The Big Bad Read

[Lalwendë]

Shock Horror!

A poll on books in which Tolkien does not come top! But he does come second. Or rather Sauron does. There was a poll taken to find who's the best villain in a book (including comics).

But he's not my favourite villain from Tolkien's books. My favourite is Saruman. I think Sauron is just too rotten to be a really enjoyable villain; Saruman on the other hand is someone good who went bad, and we see his deceptions close up. Plus he gets me thinking about just what it was that he was up to, breaking light and making rings and all that scientific stuff. You don't really know where you are with Saruman, but you just know that Sauron is bad.

Who's your favourite villain in the books? Is Sauron a 'good' villain?

I especially like how in this poll the third named, Mrs Coulter, is still a villain only on the page. Did the films make Sauron seem more scary than he does in the books?