the exiled Khazar prince Filaq to the throne. Using their skills in trickery and swindling, the two manage to win political support, save Filaq's life when "he" is revealed to be a woman, and end up overthrowing the tyrannical Khazarian bek Buljan before securing Filaq on the throne.
• Gideon the Ninth: Cytherea the First was the first Lyctor of the Emperor. Desiring revenge for all the deaths caused by the Emperor, Cytherea kills and replaces a candidate of the Seventh House named Dulcinea Septimus, taking her identity and entering a secret competition among the Nine Houses. Steadily eliminating others, she plots to use the death to draw the Emperor near so she can strike and kill him, only being undone by a sacrifice from Gideon Nav herself.
• The Gingerbread Man: A classic of American children's literature, the Gingerbread Man runs as fast as he can, until he meets the fox. Either by feigning being hard of hearing or offering to ferry him over a river while guiding him towards his head the fox manages to trick the Gingerbread Man into getting close to his snout and eats him. Often American children's first exposure to this trope, the fox shows that you don't need to outfight a hero, sometimes you can outwit them.
• "The Golem's Joy" (link), by Zachary Rosenberg: Tzeidel is a Golem created to deliver retribution against the ones who set fire to a synagogue. Tracking down the arsonists to a tavern by following their ash-covered footprints, Tzeidel instills fear amongst those inside as she proceeds to murder them all, even using her body to block the exit to prevent anybody from escaping. Successfully killing the arsonists along with the innocent bystanders, Tzeidel hopes to use the tavern massacre to send a message across the land, to become such a legend that her name alone will make those foolish and bigoted enough to attack the Jews of Prague tremble in fear.
• A Good Day to Die, by William W. & J.A. Johnstone: Clay Stafford is the middle son of a ruthless Cattle Baron seeking to subjugate the territory in the aftermath of The American Civil War. Clay carries out a lot of the family's dirty work, but is more charming and controlled than his Ax-Crazy father and brothers. When his brother Bliss is killed in a duel with the pimp of a kindly prostitute Bliss has been stalking, Clay is the only one suggesting that the family accept Bliss brought it upon himself and avoid seeking revenge against the pimp and the girl, out of pragmatism, a distaste for hurting women, and because he's secretly in love with the girl himself. He persuades his father to put a hold on the feud to help deal with a Comanche war party attaching the two, and once the fight is over, manipulates his father and remaining brother into being killed in a duel while falsely promising to back them up, removing the threat to his lover, and leaving the family ranch in Clay's hands.
• The Goblin Emperor: Aina Shulivar is a leader of a political reform movement seeking more rights for workers. The Big Bad hires him to build a bomb to kill the emperor and his heirs. Shulivar recognizes that the current empire and anyone else who is raised in a position will never give up enough of that power to give fair and adequate rights to non-nobles, but also sees that his Ax-Crazy boss will be no better. Shulivar deliberately detonates the bomb prematurely, becoming The Kingslayer and ensuring that Maia will quickly be cemented into power as emperor. Shulivar correctly believes that Maia's past and experiences will make him willing to surrender wealth and power to help people who are vulnerable like he once was. Shulivar's plan succeeds, but also leads to his arrest thanks to an investigation Maia orders. Shulivar is brought before Maia, politely explains his motivations, happily notes Maia is meeting his expectations, and says that he regrets the lives he took but feels that the sacrifice pales next to the people who suffer and die without the reforms Maia is enacting. Shulivar then departs for his trial and certain execution without a hint of fear or resentment.
• Gormenghast: Steerpike begins life as a lowly boy in the kitchens who is able to scheme and connive his way into becoming one of the most powerful figures in all of Gormenghast. Arranging for the downfall of the favored retainer Flay, Steerpike seduces Earl Sepulchrave Groan's daughter Fuchsia and burns Sepulchrave's library to drive the Earl mad, painting himself as the hero who saved everyone from the fire he engineered. Murdering Master of Ritual Barquentine to claim his position, Steerpike also manipulates and later entraps Sepulchrave's sisters in his schemes until they depend entirely on him and he may leave them to starve. Even when exposed, Steerpike is able to use his intellect and resourcefulness to hide out within Gormenghast, waging a one-man war against the Groans and all their forces. Only stopped by a freak flood, Steerpike defiantly dies snarling his hatred of hero Titus Groan as he passes.
