Vicious (Review)

Vicious | V. E. Schwab

Published by: Titan Books, January 10th 2014

Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Thriller, Superheroes

Pages: 340

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world. 

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.'

This book is dark. Hella dark. Vicious pulls no punches, is willing to go into the darkest reaches of the human mind, and is brutal in its honesty. I read a 100 page sample of it eons ago, and loved it then, but having the full book is so much better.

Vicious is tense and gritty and an unpredictable take on superheroes. Reading it is kind of like being repetitively run over by a car. It's shock after shock after shock, wrapped up in emotional turmoil and trauma. 

My favourite thing of this book is Victor. I can't even pinpoint what I love about him; it's something about his morals and his loyalty, his secrets and honesty, his unforgiving nature and his compassion. I've never read a character like Victor. I'd like to say something about the other characters, Sydney and Dol and Mitch, but I can't figure out how to say what I want. This book has confused my words to such a strange extent.

To sum: Sinister and honest, Vicious is a superhero story like no other, but so much more than that.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★★☆