Villains Victorious

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Contributor), David Bischoff (Contributor)

This wicked anthology includes 14 original stories featuring villains who actually win in the end. Includes stories by Ed Gorman, Rosemary Edgehill, Tim Waggoner, Fiona Patton, and others.

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. A decent collection of stories in which the "bad guy" wins. Most of the stories are just okay and quickly forgettable but there are a few standouts. "Horror Show" by Tim Waggoner about a washed up monster actor who meets his on screen character is worth reading as is "To Speak With Angels" by Michelle West about a saint who travels to hell to question Satan (though this one is not a bad guy wins story). Also pretty good is "Doubting Thomas" that will make you see Santa Claus in a whole new light.

Overall, decent but not great. Squarely between "okay" and "I like it."

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In (mostly) reverse order, here are the stories in this anthology:
"Heroes and Villains" A poignant and well-written story showing that villains are just as important as heroes, and necessary.
"To Speak with Angels" - what happens with a living saint comes to Hell to speak with Lucifer?
"King of Thorns" - when being a Master Assassin just isn't good enough "The Usurper Memos" - What could drive a king to give up his throne?"
"Death Mage - necromancy and politics make strange bedfellows
"Horror Show" - asks the question: What if the monsters, through the adulation of fans, were to become real?
"Nina" - who will take whatever steps are necessary to be free ...
"Souls to Take - Braunbeck tells the story of one of the last doctors performing abortions in Cincinnati, who gets entwined with a soul reaper. Sure to cause discord in any discussion!
"A New Man - in which a most surprising deal is made
"The Whiteviper Scrolls" in which a young Whiteviper is outvillained.
"Doubting Thomas - in which we learn the truth about Santa Claus
"All Things Being Relative - Tanya Huff - HILARIOUS take on the Dark Queen
"The Mould of Form" - introduces us to the origins of one of the most famous piratical villains ever The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey - where Sherlock Holmes is bested by Professor Moriarty shortly after their introduction

A good book, with lots of great stories, in which the villains are ultimately victorious. Highly recommended for anyone and everyone.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOTTOM LINE: Martin Greenberg & Jon Helfers have edited this delicious volume of 14 mysterious (but mostly) SFF short stories, a nicely twisted collection of tales wherein the bad guys get to, if not always win, at least explain themselves; all stories written 2001 for anthology.

Bischoff, David: The Whiteviper Scrolls
—

Braunbeck, Gary & Snyder, Lucy: Souls to Take
—

Crowther, Peter: Heroes and Villains
—

Davis, R.: King of Thorns
—

Dungate, Pauline E.: Nina
—

Edgehill, Rosemary: The Mould of Form
— a famous childhood villain gets his due, and his name; superb!

Gorman, Ed: A New Man
—

Huff, Tanya: All Things Being Relative
— the chancy business of working for an evil queen

Patton, Fiona: Death Mage
—

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: Doubting Thomas
— subtle, scary tale about childhood legends and grownup paranoia

Sherman, Josepha: The Usurper Memos
—

Tremayne, Peter: The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey
— almost funny Holmesian pastiche; one of my least liked forms, but decent

Waggoner, Tim: Horror Show
—

West, Michelle: To Speak With Angels
—

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few of these stories are of the "sympathize with the villain" type. Many are simply disturbing because... well, the villains are unquestionably bad people, and they flat out win.

While thoughtful, it's also a disconcerting read. These are almost uniformly bad people. They aren't supposed to just win, and it's strange to read. Thought provoking, but strange. Some pull it off better than others.

The last three stories are the strongest - The Usurper Memos is a somewhat predictable but amusing tale. To Speak With Angels is very thought provoking and beautiful as well. And Heroes and Villains gets major kudos for its ultra-realistic look at an often sensationalized genre.

In all, I'm glad I read it. Those addicted to happy endings... well, the title's serious.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthology.