• The Great Greene Heist: To Catch a Cheat: Kayla Hall is a technological prodigy and rival of Caper Crew member Megan Feldman, who Kayla resents after Megan gleefully got her banned from their favorite robotics competition for illegal modifications. Kayla is hired to frame Megan, Jackson and their friends for vandalism and cheating and get them expelled. She loyally abides by the terms of her contract with her employer, even as she comes to dislike him. She repeatedly performs complicated hacking and tinkering jobs in a fraction of the time that Megan assumes it will take her. Despite her ruthlessness toward the Greene crew, she is willing to make polite conversation with them and even offer them some of her mom's cookies. She stands out as the most intelligent enemy Jackson and his friends face, as well as the most affable.
• Guild Hunter: "Venom", real name Tushar, is a suave, cultured vampire, one of the Archangel Raphael's "Seven", and stands out as one of the most ruthless and charismatic vampires in the series. Venom acts as Raphael's enforcer of justice in New York and is able to intimidate and manipulate vampire gangs into doing what he says, with even angels fearing his power. With the power of his Hypnotic Eyes, Venom is able to force the truth from people, using this to help in investigations. A highly ruthless man, Venom will torture and intimidate even fairly hapless individuals into giving him info he uses to help keep the city safe.
• Harry Potter:
  • Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and a cunning schemer. Setting up the fall of his wizard-supremacist ex-lover during the First Wizarding War even while a Blood Pact prevented him from acting directly, Dumbledore went on to take his current position at Hogwarts. When his former student becomes the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore founds the Order of the Phoenix to combat him and his Death Eaters, rescuing Harry Potter after the Dark Lord fails to kill the infant. Planting Severus Snape within the Death Eaters' ranks while keeping Harry safe from harm with an abusive extended family, Dumbledore begins grooming Harry into a hero during his time at Hogwarts: ensuring he risks his life to claim the Philosopher's Stone before Voldemort; and later having him free the wrongfully-accused Sirius Black from prison. Even orchestrating his own death at Snape's hand when cursed with one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Dumbledore ensures Harry is left with all the knowledge to topple their foe. Having known Harry himself was a Horcrux, Dumbledore is revealed to have manipulated Harry's whole life to ensure he is willingly killed by Voldemort to break the Dark Lord's footing on immortality. When Harry manages to ultimately survive Voldemort's fatal attack, he returns to kill their enemy, ultimately accomplishing all Dumbledore had set out to do even from beyond the grave. Having fought for the greater good for his entire life, Dumbledore's legacy not only includes the defeat of Voldemort and Grindelwald, but the creation of the wizarding world's greatest heroes and a new era of peace.
  • The Tales of Beedle the Bard's "The Tale of the Three Brothers": Death is the ghostly figure in charge of taking deceased souls to the afterlife. Angered by three bothers who managed to cheat certain demise by crossing a river that would've killed them, Death pretends to congratulate the brothers and offers them gifts, with the full intent to have them result in the brothers' deaths. Succeeding in killing two of the brothers with the Elder Wand and Resurrection Stone, he only falls short in claiming the third due to his gift being the Invisibility Cloak, which would shield him from Death. When the time came, the third brother gave away his cloak and embraced Death as an old friend, allowing Death to claim the final brother, whom Death respects for using his gift responsibly. These three objects would become the Deathly Hallows, which would make the user "Master of Death", which many wizards falsely believed would make them immortal, when in reality it would have them accept that death is inevitable.
• Haunted Tales of Gothic Love, by Megan Kearney & Derek Spence ("Mistress Fox"): The newly married Lady Fox spins a tale of murder and intrigue during the morning after her wedding night. Informing the guests of how she uncovered her rakish husband's affair with the maid, she provides enough lurid detail to captivate the guests before springing the gory details of her husband removing the maid's hand. After coyly agreeing it was "only a dream," Lady Fox presents the servant's hand to ensure her philandering husband is accused of murder before slipping off in the chaos to murder the servant girl she'd left stashed away and allow the guests to discover the body as a final piece of evidence.
