It is a well-established fact that we intend to take over the world. We have given ample warnings in outros to most of our posts. If you are the sort of reader who skips the outros - good job, you are now unprepared and defenseless. Fear not, however. There is ample time to join our team as we assemble the good, the bad and the very handsome (because villains are nothing if not handsome in half the books we read) in this quest for world domination. As you debate whether to join this winning team or attempt to be the lovable underdog to thwart us (pick the former - we have chocolate; you can thank us later), we are gathering up the resources available to us as we meticulously plan Stage 1. 

 Chief among those resources is the Villain Squad tag, created by Kassidy, Lainey, Mallory and Whitney over on YouTube. 

 October, they reason is an excellent time to be villainous.

 We tend to agree.

 And while Natalie traverses the European north in search for Vikings, vampires and Fjerdans to recruit for our cause, Lexie is setting about assembling the villainous team right here, at The Honest Bookclub. A mwahahaha is in order, so... Mwahahaha! Enjoy.



Think of your own villain identity and power!


 Choosing a supervillain identity is the easiest thing in the world when people routinely call you Lex Luthor in real life. So you may henceforth call me Lexie Luthor, Lex's long-lost long-haired sibling. As far as superpower, I claim the same one in any world-dominance endeavor, and that is teleportation. It's wanderlust on megical steroids, and it's all kinds of perfect in elegant plan execution as well as hands-on combat. Bring it on, world.

The Leader - Pick a villain to lead the squad


 Alongside myself, you mean? Quite apart from my unhealthy obsession, Rhysand from ACOTAR is an obvious (and obviously perfect) choice. For one, he is a mind reader /manipulator (and an explanation as to why I didn't choose mind control as my very own villainous superpower - I knew who the Clyde to my Bonnie would be) - the kind to get whole crowds to behave just as he wants them to. And if someone dares do otherwise - he can blow their minds (quite literally) without lifting a finger. For another, as High Lord of the Night Court, he has an army of Fae loyal and willing to go to war at his beckoning. On top of this, Rhysand is the master of scheming, a seamless manipulator in matters of underworld politics, and morally dubious in practically every way imaginable. Talk about a whole package.

The Killer Smile - Pick a villain who is extremely attractive


 Well, Rhysand. But in the spirit of picking different characters and not boring people to death, this is where The Darkling from the Grisha trilogy comes into play. As attractive inside as he is on the outside, The Darkling is subtle grace and heaps of charm and the looks to tempt even the truest of hearts. (Case in point: Alina.) We also happen to share the same name, so it's both convenient and serendipitous.


The Loose Canon - Pick a villain who marches to the beat of their own drum


 Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles was going to find herself on this list one way or another. The world is ripe for the taking, we are ready to take it, and Queen Levana has a propensity for world domination (we're talking multiple worlds, too). It works out great for everyone. Casting Levana in this particular role certainly fits best, as Levana has proven herself ready to, uhm, team up, if it means acquiring the world as a result. But she has also proven to be working her own agenda on the side each and every single time. Levana would certainly need to be watched. But she'd be as invaluable to the team as she is fascinating.

The Unhinged One - Pick a villain who isn't playing with a full deck


 Jack Torrance. For reasons which shall make themselves known to you if you read The Shining. And which can all be summed up in a single...


The Redeemer - Pick a villain who is on a path of redemption/would play both sides


Given my current obsession love of Six of Crows, I would say that any of those thieving, conniving, scheming, wonderful, precious, beautiful anti-hero outcast misfits qualify. I am therefore breaking the rule and choosing them all! Isn't that what villains do? When I take over the world, there shall be no rules! Except for the ones I institute. (Isn't that also how villains go about doing things?) As far as Six of Crows, however, the one who qualifies best is without question Kaz Brekker. That lovely, sensitive, murderous soul. How I love him so. (But I'm choosing them all, you hear?)



The Evil One - Pick a villain who is just bad to the bone


I'm tempted to pick one of the Lannisters, because... let's face it. That's just a bloodline of evil and wickedness. But the truth is, I don't want any of those pricks on our villainous team. The one bad-to-the-bone villain I would (and do) very much appreciate, however, is the wickedly brilliant Dr. Hannibal Lecter. For obvious reasons which are obvious. (If not - read the books, and obvious they shall become. It's going to be Required Reading when we take over the world, anyway. Might as well get a head start. This is the one instance, however, where the movies are also an acceptable alternative. Because Anthony Hopkins.)


The Once-Was-Good - Pick a villain who didn't originally start out as a villain


No villain starts out as a villain, if the series is well-written, methinks. But my favorite of The Converted and one I most definitely want partaking in any world-taking endeavor I institute is the lovely, charming, villainous Victor Vale from the lovely, charming, villainous Vicious by the lovely and charming (but not villainous, to the best of my knowledge) Victoria Schwab. (Although Victor-Victoria... hmmm.) All Victor wanted was to leave a mark. And power. Was it his fault that he went the supervillain way rather than the superhero one? Well, that's up to you to decide. (Read the book. Now. Read it. I recommend very few books without a caveat of I liked it, but you might not, just try it and see... No. This one, just... no caveat. Read it.)


This, for the record, is the place in each post where we subtly work in our world domination schemes through various subliminal messages. And by subtly and subliminal messages, we mean that we bonk you over the head with them. We're inconspicuous like that.

As for the tags... ah, the tags. Despite our never having seen a tag on Cait Grace's Paper Fury blog, we do so love to stalk it. Mostly because - like us - Cait has big world domination plans. (Unlike us, however, she also has a significant army at her disposal already.) Either way, we tag Cait to assemble a fictional army to stand alongside the real one. We also tag Charnell @ Reviews From A Bookworm, who just celebrated her blogoversary (and what better celebration than assembling a world-overaking team?). Have at it, future tyrants! And may the most overlordly overlord win!