The 2019 Silmaril Awards: Vote for the Most Nefarious Villain in Fantasy

By Zachary TotahCharacters, Fantasy, Silmarillion Awards

The time has come to cast your votes in the 2019 Silmaril Awards.

Many villains are cruel and evil. But who shall claim the coveted title of Most Nefarious Villain?

That’s up to you.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped kick off the Awards last week. So many nominations (90 in all 😱). So many delightfully despicable characters. SO MUCH FANTASY FUN.

Some were obscure. Some famous. The competition was fierce, and in the end, two utterly villainous rogues were tied for the final spot.

Which meant I had to make the impossible decision to send one home.

Turned out to be Voldemort. Let’s hope I’m alive for next year’s Silmaril Awards. 😨

(I looked a lot like Harry Potter back in the day, so I guess it’s ironic and fitting? *gulp*)

Anywho…despite the love (hate?) shown for all the villains, only the 5 deemed the worst of the worst made it to this week’s voting round.

Let’s meet them.

Finalists for the Most Nefarious Villain in Fantasy

Death-in-Life (The Dragon) – Tales of Goldstone Wood

13 nominations

Whether he walks as a tall, pale-skinned man or a massive, black-scaled dragon, Death-in-Life has been known to strike terror in the hearts of many. The lives of men mean little to him, to the point that he gambles with his evil sister for their souls.

Deathly poison clouds any place he settles. With a kiss on the brow, he steals the hearts of the unguarded and turns them into dragons themselves. He is so feared that his name has become a curse.

Brother (Pinocchio) – Deadwood

11 nominations

Brother/Pinocchio is a failed attempt by the mad alchemist Geppetto to create a living soul synthetically using magic. He knows he’s not truly alive, and as a result, he loathes all living beings.

He acts like a spoiled child but has the power to possess and manipulate any and all dead wood. He hates his true name, Pinocchio, and prefers to go by Brother as an homage to the brotherhood of other experimental creatures made by Geppetto.

Originally, he was a wooden puppet, but after he was driven out of his home city of Vetri, he stopped taking any humanoid form and existed as a disembodied entity inhabiting wood. He came to Neverica by possessing a ship, then eventually took the form of an entire town on the Western frontier…Deadwood.

There, he amuses himself by manipulating the lives of the town’s citizens, seeing them as his toys. Instead of building an actual body for himself, he either speaks right out of the walls or turns a living creature into a puppet to speak for him.

Lord Whitlock – Beaumont and Beasley

10 nominations

Lord Whitlock is a tall, powerfully built man in his 50s with steel-gray hair and a deep, menacing voice. He has the ability to cast spells using runes (glowing symbols in the air). He takes pleasure in intimidating people and enjoys being evil.

But even worse, he’s a failed Chosen One. He rebelled against attempts to mold him into a hero in his youth, and decided he preferred to instill fear rather than admiration or respect. Over the course of his life, his nature warped even further until he wanted to become a literal monster. His sole desire now is to be a terrifying, powerful being on par with the darkest creatures in his world.

Davira – The Ilyon Chronicles

9 nominations

Princess Davira is daughter of the tyrannical Emperor of Arcacia. With rich dark hair and green eyes, her exotic beauty is beyond measure. But her demeanor is cold and condescending. Beneath her physical appearance lies a disdainful, calculating, and ruthless attitude. Her cruelty even extends to her kind brother, Prince Daniel, whom she hates deeply. She desires to rule and will do anything to put herself upon the kingdom’s throne.

Bonifer Squoon – The Wingfeather Saga

8 nominations

Bonifer seems to have lived more than his share of years, as displayed by his stooped posture, wispy white hair, and cracking voice. He’s an amicable, kind fellow—on the surface.

But beneath that grandfatherly façade lurks an evil as deep and dark as a mine shaft. And once the spider-like core is revealed, it’s impossible to take him for anything but the worst of beings. Poisoned by hatred and jealousy, his heart knows nothing but the desire for vengeance. Anything good he does is for his own selfish, twisted gain.

He’s little more than a traitorous rat. And like a rat he slinks in the shadows, devising his schemes unnoticed until it’s too late.

It’s Time to Vote!

Get out those virtual pencils and prepare to cast your votes. You can only vote for one character from each category…so choose carefully!

And be sure to drop by all the other awards for descriptions of the finalists:

Most Magnificent Dragon – Kyle Robert Shultz

Most Epic Hero – DJ Edwardson

Most Epic Heroine – Jennette Mbewe

Most Silver Tongue – Deborah O’Carroll

Most Mischievous Imp – Madeline J. Rose

Wisest Counselor – Jenelle Schmidt

Least Competent Henchman – Christine Smith

Most Faithful Friend – E.E. Rawls

Strangest Character – Tracey Dyck

Cast your votes using the handy-dandy form below.
powered by Typeform

VOTING ENDS THIS FRIDAY AT PRECISELY 11:59 PM (CST). SO GET THOSE VOTES IN!

Or Umbridge might show up and try to “persuade” you using her devilish methods. (She’s already upset she got left out this year, so it’s probably best not to push your luck.)

P. S. Big thanks to my fellow Silmarites, who provided descriptions for all the characters except Bonifer. Because apparently I’m not as well-acquainted with fantasy villains as I should be. 🙄

Let’s chat: Who are you rooting for to be chosen as the Most Nefarious Villain? Who do you think will win? Sound off in the comments!

52 thoughts on “The 2019 Silmaril Awards: Vote for the Most Nefarious Villain in Fantasy”

  1. Pingback: Vote for the Most Magnificent Dragon in the Silmaril Awards! – Kyle Robert Shultz
  2. Pingback: Silmaril Awards Voting + Top 5 Silver Tongue Nominees! (2019) | The Road of a Writer
  3. Pingback: Vote for Most Epic Heroine! – J.L. Mbewe

  4. It was a tie up between Brother and Lord Whitlock but in the end I think I’m voting for Lord Whitlock since he’s the one who unleashed and impowered Brother in a way.*looking nervously at wood around me*
    You’re a very scary villain in your own right too..*backing away slowly*

    Reply
  5. Pingback: Jenelle Schmidt Silmaril Awards Voting Form

  7. Hilariously enough, Bonifer is the ONLY one I’m not familiar with. The others I am quite acquainted with and oooooh goodness. This is gonna be HARD.

    Also, I admire your bravery in choosing to NOT vote for He Who Must Not Be Named. Harry would definitely be proud! XD

    Reply

    1. Yeah, guess I know who I’m voting for. 😂 He’s truly loathsome. And in unexpected ways, which almost makes it worse.

      Haha thanks! It was SO HARD TO CHOOSE. Cause like Bonifer is horrible but Voldemort is basically the epitome of a villain. So yeah, relating to your pain of deciding who to choose.

      Reply

    1. I KNOW! And glad you enjoyed it!

      Yeah, I’ll probably have to stay locked up in my house cause magic spell protection and all that. 😛

      Reply

  9. Yipes! You-Know-Who ain’t going to be happy… o.o

    This category is actually easy for me this time around, since the only one I know is Death-in-Life. So many books I still need to read!

    Reply

    1. Nope. Heard rumors he’s already planning a little appearance at the award announcement…

      Haha, that simplifies things for sure. And yeah, I can relate on the massive TBR.

      Reply

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