On This Page
Description
A masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers 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 show more 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. "A dynamic and original twist on what it means to be a hero and a villain. A killer from page one...highly recommended " --Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Marvel Universe vs. The Avengers and Patient Zero One of Publishers Weekly's Best Fantasy Books of 2013 show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
“Victor was naturally quiet, but even more so under pressure, which gave his peers the distinct impression he knew what he was doing, even when he didn’t”
I had no idea what to expect from this book, but somehow I was surprised to find this was pretty gruesome and not a YA fantasy advertised as "morally grey"
I am not a fan of stories with superpowers or lots of magic because if things can be fixed with powers, why should I care? Hence, I was happy to find that this was mainly about the morals of both protagonists. Namely, everyone lacks some morals.
The writing is what made this book great. It’s easily readable and has some ironic witty phrases like the one above, which almost made it funny.
Every chapter reveals a little bit while show more raising even more questions, especially in the first half. Combined with the fact that there are no ‘good’ characters, it made the story suspenseful. I wanted to keep reading to find out what grim things would happen next and why.
The one thing I would have liked to see more of was the mutual obsession between Eli and Victor. The flashbacks detail how they separated, but I wanted to know more about what made Victor think things like this:
”Hate was too simple a word. He and Eli were bonded, by blood and death and science. They were alike, more so now than ever. And he had missed Eli. He wanted to see him. And he wanted to see him suffer. He wanted to see the look in Eli’s eyes when he lit them up with pain. He wanted his attention.” show less
I had no idea what to expect from this book, but somehow I was surprised to find this was pretty gruesome and not a YA fantasy advertised as "morally grey"
I am not a fan of stories with superpowers or lots of magic because if things can be fixed with powers, why should I care? Hence, I was happy to find that this was mainly about the morals of both protagonists. Namely, everyone lacks some morals.
The writing is what made this book great. It’s easily readable and has some ironic witty phrases like the one above, which almost made it funny.
Every chapter reveals a little bit while show more raising even more questions, especially in the first half. Combined with the fact that there are no ‘good’ characters, it made the story suspenseful. I wanted to keep reading to find out what grim things would happen next and why.
The one thing I would have liked to see more of was the mutual obsession between Eli and Victor. The flashbacks detail how they separated, but I wanted to know more about what made Victor think things like this:
”Hate was too simple a word. He and Eli were bonded, by blood and death and science. They were alike, more so now than ever. And he had missed Eli. He wanted to see him. And he wanted to see him suffer. He wanted to see the look in Eli’s eyes when he lit them up with pain. He wanted his attention.” show less
I've come to a place in my reading and reviewing of Victoria Schwab's books where I just want to smash my face into the keyboard like an overexcited puppy shouting, "SO GOOD. BOOK SO AWESOME. YOU WILL LOVE. BUY NOW. NAO." But somehow I don't think that gets my full point across, so I will try to put my OMFG into words.
Vicious is everything I wanted in a superhero/villain story wrapped in beautiful prose. Though the story jumps around a lot in time, the narrative is clear and flows so smoothly that readers won't get confused and wonder where the hell they've jumped to next. The first part of the book focuses heavily on the characters' backstories, particularly Victor and Eli's "origin" story. The science and reasoning behind it left the show more book feeling very realistic, even with people summoning crazy powers. Because of the flip-flops in time, the pacing feels rather slow. But not for a moment did it drag, as the incredible characterization and the tension between finding out what happened as well as what will happen made me want to soak in every word.
And the characters, oh, the characters. I like to think that if I can predict how a character will react to or do in a situation, the character is fully developed. If I know enough about the character to know how they would act, then the author has done their job. Schwab's characters were so well developed that I could see how their beliefs and motivations converged to make them into the people they were, which was delightful. Another breath of fresh air is that few of the main characters were actually good people. They all did horrible things, but it's the devil in the details that determines why you side with Victor over Eli.
