I’m excited to have Vashti here today to talk about her new book “Rise of Gadreel.” It’s a great read! Click to see my review.
Hi, everyone! Welcome. Thank you for inviting me to your blog, Denise!
Every story needs its hero and its villain. They are both important to the plot. I enjoy a villain who believes he’s the hero in the story. I also enjoy a villain who is clever, proud, vengeful, deceitful, merciless, and who totally embraces his dark side.
These are a few of my favorite villains:
Annie Wilkes from Stephen King’s Misery. A nurse and serial killer, Annie, rescues her favorite novelist Paul Sheldon from certain death after a horrible automobile accident. She sweetly nurses him back to health, only to break his legs with a sledgehammer after she finds out his plan to end her favorite novel series. She loved him, but she had to save him from himself. 😉
Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. Cersei was extremely clever and had many of the same characteristics of a hero but was completely misdirected. Everything she did was for “the good of the family,” especially, her kids, which she adored. Unfortunately, her eldest son and daughter were poisoned, and her youngest committed suicide.
Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. Dr. Hannibal Lector was charming, classy, well read, and highly intelligent. He was also a terrifying, serial killing, cannibal psychiatrist. He knew what he was and embraced his evil ways completely.
In The Rise of Gadreel, the main villain is Satan, who escapes his earthly prison with the help of Lilituen witches by absorbing the body and essence of a young sorcerer, Abigor Chailín. Abigor volunteered to be Satan’s vessel, even though he knew he would perish. During the process of absorption Abigor’s knowledge, experience, and innate magical powers passed on to Satan, who would take over his identity. The following excerpt is in Abigor Chailín’s (Satan’s) voice.
Excerpt:
The day moved at the pace of a three-toed sloth, and when evening came at last, bodies willing and able to do my bidding crammed the great hall.
“The time has come,” I said. “Gadreel and her allies, dubbed the Fearless Five, shall enter the gates of London soon, and we must be ready.”
A Lilituen monk stepped forward, his head hung to avoid eye contact, and he wrung his hands as he spoke. “Many have spoken of a persuasive phantom who accompanies Gadreel, as well as a warrior priest who shifts into a fiend at will, a mighty sorceress, and a rock giant.”
I watched him squirm for a while, and then stepped toward him.
“Look at me!” I said. His eyes met mine. “Peasants tend to exaggerate, making issues appear grander than they are. But even if matters were as they claimed, who cares? Have we not formidable warriors and sorcerers in our midst? And most importantly, you have me, and there is not a creature on Earth who can defeat me. Do you disagree?”
“No, Master,” he said. “The people of London, especially the peasants, suffer cold, sickness, and hunger. Their opinion of you, Master, if I may speak freely”—he paused and waited for my permission to go on—“has declined.”
“And why should I care about the opinions of peasants?”
“Because they may decide to join forces with the Fearless Five against us.”
“You stand in a room filled with mighty warriors, sorcerers, and demons, and you are worried about a handful of emaciated farmers? Oh ye of little faith.”
“God is on their side,” the monk said.
“You forget God is up there, and I am down here.” And with those words I placed my hands on the monk’s head, whispering a spell under my breath.
Soon, my hands took on a green aura, and his face came to be the color of a pickled cherry. He convulsed, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, blisters distorting his skin as it darkened to the color of a ripe plum. Steam exploded from his ears, followed by dark blood which also oozed from his eyes and mouth. I lifted my hands and he crumbled, dead, to the ground.
“Take away this filth,” I instructed my servants. They came forth and did my bidding in haste. “Anyone else have doubts? There’s no time for misgivings. Either you are with me or against me. Decide which it is, here and now.”
The assembled remained quiet.
“I shall take your silence to mean that you are with me and ready to do all that I ask of you. The whole of England is in peril, and so is the church. I’ll restore order, and the people shall keep the faith. First, drastic measures are required.”
Lilituens – A sect of witches and sorcerers which include demons and half-breeds with innate magical powers.
Fearless Five – A band of heroes that defend and protect human beings from evil forces. Gadreel, Dracúl, Thomas, Sabina, and Golem make up the Fearless Five.
Amazon Purchase Link
I hope you enjoyed the post. Thank you for visiting!
LINKS:
Another great book tour post, Vashti. Wising you all the very best. I love Annie Wilkes as a villain too, lols. Definitely one of my faves 🙂
Denise, thanks so much for hosting Vashti today 🙂
I’m happy you enjoyed the post, Harmony! Thank you very much. Annie is one of the best villains I’ve read, and the movie adaptation was great too. 😉
I love Anne Wilkes asa villian too. Chilling and funny. I’m happy to host, Harmony:)
Congratulations, Vashti. I’m looking forward to reading The Rise of Gadreel. Your Book Tour stops increase my excitement about the read. Thank You, Denise, for announcing the book and providing a the lovely showcase. 😊
Yay! That’s marvelous, Gwen! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you! <3
It’s a great read , Gwen, and I’m happy to help spread the word:)
Thank you, Denise. 🙂
Ah, villains. I love them so. Hannibal is among my favorites. Annie Wilkes, too. Loved this post. And I’m so happy to see your tour still going strong. Wishing you all the best, Vashti.
