Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Release Date: September 2013
Publisher: Tor
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 364
Source: Borrowed from Library (will buy soon)
Summary (goodreads.com): 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.
My Review:
The Dear Ms.
Victoria Schwab has once again captured my imagination with her brilliant
story. What I love about Vicious is that there is no clear cut “hero.” She
takes the hero vs villain and turns it on its head. Is the villain the so
called “hero” killing those he deems unholy? Or is he the one who went to jail?
Does it matter that the jailed is trying to stop the “hero” of the tale? What
makes a villain the bad guy anyway?
Vicious is exploring the
morals behind making supervillians and superheroes, between life and death. Whether
playing God to become more than one’s self is morally correct. The story is
told through multiple points of view, each offering a different insight into
the dilemma of superpowers. Through these points of view each character gets
their say on whom exactly the villain is. The story of Victor and Eli, of Serena
and Sydney, of Mitch are all slowly unfolded through the flashbacks and it
allows the reader to wonder constantly about who is good and who is bad. In the
end it is up to the reader’s own sense of morals to decide who is right: Victor
Vale or Eli Ever.
This is a completely
original, unique, and complex masterpiece. It is an “on the edge of your seat
adventure,” with characters and ideas so complex and addicting that they get
inside your head and stay there long after the novel ends, Vicious captivated
me like only a Victoria Schwab novel can.
~Laura!
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