Overall, the way the story and plot came together left me unbelievably happy, especially the way the tension built over Victor's countdown to midnight. It did feel a tad Dues ex Machina when Dominic comes into the picture, as his ability lets Victor access and do things that would have otherwise been impossible. I was able to forgive this a tad in the sense that everything else about the book was marvelous. However, there is one part that truly sticks with me, but as it is spoiler-filled, I want to give a warning to skip the next paragraph if you're afraid of spoilers.
The only part that truly bothered me was after Victor's death, Dominic steals his body away. That scene ends on a solid note, however, the next scene with them has Sydney and Mitch digging up Victor's grave in order to revive him. If they already took back his body, probably to revive him anyway, why would they bury him to dig it up? So his 'corpse' could be used against Eli in trial? In which case, why did they take the body?
Alright, you're in the safe zone again. All in all, Vicious was incredible. It's another reason to love Victoria Schwab. If you consider yourself a fan of superheroes--or great writing in general-- be sure to get your hands on this. show less
Vicious is everything I wanted in a superhero/villain story wrapped in beautiful prose. Though the story jumps around a lot in time, the narrative is clear and flows so smoothly that readers won't get confused and wonder where the hell they've jumped to next. The first part of the book focuses heavily on the characters' backstories, particularly Victor and Eli's "origin" story. The science and reasoning behind it left the show more book feeling very realistic, even with people summoning crazy powers. Because of the flip-flops in time, the pacing feels rather slow. But not for a moment did it drag, as the incredible characterization and the tension between finding out what happened as well as what will happen made me want to soak in every word.
And the characters, oh, the characters. I like to think that if I can predict how a character will react to or do in a situation, the character is fully developed. If I know enough about the character to know how they would act, then the author has done their job. Schwab's characters were so well developed that I could see how their beliefs and motivations converged to make them into the people they were, which was delightful. Another breath of fresh air is that few of the main characters were actually good people. They all did horrible things, but it's the devil in the details that determines why you side with Victor over Eli.
Overall, the way the story and plot came together left me unbelievably happy, especially the way the tension built over Victor's countdown to midnight. It did feel a tad Dues ex Machina when Dominic comes into the picture, as his ability lets Victor access and do things that would have otherwise been impossible. I was able to forgive this a tad in the sense that everything else about the book was marvelous. However, there is one part that truly sticks with me, but as it is spoiler-filled, I want to give a warning to skip the next paragraph if you're afraid of spoilers.
The only part that truly bothered me was after Victor's death, Dominic steals his body away. That scene ends on a solid note, however, the next scene with them has Sydney and Mitch digging up Victor's grave in order to revive him. If they already took back his body, probably to revive him anyway, why would they bury him to dig it up? So his 'corpse' could be used against Eli in trial? In which case, why did they take the body?
Alright, you're in the safe zone again. All in all, Vicious was incredible. It's another reason to love Victoria Schwab. If you consider yourself a fan of superheroes--or great writing in general-- be sure to get your hands on this. show less
My actual rating is more of a 4.5 because wow this is a good book! This is definitely my favorite novel by V.E Schwab so far.
I loved how despite Victor being a very uh, morally questionable character (to put it lightly) you couldn’t help but still root for him the face of Eli’s far worse deeds. I’m such a sucker for those kind of characters so this was just amazing. Pair that with awesome supporting characters, a decade long revenge plan, and extraordinary abilities and you’ve got yourself a dark, twisted and fascinating story.
It was written quite well shifting between past and present to piece together the facets of the story and slowly putting it all together. It was very suspenseful and I had a super hard time putting it show more down.
Overall: a great dark story! Would definitely recommend. The storyline of Victor being sentenced to jail, planning revenge, and then escaping to act out said revenge gave me vague the Count of Monte Cristo vibes and I was here for it. show less
I loved how despite Victor being a very uh, morally questionable character (to put it lightly) you couldn’t help but still root for him the face of Eli’s far worse deeds. I’m such a sucker for those kind of characters so this was just amazing. Pair that with awesome supporting characters, a decade long revenge plan, and extraordinary abilities and you’ve got yourself a dark, twisted and fascinating story.
