Review: Vicious by: Victoria Schwab

Vicious by: Victoria Schwab (2013)

368 pages

Genre: Adult/Sci-Fi

Publisher: Tor

Source: The library.

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

Goodreads Summary: 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

Victoria Schwab sure knows how to write a gripping novel. She was one of my favorite new author discoveries in 2013. Vicious is nothing like anything I have ever read before, in a very good way. Therefore, I was having a hard time putting how I feel into words, so I will keep this review short and sweet.

Vicious is dark and gritty and starts with a bang. The whole story reminds me a little of Batman and X-men. There is some scientific talk in this book and I was worried it would be so far over my head that I wouldn't enjoy it, but I was wrong. It wasn't a problem. The whole science take on Extra Ordinary people is unique and very interesting. 

The characters in Vicious are memorable and one of a kind. Victor and Eli are deliciously fascinating. I love that there isn't a good person or evil person, the line between right and wrong is blurred throughout the entire novel. I of course lean more towards Victor being nice and Eli being evil, but both are just really different, both have reasons for why they do the things they do, and both are crazy.

So there you have it, my very short review since this book was so shocking, intriguing, and different, that I just can't figure out what else to say about it. I can tell you to give it a try and read it, especially if you are in the mood for a dark book that involves super powers. But remember, this one doesn't have any “heroes,” and in my opinion this makes it all the more better.