Publisher: Tor
Published September 24, 2013
Hardcover, 368 pages
Overview:
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?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.
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?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.
Review:
Vicious by V.E. Schwab is a fascinating book about superpowers and what happens when theories are taken too far.
I was hooked from the very beginning and never knew what to expect with Vicious. The story moves between several characters and places in time, but I never felt confused or disorientated by it. Schwab does an excellent job in using flashbacks to reveal information and create suspense at appropriate times.
My favorite part of the book is that it takes the typical "good-versus-evil" superhero story and spins it in a new direction--main characters Victor and Eli are complex and flawed, with understandable motives. While Victor takes center stage as the main mover of the story, he's never specifically made the hero or the villain. In fact, neither Victor nor Eli are ever made the "good guy" or the "bad guy"--and that makes Vicious all the more interesting to read.
In addition to superpowers, Vicious focuses on other topics like morality and what it is to be human. Highly recommended.
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