It was written quite well shifting between past and present to piece together the facets of the story and slowly putting it all together. It was very suspenseful and I had a super hard time putting it show more down.
Overall: a great dark story! Would definitely recommend. The storyline of Victor being sentenced to jail, planning revenge, and then escaping to act out said revenge gave me vague the Count of Monte Cristo vibes and I was here for it. show less
Vicious follows Victor and Eli, who were best friends in college until their experiments to gain superpowers went horribly right. With Victor no longer in prison, neither of them will rest until the other has been utterly destroyed.
This is one of those books that’s almost a screenplay – I could see the movie playing in my head. It has short chapters (sometimes only a couple of pages) and is fast-paced, but it still focuses a lot on character by alternating flashbacks with the present-day story. The build-up to the final confrontation is extremely well-done – it almost gets too excruciating to wait any longer, and then everything happens very quickly.
Victor and Eli are fascinating characters, they both have something missing inside show more them, and that’s what drew them to each other in the first place. They learn to cope with that hole inside them in very different ways, although both are definitely supervillain material. Their sidekicks – Serena, Sydney, and Mitch, are complex in their own right – Serena’s crippling isolation with her power of persuasion is particularly poignant.
There was a lot of talk of gaining superpowers leaving people with a moral/spiritual hole inside themselves. It reminded me a little of Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart universe, where superpowers also make you entirely selfish, so there are no superheroes – only supervillains. But most of this was perpetuated by Victor, Eli, and Serena, who all seemed to be pretty screwed up people even before they gained powers. Sydney certainly didn’t seem to have anything missing (and Serena even remarks on that at one point), and neither did any of the other superpowered people we met. I guess the ambiguity might make what Eli’s doing a bit more sympathetic, except he’s acting without any evidence, so it doesn’t.
I did like the fact that Victor wasn’t exactly a good person, but I wished that the book had pushed the envelope a bit farther – by the end, we know exactly who we’re rooting for – Victor might be a sociopath, but he’s remarkably well-attuned to society. It’s still a great book, though, in the Watchmen style of “who we think of as superheroes are usually badly-adjusted and obsessive people”. Someone please go make a movie out of it now. show less
This is one of those books that’s almost a screenplay – I could see the movie playing in my head. It has short chapters (sometimes only a couple of pages) and is fast-paced, but it still focuses a lot on character by alternating flashbacks with the present-day story. The build-up to the final confrontation is extremely well-done – it almost gets too excruciating to wait any longer, and then everything happens very quickly.
Victor and Eli are fascinating characters, they both have something missing inside show more them, and that’s what drew them to each other in the first place. They learn to cope with that hole inside them in very different ways, although both are definitely supervillain material. Their sidekicks – Serena, Sydney, and Mitch, are complex in their own right – Serena’s crippling isolation with her power of persuasion is particularly poignant.
There was a lot of talk of gaining superpowers leaving people with a moral/spiritual hole inside themselves. It reminded me a little of Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart universe, where superpowers also make you entirely selfish, so there are no superheroes – only supervillains. But most of this was perpetuated by Victor, Eli, and Serena, who all seemed to be pretty screwed up people even before they gained powers. Sydney certainly didn’t seem to have anything missing (and Serena even remarks on that at one point), and neither did any of the other superpowered people we met. I guess the ambiguity might make what Eli’s doing a bit more sympathetic, except he’s acting without any evidence, so it doesn’t.