• The Heaven Cycle:
  • The original "Prime" Chayne Summers, The Black Queen of Heaven and Hell, is the brilliant manipulator who comes up with the Heaven Cycle to begin with. Chayne manipulates ten-thousand worlds through their rebirth and eventual destruction while forcing Heaven and Hell alike to dance to her tune to eventually craft a world where Alice "Mint" Witzenberg will use their godly powers for Chayne's benefit. Finally achieving one on the final cycle, Chayne tricks Mint into crafting her perfect Nirvana before taking her daughter Aria, leaving the world to its destruction while she enjoys her perfect paradise with all she once held dear. Finally electing to annihilate reality if she cannot have Aria, Chayne eventually recognizes her shortcomings and uses her last moments to reflect upon the perfect world where she chose to live out her days in peace, accepting Aria's loss and working to better the world, departing at peace with herself at last.
  • From Heaven's Door: Driven to misanthropy after the death of her daughter, Chayne Summers begins plotting — using the Red Clover faction of The Association — to use the energies of the Eldritch Location, Heaven, to wipe out humanity and replace them with a more peaceful race of beings. Placing body doubles throughout the P.A.R.A.D.I.S.E. program's facility to avoid being killed by her participants, Chayne stops at no measure to ensure her utopia comes to fruition. Forced to confront the monster she has become in her final fight with Deuteragonist Mint, Chayne remains unrelenting in her devotion to a perfect world but fights to her last before finally being killed.
  • Heaven and Hell: Erebos, real name Nestor, is the adopted child of the demon lord Azazel and the master of the Sect of the Broken Mind. Manipulating his sect for ages to serve the interests of Hell, even leading them to sacrifice themselves to test his emotions and further the strikes against Heaven, Erebos eventually betrays Azazel to help Tango and their friends at Solomon. When Erebos helps them delve into Hell to save a friend Azazel has captive, Azazel attempts to break Erebos by revealing his entire life and purpose were a line from the start. Erebos promptly turns the tables, enacting a brilliant scheme that results in Azazel's death before Erebos dedicates himself fully to saving the world, making a final stand against the psychotic Archangel Uriel for the fate of the universe.
• Heavy Object: Among the people in a world where war is the norm, the following make a devious record with what they have:
  • Volume 6: Sogia, formerly White Bears leader Yulenzak, body guarded Princess Staivia, Dimiksy's sister. Years ago, he learned of Dimiksy's plan to assassinate Staivia under and his assassination of Excelsyla to obtain her Object, however the conspiracy couldn't be thwarted or slowed. Deciding to go into hiding and stop this plan, Sogia and the White Bears were supposedly killed by fake Information Alliance troops from Dimiksy's faction. However Sogia's unit, having anticipated it, faked their deaths and became Unicorn to thwart Dimiksy from the shadows, even willing to shed their morals. They've also used manipulation to get Qwenthur and Havia reassigned so they learn of Dimiksy's plans. They've also interfered with the duo's operation in Athabasca. When Qwenthur and Havia fight Dimiksy and his Object, Broad Sky Saber, Sogia and Unicorn steal the Forest Roller Object in hopes of using it against the Sky Saber. Unfortunately, the Roller gets destroyed by Dimiksy's laser cannon, having anticipated the attack, which revealed the Object's anti-laser beacon. With Sogia's aid, Qwenthur and Havia corrupt it to make the laser kill Dimiksy and save Staivia in the process.
  • Volume 10: Nyarlathotep, was formerly from the Capitalist Enterprise spy cabal Outer Gods. As a spy, he had numerous times both gotten plastic surgery and faked his death. Once their leader, Azathoth/Acres Kiss-of-Rose, retired and began leading one of the 7th Cores ruling the Capitalist Enterprise, Nyarlathotep retired and became a family man in Soberania. But when his family gets killed in Soberania's destruction at Azathoth's hands, the vengeful Nyarlathotep resorted to psychological warfare in order to start the Gigant Hustler, an event showcasing Object fights. Nyarlathotep then infiltrated the Hustler and sabotaged a participant to draw Azathoth into the event. Once the event is canceled, with one of his Objects destroyed, Azathoth plans an attack to divert attention away from him... only for Nyarly to kidnap and kill him at the remains of Soberania. In order to avert a war between every faction, Nyarlathotep faced a farcical military trial by the Legitimacy Kingdom. He then killed the assassin sent to silence him and faked his death once again, before departing elsewhere.
