Five top fantasy novels about deeply-flawed, despicable people

Myke Cole is the author of the Shadow Ops series.

One of his "top five fantasy novels with deeply-flawed, nasty, rotten, mean, horrid, and downright fascinating protagonists," as shared at the Tor blog:

The Warden, from Low Town by Daniel Polansky

The Warden is a mid-level criminal boss, running drugs, prostitution and theft rackets in the worst neighborhoods of his city. He’s a thief, a murderer, a pusher and a lowlife of the worst kind. But he also runs a bar with his best friend, reluctantly fosters a runaway, and still finds time to save the world.

The Warden dreams of being something more than just a thug, while still embracing the tools of his dark trade. The conflict between ends and means make the character and the book.

Read about the other entries on the list.

My Book, The Movie: Low Town.

Writers Read: Daniel Polansky (September 2011).

--Marshal Zeringue