I did like the fact that Victor wasn’t exactly a good person, but I wished that the book had pushed the envelope a bit farther – by the end, we know exactly who we’re rooting for – Victor might be a sociopath, but he’s remarkably well-attuned to society. It’s still a great book, though, in the Watchmen style of “who we think of as superheroes are usually badly-adjusted and obsessive people”. Someone please go make a movie out of it now. show less
Victoria Schwab's Vicious is quite... vicious indeed. This is not the bloodless, black-and-white, stereotypical superhero story for the faint of heart.
Eliot Cardale (later Eli Ever) and Victor Vale are arrogant and ambitious pre-med students who test the limits of life by testing out the theories of EO's, otherwise known as ExtraOrdinary people. To become an EO requires a NDE (near death experience) that is propelled by the will to live. But by becoming EOs, they destroy their friendship, and turn into enemies, playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ten years later.
Before going off on why I enjoyed this book, having premed students for the main characters fit the bill perfectly! There are not many books with pre-medical students, and show more the multiple concepts were tied in to it well. The fanaticism surrounding EOs juxtaposed religion and Eli's beliefs of God. But Eli's zealousness contrasted the whole idea of science and medicine. This is a book that makes you think.
What I love about Victoria's books has to be how morally grey and complex her characters are, as well as their relationships with each other. Eli and Victor have different opinions on EOs, and neither is right nor wrong, although Eli's hatred and elimination of these supernatural people is almost akin to a prophetic mission. He believes them to be unnatural, against God. But to Victor, EOs can be used, can be manipulated for gain. I was rooting for Victor here, but I did not see Eli completely as the villain. They're initially best friends, but rivals too, and the fact that Victor envied Eli at times made their friendship volatile.
Even our side characters, Sidney and Serena, were not simply regulated to the sidelines and played active roles. Sidney developed over the course of the story to be her own person, not Serena's "younger" twin. It is unclear what Serena's motives are for staying with Eli, but I believe that she played a game of wits in order to stay alive. Their relationship is vague and complex, and readers are left wondering through most of the story how Serena really feels about her sister.
In their own ways, all the characters were likable, because no one was really the villain, nor the hero, as Victor surmises
My only qualm with the book is the lack of backstory surrounding Eli's religious fanaticism. This obsessive religiousness seems to have been brought on by something, but this something was only faintly explained.
Other than that, I'm excited and looking forward to Vengeful!
Also posted on Wonderland Novels show less
Eliot Cardale (later Eli Ever) and Victor Vale are arrogant and ambitious pre-med students who test the limits of life by testing out the theories of EO's, otherwise known as ExtraOrdinary people. To become an EO requires a NDE (near death experience) that is propelled by the will to live. But by becoming EOs, they destroy their friendship, and turn into enemies, playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ten years later.
Before going off on why I enjoyed this book, having premed students for the main characters fit the bill perfectly! There are not many books with pre-medical students, and show more the multiple concepts were tied in to it well. The fanaticism surrounding EOs juxtaposed religion and Eli's beliefs of God. But Eli's zealousness contrasted the whole idea of science and medicine. This is a book that makes you think.
What I love about Victoria's books has to be how morally grey and complex her characters are, as well as their relationships with each other. Eli and Victor have different opinions on EOs, and neither is right nor wrong, although Eli's hatred and elimination of these supernatural people is almost akin to a prophetic mission. He believes them to be unnatural, against God. But to Victor, EOs can be used, can be manipulated for gain. I was rooting for Victor here, but I did not see Eli completely as the villain. They're initially best friends, but rivals too, and the fact that Victor envied Eli at times made their friendship volatile.
Even our side characters, Sidney and Serena, were not simply regulated to the sidelines and played active roles. Sidney developed over the course of the story to be her own person, not Serena's "younger" twin. It is unclear what Serena's motives are for staying with Eli, but I believe that she played a game of wits in order to stay alive. Their relationship is vague and complex, and readers are left wondering through most of the story how Serena really feels about her sister.
In their own ways, all the characters were likable, because no one was really the villain, nor the hero, as Victor surmises
"If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain?"