Thanks, Denise.
Aren’t villains fun? I love them too. Hannibal is definitely one of the best. I read that the character was a combination of several real life serial killers. 😮 I’m delighted that you loved this post, Staci! Thank you.
Vashti listed some great villians and had some of her own in her story, Staci 🙂 Thanks, for dropping by!
I positively LOVE the opening line of your excerpt, Vashti–“The day moved at the pace of a three-toed sloth.” Awesome!
I’m familiar with two of the villains you listed. You picked some good ones!
Happy tour day and great job hosting, Denise!
Ha, ha! I’m thrilled that you loved that line. I rewrote it at least three times before I got it right. I love villains. They are an important part of the story, and I usually give them a voice and free rein, at least for a while, so that they think they’re the hero in the story. 😉 Thank you!
Isn’t that a great line, Mae with the sloth? Vashti did pick some amazing villians.
I’m happy to be a part of the tour:)
Best wishes on the book, Vashti. Thanks to Denise for hosting.
Thank you, John! Have a fabulous day!
You as well.
Happy to, John:) Thanks for stopping by and supportimg Vashti!
😁
Hi, Denise! Thank you for hosting this leg of my book tour. I’m excited to be your guest today. <3
Hi Vashti! I’m glad to be a part of your book launch and hope you get lots of new readers. Xo
Awww. I’m so grateful for you. <3
All the best with the new release, Vashti! I look forward to hosting you on Saturday. Thank you for sharing, Denise!
Thank you very much, Mark! I’m grateful for your support. 😀
I’m always happy to host, Mark 🙂 I will be sure to drop by on Saturday!
Great discussion of villains. Hannibal Lechter definitely tops my list.
It show how important the villian is, Jacqui. I’m a fan of all of these villians, they are unforgettable and stand out more than the other characters 🙂
I don’t tend to like antagonist-driven books but you’ve picked the exceptions.
Hi, Jacqui! He’s going down as one of the best for sure. Thanks for stopping by!
Jacqui, ‘The Rise of Gadreel’ is not an antagonist driven book. The villain is a forceful character, but Gadreel (the hero) drives the story.
Villains are an important part of any story and some of them stay to haunt! Your villains are fabulous Vashti. Wishing you all the best with this book tour. Thank you Denise for this lovely post.
That’s a marvelous thing to say! Having memorable villains in my stories is important to me. Thank you, Balroop! Denise is a fabulous host, I’m excited to be on her blog. 😀
A good villain can stay with you long after you read the book, Balroop:) I agree Vashti’s villian certainly does that.
I’m happy to promote this great read!
Wow! I think this might be my favorite excerpt so far. So much going on in the short piece. Thank you for hosting today, Denise and best wishes to Vashti!
I’m happy to hear that, Jan! Thank you for stopping by and for all your support. <3
It is a chilling moment when he established his control fully, Jan. I’m happy to share Vashti’s book!
This looks like a fascinating book – right up my alley. Better add it to my pile!!
Great choice of villains too, Vashti, especially Annie Wilkes – now there’s a nurse you could do without! Great post Denise.
Update: Just grabbed The Fall of Lilith, and am going to bump it up my pile!
Yay! Thank you so much, Jessica! I hope you enjoy it. 😀
I’m happy you think so, Jessica! Thank you! Misery is one of my favorite Stephen King books and it’s mostly due to her.
Have to agree 😁
You have some good reading ahead of you, Jessica:)
Great to see Vashti making the rounds today Denise. Well deserved praise for this fantastic series <3
I agree Debby:) It’s a fantastic series to get lost in.
Agreed! 🙂
Thank you, Debby! <3
This is one for me to read, I love Vashti’s writing and I do love a good villain! Thanks for sharing Denise. <3 x
This is a good one, Marje:) I loved this whole series and Vashti has great villians.
Yes definitely. 🙂
Hi, Marje! Thank you for the kind words, my friend. I’m happy you’ve enjoyed my other books. <3
Hi Vashti I certainly did. Looking forward to reading more when I get on top of my TBR pile. <3
Another magnificent offering from Vashti. Thanks for sharing, Denise. Hugs to you both.
It was a fantastic tour and book 🙂 Hugs back!
Great discussion of villain on this post, Vashti. Best wishes on your book. Thank you for hosting, Denise!
It was a good discussion Mairiam, I agree. Vashti knows how to do villians.
Yes, she does, Denise. Her villians are evil but not violent.
That’s how I prefer my villians:)