  • Volume 11: Alisa and her sisters, Rica and Orisa, from the Information Alliance's Martini Series, help Flag Eggnog start wars between the Vanderbilts and the Winchels, and even assisting him with the drug war and the Plasma 177 construction meant to keep him in power. In actuality, they're manipulating Eggnog in order to obtain data on nobles for the Perfect Browsing project, a system that would display how to resolve a worldwide crisis by just typing a text string into a search engine. They start many sample incidents and disasters as possible, preferring to get info from a noble near the top of an enemy world power, using Eggnog who was so dimwitted to believe they're allies. Nearing conclusion of the Celestial Flowers attack, the sisters contact Flag and reveal their true goals and manipulation, noting that they'd now obtained data on the full-speed collapse of a royal's life, planning to upload it entirely for everyone to see, before hanging up on the confused, infuriated prince and leaving him to his ruin.
• Help I Am Being Held Prisoner: Phil Giffin leads a gang of incarcerated criminals who use a tunnel to sneak out of prison for a few hours each day to enjoy the outside and commit crimes while having perfect alibis. He avoids detection through bribery, forming a close-knit unit with his fellow conspirators, and the occasional Seamless Spontaneous Lie. Phil is friendly, generous, and supportive toward new gang member Harry, who secretly wants to avoid being an example of Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook. At the same time Harry never doubts that Phil will kill him if he poses a security risk. Even after six failed attempts to rob two banks during their busiest days of the month, Phil remains unfettered and swears to keep trying if it takes the rest of his life. He succeeds in robbing one of the banks on the seventh try and plans to use his share to open a gym with two of his partners rather than return to a life of a crime. In the last chapter, he reluctantly comes to view Harry's practical joker past and interference with several of the robbery attempts as Actually Pretty Funny and seeks no revenge against him.
• The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time: The brilliant, charming Ueki Kaito ruthlessly takes any means necessary to avenge himself against those who betrayed him after he saved their world. Recruiting a young slave girl, Kaito viciously helps her poison both the slaver and the other slaves, transforming them into goblins and then killing them. Later allowing the Royal Capital to be ravaged by beasts, Kaito uses the destruction of an outer wall to escape. Pained by guilt after an innocent girl is caught in the debris, Kaito henceforth swears to avoid harming the innocent in his quest for vengeance.
• His Dark Materials: Lord Asriel is secretly the father of heroine Lyra Silvertongue and a brilliant, bold man who looks at the natural order of Heaven under the Authority, only to seek to tear it down. Forming secret plans, Asriel kills Lyra's dear friend to open a gate between worlds and gathers whole armies to oppose the forces of heaven while outwitting everyone in his path; from the forces of the aristocracy to heaven, to Lyra and to Lyra's mother Marisa Coulter, his old flame and enemy. Uncovering a plot to kill him via a bomb, Asriel foils it and tears a hole open to the abyss before luring even the monstrous regent of heaven Metatron into a trap to destroy him to save Lyra.
• The Histories, "King Rhampsinitos and the Thief": The Thief is a daring rogue who, together with his brother, steals from the royal treasury. Eventually, his brother is caught in a trap and convinces him to give him a Mercy Kill. King Rhampsinitos hangs the dead body on the wall, but the Thief, implored by his mother, tricks and souses the royal guards and brings the body home for burial. When the king sends his daughter into the city to find the Thief, the latter figures out that scheme. His chief wish now being to outmaneuver the king, he meets with the princess and confesses everything to her – only to escape via yet another prearranged trick when she tries to seize him. Now impressed by such resourcefulness, Rhampsinitos vows to pardon and reward the Thief, so the Thief comes to the palace, tells the king his entire story, and is given the princess's hand in marriage. Cunning and quick-thinking, the Thief is never brought to justice for his stealing and becomes the king's son-in-law by sheer Refuge in Audacity.
• Holes: Katherine Barlow was once a school teacher driven to rage and heartbreak at the racist killing of her African-American lover, Sam. Murdering her town's sheriff for failing to intervene, she becomes the infamous bandit known as "Kissin' Kate", robbing countless men to accumulate a vast amount of wealth. Even at gunpoint, Kate refuses to give up her treasure and as she dies from a poisonous lizard's bite, spitefully tells her interrogator to "Start digging".