"There are no good men in this game."
My only qualm with the book is the lack of backstory surrounding Eli's religious fanaticism. This obsessive religiousness seems to have been brought on by something, but this something was only faintly explained.
Other than that, I'm excited and looking forward to Vengeful!
Also posted on Wonderland Novels show less
The opening scene of 'Vicious' is wonderful. Set in a graveyard, it sets the tone for the rest of the book.Here's the first paragraph.
I loved this. The declarative heading that even in the audiobook version, I heard in BOLD BLOCK CAPITALS grabs the attention. The imagery is like reading a powerful graphic novel or watching the brooding black white and red images that made 'Sin City' a cult movie. It's bold and dark but has just a hint of self-knowing humour. I was hooked.
The story that followed was operatic - heavy on drama and pathos - thin on characterisation. I felt that this was mostly a successful style choice, the use of a restricted emotional palette rather than a lack of depth.
The plot is inventive and engaging. The intercut show more timelines were deftly used to conjure a sense of inevitable convergence that added tension and kept me turning the pages.
By the middle of the book, I became restless. The muted emotions made the people feel two-dimensional and hard to care about. I was being pulled along by my curiosity rather than by an engagement with the people or the text.
Still, it was a strong pull. The plot fitted together like the pieces of a Mechano construction kit: logical, careful, almost inevitable. I liked the way the story thought about power and revenge and heroes and villains I liked the stylish clarity of the storytelling. I struggled with the emotional distance of the main characters. I could see that it mirrored what was happening to Eli and Victor but it still made me uncomfortable.
It wasn't until the dramatic, violent crescendo of the story that I realised that I was engaged with two of the characters. Not Victor or Eli or Serena, who remained chillingly inhuman but Mitch who was human and Sydney who had managed to hold on to most of her humanity. It was only then that I saw how precisely Victoria Schwab was managing my emotions without making me aware of it,
I have fun with 'Vicious'. I regret having left it on my shelves untouched for nine years. I'm glad to have gotten to it at last. I see that, sometime in the past nine years, a new audiobook version of 'Vicious' has been released with a different narrator. I think that's a shame I enjoyed Noah Michael Levine's performance. I admired his ability to go from a declarative Joe Friday 'Just the facts' style to nuanced dialogue. show less
I loved this. The declarative heading that even in the audiobook version, I heard in BOLD BLOCK CAPITALS grabs the attention. The imagery is like reading a powerful graphic novel or watching the brooding black white and red images that made 'Sin City' a cult movie. It's bold and dark but has just a hint of self-knowing humour. I was hooked.
The story that followed was operatic - heavy on drama and pathos - thin on characterisation. I felt that this was mostly a successful style choice, the use of a restricted emotional palette rather than a lack of depth.
The plot is inventive and engaging. The intercut show more timelines were deftly used to conjure a sense of inevitable convergence that added tension and kept me turning the pages.
By the middle of the book, I became restless. The muted emotions made the people feel two-dimensional and hard to care about. I was being pulled along by my curiosity rather than by an engagement with the people or the text.
Still, it was a strong pull. The plot fitted together like the pieces of a Mechano construction kit: logical, careful, almost inevitable. I liked the way the story thought about power and revenge and heroes and villains I liked the stylish clarity of the storytelling. I struggled with the emotional distance of the main characters. I could see that it mirrored what was happening to Eli and Victor but it still made me uncomfortable.
It wasn't until the dramatic, violent crescendo of the story that I realised that I was engaged with two of the characters. Not Victor or Eli or Serena, who remained chillingly inhuman but Mitch who was human and Sydney who had managed to hold on to most of her humanity. It was only then that I saw how precisely Victoria Schwab was managing my emotions without making me aware of it,
I have fun with 'Vicious'. I regret having left it on my shelves untouched for nine years. I'm glad to have gotten to it at last. I see that, sometime in the past nine years, a new audiobook version of 'Vicious' has been released with a different narrator. I think that's a shame I enjoyed Noah Michael Levine's performance. I admired his ability to go from a declarative Joe Friday 'Just the facts' style to nuanced dialogue. show less
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.