1. All Things Being Relative by Tanya Huff. Cute story about an evil queen who got one over on Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. The ending wasn't as good though. I don't know what's so bad about a trilogy. ***

I realized as I read this that villains are not very entertaining over and over again. I got tired of this book and stopped reading it. So I'm giving this book a 3 star rating for the one story I finished.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction by John Helfers

All Things Being Relative by Tanya Huff
This was an okay story that tied in many a fairytale

The Mould of Form by Rosemary Edghill
An excellent prequel to the “villain” Captain Hook

The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey by Peter Tremayne Oh how I loved this Sherlock Holmes tale…and it benefited in having us already familiar with the characters…one of the things that can bog down a short story

Doubting Thomas by Kristine Kathryn Rusch I shan’t ruin this gem of a tale, but the villain is not one you expect

The Whiteviper Scrolls by David Bischoff This started out as not one of my faves…but by the end I was looking for more of the Whiteviper scrolls

A New Man by Ed Gorman Big fun..a quick little tale with a nod to a real life villain

Souls to Take by Gary A. Braunbeck and Lucy Snyder Disturbing as this tale takes place in a world where a woman’s choice has been taken away..sound familiar?

Nina by Pauline E. Dungate This was a great story about a woman taking control. Villain? Perhaps.

Horror Show by Tim Waggoner I have watched enough horror movies to appreciate this for all it is.

Death Mage by Fiona Patton Not one of my favorites

King of Thorns by R. Davis Had me wanting to read The Hunger Games again, an enjoyable but hostile and devious game to win the King of Thorns

The Usurper Memos by Josepha Sherman I liked the style, told in memos.

To Speak with Angels by Michelle West A entertaining trip to Hell.

Heroes and Villains by Peter Crowther This is the perfect ending to this anthology. Reminds me of the movie Mr.Frost

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly as I like my anthologies to be – introduction to the collection then introductions to each author before either stories. All anthologies have stories you like and ones you don't, a great anthology will have a few stories that you love. In this one, I loved Ed Gorman's "A New Man" and Braunbeck's & Snyder's "Souls to Take" best of all. None of the fourteen stories tackle what a villain is or how they might be victorious in the same way but we have a full range from pulp crime to science fiction, from comedy to horror. I highly recommend this collection.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection gets three and a half stars from me. As usual, a few stories just didn’t work, but there were enough standouts to make it worth picking up. The best amongst them are: All Things Being Relative, Doubting Thomas, Horror Show, and Specter of Tullyfane Abbey.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

first all-the-way read-through 6/28/2005
♦ "All Things Being Relative" by Tanya Huff read 6/7/2005 (collected in Relative Magic and again in Nights of the Round Table) reread 3/9.2015

"The Mould of Form" by Rosemary Edghill read 6/11/2005
"The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey" by Peter Tremayne read 6/10/2005
"Doubting Thomas" Kristine Kathryn Rusch read 6/13/2005
"The Whiteviper Scrolls" by David Bischoff read 6/15/2005
"A New Man" by Ed Gorman read 6/14/2005
"Souls to Take" by Gary A. Braunbeck and Lucy A. Snyder read 6/12/2005
"Nina" by Pauline E. Dungate read 6/24/2005
"Horror Show" by Tim Waggoner read 6/25/2005
"Death Mage" by Fiona Patton read 6/6/2005
"King of Thorns" by R. Davis read 6/23/2005
"The Usurper Memos" by Josepha Sherman read 6/22/2005
"To Speak With Angels" by Michelle West read 6/21/2005
"Heroes and Villains" by Peter Crowther read 6/20/2005

[Saul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splendid assortment of stories by the great Martin H. Greenberg. I would also point out that David Bischoff has a wonderful story here called, "The Whiteviper Scrolls". It's the adventurous story of the nefarious Vincemole Whiteviper, full of action, intrigue and humor. It made laugh out loud and was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. The book is worth reading for this one story alone.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the majority of the short stories in this book aren't terribly good or interesting, there are a few notable exceptions:
Death Mage by Fiona Patton
The Usurper Memos by Josepha Sherman
and to a lesser extent
Heroes and Villains by Peter Crowther