• Holmes on the Range:
  • Mike Barson is the crafty, Affably Evil leader of the Give 'Em Hell Boys, a group of train robbers who are viewed as folk heroes for their campaign against the heavy-handed Union Pacific Railroad. One of their robberies unexpectedly nets them a hundred bars of gold, but they can't take it with them and bury it near the train tracks. He and his co-leader Augie Welch tell the rest of the gang that the money will be used to fight against the railroad, but really plan to keep it for themselves. Two months later, they dig up the gold and make a big show to distract the passengers and crew while they hide the gold in the passenger car. They beat up the train's guards and post a bounty on the railroad directors so that all available railroad detectives will be sent after them. Barson and Welch hide on the train's undercarriage, and then in an express car, planning to disconnect the passenger cars and flee with the gold. While he murders multiple witnesses to his actions, Barson is far less cruel than either Welch or their Ax-Crazy mole, displaying some respect and admiration for his adversaries on occasion.
  • Eddie Pegg sets out to steal a valuable diamond and lure Sherlock Holmes out of hiding to be murdered. He does so by assuming the alias of Boothby Greene and entering a mystery-solving contest. Pegg acts like a modest good sport, but one who has the skills to do well in the competition, aided by having murdered the original organizer and tampered with his riles for future tasks. He does a good job of giving himself a fake alibi for one of his crimes: switching places with a waiter and pretending he was waiting on the other detectives under their noses the while evening to show off his skills. Upon being caught, he acts gracefully and tries to divert suspicion away from his friend and accomplice before attempting to shoot a way out for both of them when that fails.
• "Hop-Frog" by Edgar Allan Poe: The titular Hop-Frog is a physically challenged yet athletic court jester who enacts a plan of revenge against the cruel King and his councilors for abusing him and his lover Trippetta. When the King requests he come up with a fitting theme for his masquerade ball, Hop-Frog convinces the King and his councilors to disguise themselves as Orangutans to scare the guests. He also tricks his tormentors into carrying a chain that he's hooked to the chandelier above and leaving him with the only key out of the locked ballroom. As the act commences, Hop-Frog hoists the helpless aristocrats to hang from the chandelier, clambers to the top, and lights them ablaze with a torch. He then exposes their crimes to the shocked crowd before making his escape with Trippetta through the skylight, having left his enemies to burn and earned freedom for himself and his lover.
• Hop-o'-My-Thumb: Tom Thumb was the youngest of seven boys, but he compensated for this with his brain. Learning that his parents were intending on abandoning him and his brothers in the forests, Tom gathers small pebbles to create a pathway home. When they were captured by a voracious ogre, Tom switches gold crowns with bonnets, tricking the ogre into killing his own daughters. When the ogre chased after them for vengeance, Tom takes the opportunity to steal his seven-league-boots and returns to the house to manipulate the ogre's wife into giving him all of the ogre's possessions under the claim that her husband was being held captive. Tom later joins an unnamed court, getting appointed with militaristic tasks, before returning home.
• Horns of the Hunter, by Frank Dorrian: Sile, the Maid of Mael Tulla is a beautiful and mysterious healer who was once the terrifying Arane, who helped her lover Tarbane bring the world to its knees. Seducing both the ferocious Naith and the more gentle Luw, Sile subtly plays them against one another, commanding their affections until she send Naith after Ancu, the god of the dead, to slay him and recover Tarbane's soyl. After feeding Naith's ego, Sile betrays him and leaves him for dead to revive her lover, even if the whole world must burn in the process.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas!: The Grinch is a grumpy, bitter creature that hates Christmas—especially all the noise the Whos make—so much that he decides to steal it from the entire town of Whoville. After crafting a Santa Claus disguise for himself and a reindeer disguise for his dog Max, he enters the Whos' houses one by one while they are asleep and steals their gifts, food, and decorations. When the young Cindy-Lou Who catches the Grinch stealing her family's Christmas tree, he quickly makes up a lie to fool her. After stealing all of Christmas from the Whos, he finds that they can still enjoy Christmas even without them, which makes him see the error of his ways and return the stolen gifts and decorations.
• How to Be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!! & The Villain's Guide to Better Living, by Neil Zawacki: The unnamed author of these villainous guidebooks is a slick, witty mastermind of diabolical proportions whose singular goal is to make the reader a successful evildoer. Unfailingly supportive and polite to the reader, the author encourages equal opportunities for all in villainous careers while promoting healthy romantic and platonic relationships alike. The author has a bevy of wicked schemes and manipulative tactics for dealing with any number of hero, sidekick, or animal companions that could thwart the reader's rise to infamy, for which the author often suggests dealing with in the bluntest, least dramatic ways possible to ensure slim chances of survival for such a heroic foe. Completely committed to the lifestyle of evil and an advocate for both self-acceptance and enlightenment, the author stands as a devilishly charming supervillain defined by genre savviness.
