Book Review :: Vicious by VE Schwab

Vicious by V.E. Schwab
ISBN: 0765335344
Series: Villains #1
Published by Tor
on 24 September 2013
Pages: 368
Goodreads

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

Last updated on 22 May 2023

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What is Vicious by VE Schwab about?

Vicious, by VE Schwab, tells the story of Victor and Eli, college students about to submit their proposals for their yearly projects. Eli has this interest in EOs – ExtraOrdinary people. Victor starts looking into adrenaline. But when their interests collide in one of Eli’s theories, they find themselves risking death to see if this seemingly supernatural mix of adrenaline and death makes someone an EO.

They succeed.

10 years later, Victor has just sprung himself and one other, a man named Mitch, out of jail. They pick up a girl from the side of the road and together they track down Eli who has turned more into a villain than Victor ever thought he could. Can they stop Eli from killing people? Is Victor’s ExtraOrindary gift one that will help or hinder?

My thoughts on Vicious

I really enjoyed Vicious, by VE Schwab. While my favourite book from Schwab is probably still A Darker Shade of Magic, there is something wonderful about Vicious that I loved. The X-Men vibes it gave off – Victor and Eli were a little like Professor X and Magneto: friends with a fallout and general love-hate dramas – was spectacular and I haven’t really read a book like it.

“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”

Schwab does this fantastic job of making neither of them really the ‘good guy’. Even though the majority of the time the story is from Victor’s perspective, and you’re rooting for him, the things he does are terrible, and you have to disagree with a lot of his tactics and reasons for doing things. Schwab writes this tension really well, this sort of pull between using their powers for good, or what they think is good, and using them for destructive endeavours.

“The moments that define lives aren’t always obvious. They don’t scream LEDGE, and nine times out of ten there’s no rope to duck under, no line to cross, no blood pact, no official letter on fancy paper. They aren’t always protracted, heavy with meaning. Between one sip and the next, Victor made the biggest mistake of his life, and it was made of nothing more than one line. Three small words. ‘I’ll go first.'”

The other characters were also well-written – as they usually are. Schwab as this knack for writing incredibly readable characters who you can hate as much as love all in one breath. Mitch was this typical muscle side-kick kind of character, and Sydney, the little girl, was sweet but strong at the same time.

While I’m not often a fan of flash-back style writing, it worked so well for the plot of Vicious, and when the past finally caught up with the present, it fitted everything together really wonderfully.

If you’re a fan of Schwab’s writing, and you haven’t read Vicious yet, then do pick it up. She has a great writing style and she really draws you in with her stories and characters. I’ve actually read this one twice now, and I’m definitely looking forward to finally reading Vengeful.

Have you read Vicious by VE Schwab? Or any of her other books?

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Disclaimer: This was originally published on our collaborative blog, Blogger’s Bookshelf, however, I have edited and adapted it more with my second reading of it.