Spoiler for like, any book existing.
I think mine has to be the villain in Mirror Man. Idk, he wasn’t intimidating, he wasn’t interesting. He was meh.
Also the villains from The Chain. Dear God they weren’t sympathetic in the slightest. The book tries to act like they were atleast pitiful but FROM THEIR INCEPTION, they were just evil assholes who enjoyed causing pain. The book itself wasn’t all that great anyways.
Iago from Othello. He did so much damage and it’s not even clear why. I love hating him.
Because he felt slighted by the attention Othello was receiving.
He’s an awesome, relatable villain. Excellent choice!
I worry if you find Iago relatable… he’s pretty damn irredeemable in pretty much every way.
Isn’t he simply envious and jealous, probably because he feels inferior to Othello? No great ambition, no wrong done against him, simply basic hateful feelings getting the best of him because he perceives himself to be less worth.
That’s what is so great about him, it is very real life-like, I’ve known people like this or have been told about them from other people’s experiences.
He never actually explains his true motivation, which is why he’s such a great villain. His last line:
“Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word.“
Jealousy is a common interpretation. But there are also hints he might be sexually attracted to Othello. Or hated him because he was a Moor. Or maybe he just did it because he’s a sociopath and he wanted to.
Torments will ope his lips.