• How to Train Your Dragon: Furious is a gigantic sea dragon who seeks to liberate the Viking Archipelago of humans as revenge for the torment they unleashed on him and his kind. Orchestrating the second dragon rebellion, Furious manages to rally dragons of all nature for his cause and has them execute attacks with frightening efficiency, resulting in close encounters for the heroes. In the climax of the 12th book, Furious eventually sees how the war has made it hell for both sides and calls a truce. With Excellinor heading to impale Hiccup in a murderous rage, Furious flies between Hiccup and the poisoned blade. In his final moments, Furious has dragonkind fly to parts unknown so that there would never be a power struggle between the two species again, with Furious himself heading to the ocean to live his final days in peace.
• The Hunger Games: Plutarch Heavensbee is a commander in the Second Rebellion who infiltrated the Capitol and climbed through the ranks to become Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games and President Coriolanus Snow's right-hand man. Plutarch pitches his idea to have previous winners compete again to Snow, letting Plutarch orchestrate their escape and recruit them to his rebellion. Plutarch also persuaded Snow to commit more crimes at a faster rate, while Plutarch created anti-Snow propaganda to unite all the districts against the tyrant. After successfully invading the Capitol and arresting Snow, Plutarch gives heroine Katniss Everdeen subtle hints that Alma Coin was behind the bombing that killed her sister Prim, leading to Katniss killing Coin. After defending Katniss for Coin's murder and with both Snow and Coin dead, Plutarch is given the power to choose the next president, with Plutarch making sure that whoever he picks will rule the recently liberated-Panem the way he sees fit.
• The Hypnotizer's "The Skyfoogle", by Michael Rosen: The Man goes from town to town promising townsfolk the sight of the mythical Skyfoogle. Paying people to witness the creature in his tent, before the show can begin, the Man frantically warns the audience to evacuate because the Skyfoogle's escaped. Once the people leave the tent in fear, they realize that the Man, their money, and the supposed Skyfoogle have all vanished, with the latter having never existed.

I - J

• I Know What You Did Last Summer: Collingsworth "Collie" Wilson returned from fighting overseas to learn that his little brother David was killed in a hit-and-run and his family shattered by the ordeal. Discovering who the culprits were through the flowers sent to his brother's funeral, Collie vowed to kill them for killing David. Integrating himself into his targets' lives with separate identities, Collie then sends three of the perpetrators notes and newspaper clippings to remind them of the accident and ascertain their guilt, then lures out the other perpetrator by insinuating that there were photos taken of the accident before shooting him, nearly paralyzing him. Collie then attempts to kill two of the perpetrators before being beaten unconscious and arrested, frightening two of his targets into confessing their crime.
• Imprisoned With The Pharaohs by H. P. Lovecraft: Abdul Reis el Drogman, who may or may not be the reanimated mummy of Pharaoh Khephren, presents himself as a humble tour guide to the famed magician Harry Houdini when the latter visits Cairo. Dazzling the illusionist with his knowledge of Egyptian history, Drogman is easily able to deceive him into serving as a referee in a ceremonial duel between himself and another man; the two men with a band of followers thus capture Houdini. Tossed into a dungeon beneath the pyramids, Houdini witnesses Khephren and his undead court perform a bizarre ritual before a giant monster before escaping on sheer blind survival instinct. Finding Drogman vanished without a trace, Houdini reluctantly gives up on ever understanding what truly happened to him that night.
• In Death: NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas, Roarke, and their allies have faced dozens of intelligent criminals, but a select few stand out for their charisma and intelligence:
  • Origin in Death: Deena Flavia is a clone created to be the perfect spy by Dr. Wilfred B. Icove Sr. and Jr. and Dr. Jonah D. Wilson, who rebelled against her masters. Before the series, Deena reinvented herself as a stylish thief and hitwoman and plotted to take down her abusive creators and save the rest of her "sisters", the other clones. Deena pulls off perfect assassinations against the various members of The Conspiracy using various methods: pretending to be a client to take one off-guard and murder them by surprise; and using the spouse of another to trick him into being defenseless before striking and using a disguise to infiltrate the building of one of her other targets. Deena also gets a rare win for a killer in the series, being able to die peacefully with her mission complete and using her last words to clear her conspirators from trouble.