Quick & Dirty: A dark and twisted story filled with revenge, addictive writing, and amazing three-dimensional characters. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a wildly entertaining book that makes you question good vs. bad.
Opening Sentence: Victor readjusted the shovels on his shoulder and stepped gingerly over and old, half-sunken grave.
The Review:
Victor Vale and Eli Cardale are brilliant competitive roommates at college and they have just discovered a new obsession. There is a rumor that a combination of a near-death experience paired with a great desire to survive produces extra ordinary effects. So of course being two genius scientists the boys decide to experiment with their thesis. The show more results are more catastrophic than they could have ever imagined. Victor ends up in prison and Eli becomes a hero.
Ten years later, Victor has just escaped from prison and he is out for blood. Driven crazy by revenge he will do anything and sacrifice everything to kill his old best friend, Eli. Joined by his cellmate and a young girl with a very interesting extra ordinary trait, Victor is ready to extract his revenge. Meanwhile, Eli has spent the last ten years killing every EO he has come across. He has made himself into a self-righteous hero determined to rid the world of the unnatural evil. Armed with amazing power and plagued by the past, the archenemies are on an unstoppable journey to destroy each other, but who will be left standing at the end?
Vicious is filled with very interesting and dark characters. First you meet Victor who is so driven by revenge that it is hard for him to see anything else. He spent years in prison plotting and scheming, it was the only thing that kept him sane. Now that he is out what is he willing to sacrifice to finally rid the world of Eli forever? I was really torn with my feelings for Victor. There were times that I really liked him and other times where I despised him. He is so filled with hate, but every once in a while you see a glimpse of his good side. Surprisingly, I actually really connected with Victor and found myself cheering him on because he was the lesser of two evils.
Then you have Eli who is trying to be a hero, but honestly he is just a cold blooded killer. He really believes in his cause and feels that he is doing the right thing. This actually made him really creepy, but at the same time I understood him. He is a control freak that has to have everything perfect, and when things don’t go according to plan he gets this crazed feel to him. He is a very unstable character, which added greatly to the intensity of the story.
I am briefly going to mention a couple of secondary characters because they were my favorite part of the book. First there is Sydney who is only 13 years old, but she has been through a lot. A year ago she died and came back to life, now she has an extra ordinary gift. She has been betrayed by those she trusted and now has teamed up with Victor to help him bring down Eli. Most EO’s seem to have become detached from their emotions, but not Sydney, she is still very compassionate and caring. She brings out the good in others and was a very integral character. Last but not least we have Mitchell Turner. He was Victor’s cellmate in prison and was dealt a poor hand in life. He looks the part of a thug with his huge stature and tattoo’s, but he is actually a very tender hearted person. He is a crazy smart hacker and is very loyal to the few friends he has. Suffice to say the characters in this book were amazing and brilliantly written.
This was a very dark twisted story that I loved. It is very different from what I normally read since there was really no romance and all of the characters are villains in their own way. It makes you question good vs. bad. There is a lot of grey area explored in this book and it was fascinating. There were situations that made me dislike the characters and other times that made me admire them. Schwab’s writing was so addicting and engrossing. Each chapter tends to be a different time period, anywhere from ten years ago to current events. Normally when a book jumps around so much it is really problematic for me, but Schwab really made it work to her advantage. Instead of being lost and confused, it just made me more curious and really piqued my interest. The story really makes you think but at the same time it is wildly entertaining. The ending was perfect but left me wishing that there was a sequel. I loved the world that Schwab created and I wish that I could get more. I would highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for a great adult book that is dark and twisted.
