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, … 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.
“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
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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This was my favorite book of 2018. It might as well have been written for me. With morally ambiguous characters, X-men style superheroes, and a non-linear storyline. I was hooked from page one!
I’ve loved everything I’ve read by V.E./ Victoria Schwab, and Vicious was no exception! She plays with superhero & supervillain tropes in clever and interesting ways, painting the morality of every character in nuanced shades of gray.
I can sum up this entire review with one word: Wow.
A kind of gritty, superheroes noir feel? Insanely great characterisation. Characters you love, characters you hate, characters you would not want to meet in a dark alley. And a twisty, twisty plot. This blew my mind.
What a ride! I have to admit that this book blew me away. I tore through the pages of this. The only disappointment you’ll find is that eventually, it ends.
Glad there’s a book #2.
What a dark, intense, and twisted story.
I started out listening to the audio book, but I ended up having to switch to the ebook to keep track of the jumping timeline. I loved that this book kept me on my toes from beginning to morbid end.
This book starts out with two seemingly normal and exceptionally smart college student friends with a bit …
This was an excellent, brilliant book. The form is perfect; there is nothing superfluous in it, nothing unnecessary. The reader is given the information that they absolutely need, and nothing else. The story is nonetheless complex and keeps the reader in its grip from the start to finish. Two friends at college, who seem to be united more by envy …
V. E. Schwab is a truly talented writer! I can’t express how much I’m in love with this world that Schwab has created.
For once, people are actually MORALLY GREY. Everyone has such a twisted sense of right and wrong (or none at all), but somehow, I could understand everyone. If you think either Victor or Eli are “right,” you’re wrong. They aren’t …
Vicious is the story of two best friends who decide to research near death experiences and experiment with adrenaline to create superpowers. They got exactly what they asked for. Except they are the villains of the story.
Victoria Shwab created the perfect villains. Eli and Victor are evil and you know it. But Victor has a conflict within …
I didn’t love this book, which I understand will put me in the minority of the readers here. The premise with Eli and Victor experimenting with near death experiences to bring about ExtraOrdinary abilities sounded fun, but it just fell flat. Neither character was interesting, the motives were bland, and I found myself struggling to finish each …
This is one of those books where I don’t even know where to start, what to compare it to, because I can’t think of anything. And hard to describe without giving it all away. Just read it, especially if you like morally grey characters or stories where everyone is both the hero and villain. Also, there’s a teen who fiercely loves her dog and the …
What a wonderful head scratcher of a book. I’m obsessed with it all. Schwab’s storytelling ability really shines in this book.
chwab is without a doubt on my list of top ten best prose authors of all time. She works her sentences like a sculpture that never loses my interest. She is an amazing author.
This book was so fascinating on several levels. The structure was broken into two parts with a different character telling the story in each, and a countdown of time was …
A very intellectual story pondering the question about whether super powers are likely to make a person a villain rather than a hero.
Can’t wait for book 2!
It took me a while to get into this book (about 200 pages) but once I was there, I was invested. The disconnected narrative made it difficult initially, but I Schwab has created a wonderful and unique world filled with super heroes and villains even if there’s more gray than black and white because things aren’t as they seem.
Have you ever seen Flatliners? Similar concept here, but Schwab did it better. This story reads quickly and maintains interest all throughout. It goes back and forth between Victor and Eli in college, experimenting to create the monsters they become, and present day, hunting and stalking for different means. The college flashbacks, like I said, …
Where superheroes on the big screen are seen with powers capable of destroying planets, Schwab finds a way to make the abilities of Eli Ever and Victor Vale equally as entertaining while still keeping them grounded to what people with extraordinary abilities would be like. With essentially two main characters, both with their own twisted …
Brilliant world building. Perfect, masterful writing. Characters and anti-heroes you love to hate all embroiled in this crazy, good story. A remarkably unique plot that keeps you in its clutches from beginning to end. Unbelievably excellent fantasy. Eli Ever, Sydney & Serena Clark, Mitchell Turner, and Dol – I’ll never regret any of you.
But …
I loved this book! The characters were well-developed and multi-faceted with twisted and interesting backstories.
I enjoyed reading this book, the characters and story just felt really good and interesting to read. Though I’m disappointed at the build up and completion of the actual main plot.
The characters all have various interesting quirks and unique features. They all feel special, and play very important roles in the story. I never felt that one …