  • "Missing in Death" novella: Ivan Draski, the inventor of the memory-erasing Lost Time device, is a former government scientist who worked for the government when they orchestrated a False Flag Operation to kill his wife and young daughter. When Draski finds out the truth, he plots revenge on Dana Buckley, the assassin who killed his family. Using his device on a ferry passenger to cause a diversion—but making sure she won't suffer any lasting harm—Draski brutally murders Buckley and destroys his device to make sure nobody gets their hands on it. Posing as Buckley, Draski also sets up an auction to sell the device and entrap some "really bad guys", before turning himself in to Eve, willing to face justice when he finds out the man who ordered his family's murder played a role in Eve's childhood.
  • Concealed in Death & Desperation in Death: Sebastian is a relentlessly charming thief and Con Man who helps protect the street children. Sebastian helps train them as thieves and pickpockets, yet also actually does care about them and goes out of his way to ensure they get to live happy lives, even being willing to help Lieutenant Eve Dallas go after far worse monsters to do it. Sebastian is also able to manipulate others with just a few words and helps to dispel threats to both himself and to those under his care.
• Inspector Forsooths Whodunits: Bruce Berringer appears to be a superficial and vain businessman, but hides a cunning and strategic mind. Growing up in a small town with vast ambition, Berringer created his own importing company, while forging connections with influential people to expand his thriving business around the globe. When he's fatally shot by his former friend, the milkman Sean McGillicuddy, Berringer improvises a plan to expose his killer before dying. Using the analog clocks in his office to send a message in semaphore code, Berringer leaves investigators a clue referring to a specific time, knowing the position of the clocks at that time will spell out the word "milkman", identifying McGillicuddy as the guilty party.
• Iron Widow:
  • Wu Zetian begins the novel as a peasant sold as a concubine, meant to be used to have her Qi consumed as a mech pilot so her male partner can fight the supposed invaders, the Hundun. Zetian turns the table and devours the life of her sadistic partner, becoming known as the legendary "Iron Widow". Growing increasingly enraged at the hypocritical, misogynist system, Zetian, along with her two Love Interests, schemes to tear it apart from within and launches a rebellion to become the ruler of it all, culminating in even killing her parents and brother so they may never be used as a threat against her.
  • Gao Yizhi is the rich son of media mogul Gao Qiu, and Wu Zetian's lover. After failing to persuade her into marrying him and abandoning her plans, Yizhi uses his money to gain himself a ranking position by her side, even falling for her partner in crime against Huaxia. Aiding in her schemes, Yizhi joins her in both her battles and plots, proving brilliant time and time again. A smooth-talker and ruthless genius, Yizhi aids Zetian's scheme to torture, interrogate, and murder an official, personally ensuring his drugging and doctoring a photo of his young son to further torment him. When Zetian performs her coup, Yizhi is undaunted by challenge and moral scruples alike, ultimately killing his own father when he attempts to blackmail Zetian.
  • Li Shimin is a Chrysalis pilot and Wu Zetian's unexpected ally, whose might is matched only by his mind. Conscripted into military service after justly killing his brother and forcibly addicted to alcohol, Shimin remorsefully sacrifices countless pilots to ensure his own survival, until Zetian provides him with a way out. Shockingly cultured and even-minded, Shimin struggles to overcome his chronic issues until he is a vital asset to Zetian's revenge, falling in love with Gao Yizhi along the way to victory, whether through torturing and murdering an official or fighting by her side in battle. In the final clash, Shimin makes a last-second move to save Zetian, ejecting her from their Chrysalis fully prepared to die in the process, ensuring her victory against the corrupt system of Huaxia.
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: The Moss Huge is a Dungeon monster classed as an Enhanced Species, due to displaying an uncannily high level of intelligence. It began hunting and killing adventurers, outwitting its prey with traps and trickery, in order to acquire their stashes of magic stones. The Moss Huge first encounters Hestia Familia, just after laying waste to a previous party. It then bombards the heroes with its Leech seed attack, managing to hit Chigusa, where it retreats knowing the adventurers have no choice but to pursue it. Setting a trap involving a decoy of itself standing over two survivors, the Moss Huge waits for the heavy hitters to charge, where it then ambushes the weaker/injured party members at the back. Recognizing Bell Cranel as a threat due to his Firebolt magic, Moss Huge grapples Bell with a vine and sends him down a waterfall to a lower floor. The Moss Huge then unleashed a "pass parade" by aggroing mobs of monsters and sending them to surround Hestia familia, and then devouring the magic stones dropped by slain monsters. The Moss Huge also overcomes its weakness to fire by wrapping itself in fire-resistant Undine Cloth that it stole from adventurers. Outsmarting every adventurer it comes across, the Moss Huge cements itself as one of the deadliest threats of the Dungeon due to its sheer cunning.