Notable Scene:
For the first time, panic filled Victor’s mouth like bile. He swallowed, and resumed compressions. The only sounds in the room were his whispered counts and his pulse—his pulse, not Eli’s—and the odd sound of his hands trying desperately to restart his best friend’s heart.
Trying. And Failing.
Victor began to lose hope. He was running out of chances, out of pens. There was only one left. His hand slid from Eli’s chest, shaking as his fingers curled around it. He raised the pen, and stopped. Beneath him, sprawled on the tiles, was the lifeless body of Eli Cardale. Eli, who showed up in the hallway sophomore year with a suitcase and a smile. Eli, who believed in God and had a monster inside just like Victor, but knew how to hide it better. Eli, who got away with everything, who had slipped into his life and stolen the girl and the top rank and the stupid holiday research grant. Eli, who, despite it all, meant something to Victor.
He swallowed, and drove the pen in his dead friend’s chest.
One count, two count, three count.
Nothing.
And then, somewhere between Victor giving up and reaching for his phone. Eli gasped.
FTC Advisory: Tor/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Vicious. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less
Quick & Dirty: A dark and twisted story filled with revenge, addictive writing, and amazing three-dimensional characters. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a wildly entertaining book that makes you question good vs. bad.
Opening Sentence: Victor readjusted the shovels on his shoulder and stepped gingerly over and old, half-sunken grave.
The Review:
Victor Vale and Eli Cardale are brilliant competitive roommates at college and they have just discovered a new obsession. There is a rumor that a combination of a near-death experience paired with a great desire to survive produces extra ordinary effects. So of course being two genius scientists the boys decide to experiment with their thesis. The show more results are more catastrophic than they could have ever imagined. Victor ends up in prison and Eli becomes a hero.
Ten years later, Victor has just escaped from prison and he is out for blood. Driven crazy by revenge he will do anything and sacrifice everything to kill his old best friend, Eli. Joined by his cellmate and a young girl with a very interesting extra ordinary trait, Victor is ready to extract his revenge. Meanwhile, Eli has spent the last ten years killing every EO he has come across. He has made himself into a self-righteous hero determined to rid the world of the unnatural evil. Armed with amazing power and plagued by the past, the archenemies are on an unstoppable journey to destroy each other, but who will be left standing at the end?
Vicious is filled with very interesting and dark characters. First you meet Victor who is so driven by revenge that it is hard for him to see anything else. He spent years in prison plotting and scheming, it was the only thing that kept him sane. Now that he is out what is he willing to sacrifice to finally rid the world of Eli forever? I was really torn with my feelings for Victor. There were times that I really liked him and other times where I despised him. He is so filled with hate, but every once in a while you see a glimpse of his good side. Surprisingly, I actually really connected with Victor and found myself cheering him on because he was the lesser of two evils.
Then you have Eli who is trying to be a hero, but honestly he is just a cold blooded killer. He really believes in his cause and feels that he is doing the right thing. This actually made him really creepy, but at the same time I understood him. He is a control freak that has to have everything perfect, and when things don’t go according to plan he gets this crazed feel to him. He is a very unstable character, which added greatly to the intensity of the story.
I am briefly going to mention a couple of secondary characters because they were my favorite part of the book. First there is Sydney who is only 13 years old, but she has been through a lot. A year ago she died and came back to life, now she has an extra ordinary gift. She has been betrayed by those she trusted and now has teamed up with Victor to help him bring down Eli. Most EO’s seem to have become detached from their emotions, but not Sydney, she is still very compassionate and caring. She brings out the good in others and was a very integral character. Last but not least we have Mitchell Turner. He was Victor’s cellmate in prison and was dealt a poor hand in life. He looks the part of a thug with his huge stature and tattoo’s, but he is actually a very tender hearted person. He is a crazy smart hacker and is very loyal to the few friends he has. Suffice to say the characters in this book were amazing and brilliantly written.