• The Isolator: The Liquidizer is a Ruby Eye of ambiguous age who controls her murderous instincts by focusing on her goal of "the extermination of humanity" and an administrator in The Syndicate sheltering Ruby Eyes. Liqudizer keeps control over her superpowered murderers by allowing them to occasionally murder people and tries to get other Ruby Eyes to join. If they decline, she accepts it and warns them about the Jet Eyes of the Specialized Forces Division. Suspecting spies in her apartment, Liquidizer sets a trap that almost kills them and calls her student Ryuu Mikawa—the Trancer—to deal with the reinforcements in battle, only defeated by Minoru's unbreakable barrier. Escaping, Liquidizer deals with the Stinger, a powerful unaligned Ruby Eye, and is forced to ask for help from the SFD to save Trancer. She makes a deal with the Jet Eyes to free her valued student from the custody of the SFD, being successful while dealing with an assailant. An enigmatic woman, Liquidizer also speculates about the nature of Jet and Ruby Eyes, a doubt that she shares with Minoru and Mikawa, making them question their roles in life.
• Jade City: Ayt "Mada" Madashi is the main antagonist of the trilogy. Killing her rivals to become Pillar of the Mountain clan after her father's death, Mada intends to have her clan control the jade market, both legally and illegally. In conflict with the No Peak clan, Mada proves a cunning foe, using assassination and convincing a former member for gathering info, as well as kidnapping the youngest child of the No Peak's leading family to manipulate her rivals. She uses No Peak's murder of a jade smuggler in her plans in order for the Mountain clan to take over his operation to nearly conquer the black market. Mada also manipulates and blackmails a conglomerate head into handing over his business to her, further consolidating her resources and proves herself backed by countless contingencies, even managing to kill the leader of No Peak after her defeat due to one final plan.
• Jamaica Inn: Francis Davey, the vicar of Altarnun, is a seemingly friend albino man who is the true leader of Joss Merlyn's gang of wreckers. Having sought enlightenment in Christianity, Davey abandoned it for his own form of ancient paganism, secretly masterminding the gang's wrecking of ships and murders of their crew while befriended heroine Mary to both manipulate her and keep his identity secret before murdering Joss and his wife Patience. Intending to flee with his wealth, Davey attempts to push Mary to join him in his religion out of his respect for her.
• James Ellroy works:
  • Clandestine: Frederick Upton "Fred(dy)" Underhill begins as a brilliant young policeman chasing the "wonder" of mystery. Feeling guilt after the brutal murder of a woman with whom he had a one night stand and the death of his partner, Fred begins his own investigation to solve her killing. Assigned to work with Dudley Smith, Dudley's own brutality leads to a wrongful conviction for which Fred is fired from the department as a scapegoat. When another woman turns up dead, Fred works independently, posing as an insurance investigator while intimidating witnesses, finally discovering the Serial Killer and coming up with a plot to flush him out and kill him, rescuing the killer's abused son along the way.
  • The L.A. Quartet's L.A. Confidential & White Jazz: Edmond Jennings "Ed" Exley is an opportunistic but well-intentioned young policeman and the only intellectual rival to the vile Dudley Smith in the LAPD. Coming up with a lie to paint himself as a war hero, Ed quickly rises as a cop thanks to his brilliance and wealthy father Preston's backing, exposing a racist beating of minority inmates by writing a version of events that depicts Ed as the most moral of his colleagues. Later promoted to Captain, Ed overcomes the manipulations of Dudley and his own disgruntled lover to uncover the truth behind the Nite Owl massacre, leveraging a successful reopening of it and being promoted to Chief of Detectives, even as Preston kills himself in shame at Ed threatening to expose his father's deceitful past. As Chief, Ed ruthlessly schemes to clean up the department by exposing the corrupt Narcotics officers to the investigating FBI agents, turning a crooked officer into his pawn in the plot. Ed also turns another young officer into a mole to use against Dudley, eventually taking his evil rival down, even with the death of his mole, and later moves into politics while continuing to devote himself to absolute justice.