This was a very dark twisted story that I loved. It is very different from what I normally read since there was really no romance and all of the characters are villains in their own way. It makes you question good vs. bad. There is a lot of grey area explored in this book and it was fascinating. There were situations that made me dislike the characters and other times that made me admire them. Schwab’s writing was so addicting and engrossing. Each chapter tends to be a different time period, anywhere from ten years ago to current events. Normally when a book jumps around so much it is really problematic for me, but Schwab really made it work to her advantage. Instead of being lost and confused, it just made me more curious and really piqued my interest. The story really makes you think but at the same time it is wildly entertaining. The ending was perfect but left me wishing that there was a sequel. I loved the world that Schwab created and I wish that I could get more. I would highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for a great adult book that is dark and twisted.
Notable Scene:
For the first time, panic filled Victor’s mouth like bile. He swallowed, and resumed compressions. The only sounds in the room were his whispered counts and his pulse—his pulse, not Eli’s—and the odd sound of his hands trying desperately to restart his best friend’s heart.
Trying. And Failing.
Victor began to lose hope. He was running out of chances, out of pens. There was only one left. His hand slid from Eli’s chest, shaking as his fingers curled around it. He raised the pen, and stopped. Beneath him, sprawled on the tiles, was the lifeless body of Eli Cardale. Eli, who showed up in the hallway sophomore year with a suitcase and a smile. Eli, who believed in God and had a monster inside just like Victor, but knew how to hide it better. Eli, who got away with everything, who had slipped into his life and stolen the girl and the top rank and the stupid holiday research grant. Eli, who, despite it all, meant something to Victor.
He swallowed, and drove the pen in his dead friend’s chest.
One count, two count, three count.
Nothing.
And then, somewhere between Victor giving up and reaching for his phone. Eli gasped.
FTC Advisory: Tor/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Vicious. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
ALA The Reading List
490 works; 28 members
Books Read in 2016
4,666 works; 197 members
Superhero Fantasy
81 works; 7 members
Books read in 2019
15 works; 1 member
Overdue Podcast
806 works; 9 members
Female Author
1,234 works; 67 members
Dark Academia Novels
59 works; 11 members
READ IN 2020
172 works; 1 member
Recommended Literary Books
111 works; 1 member
hypatian_kat to-read
429 works; 3 members
Fantasy TBR
17 works; 1 member
Books Read in 2026
1,940 works; 66 members
Illumicrates 100 Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Books of the 21st Century
27 works; 1 member
Old Baggages Book Club
19 works; 1 member
Author Information
93+ Works 68,649 Members
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Vicious
- Original publication date
- 2013-09-24
- People/Characters
- Victor Vale; Eli Ever (Eliot Cardale); Sydney Clarke; Mitchell Turner; Serena Clarke; Angie Knight
- Important places
- Merit; Lockland University
- Epigraph
- Life — the way it really is — is a battle not between Bad and Good, but between Bad and Worse.
—Joseph Brodsky - Dedication
- To Miriam and Holly, for proving time and again that they are ExtraOrdinary.
- First words
- Victor readjusted the shovels on his shoulder and stepped gingerly over an old, half-sunken grave.
- Quotations
- Someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens. Someone else could be labeled a villain for trying to stop them. Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being hum... (show all)an. (p. 271)
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)A moment later, the cold ran up her arms, and caught her breath, and beneath her hands a heartbeat fluttered, as Victor Vale opened his eyes, and smiled.
- Publisher's editor
- Weinberg, Miriam
- Blurbers
- Wilson, F. Paul; Wilson, Daniel H.; Wells, Dan; Bledsoe, Alex; Wendig, Chuck; Kessler, Jackie Morse (show all 7); Cox, Greg
- Original language
- English US
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.6
- Canonical LCC
- PS3619.C4848
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 5,745
- Popularity
- 2,275
- Reviews
- 187
- Rating
- (4.01)
- Languages
- 7 — English, French, German, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal)
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 32
- ASINs
- 8