Title: Vicious
Author: V.E. Schwab
Published: 2013
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Received at BookExpo America
Purchase: Amazon
Summary (Goodreads):
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?
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Vicious is a masterpiece. When I first started reading Vicious I had to keep putting the book down, not because I couldn’t get into it, or because I was distracted, but because it was so perfect my heart literally couldn’t take it. Victoria has masterfully pieced together words in a way that ever single line you want to quote. (I did a lot of quoting on Twitter while reading this book.) There isn’t enough I can say about this book to describe how perfectly pieced together it is.
Victoria has created a vivid cast of characters who I miss dearly. (Let’s pray Tor sees how much we all love Vicious and buys another book in this world!) Victor and Eli are gifted, they become ExtraOrdinary with powers that reflect them and change them. Without fear their morality shifts. What is once wrong becomes only a thought of wrong instead of a gut instinct that would make you and I sick at just the thought.
Victoria plays with the balance of morality and mortality. How one affects another. How characters with good intentions can be the most cruel of villains and those who are labeled villain can be the hero of the story. I have never come across a book that has led me to such frustration over misguided beliefs and betrayal.
Not only does Vicious offer great literary quality, vivid characters, and questions to ponder there is also unique relationships that are real. Every character could step off the pages and the relationships between them are strong, unique, and I miss them. Vicious is a world I want to see more of for the cast of characters that has stolen my heart.
Vicious gets 5 out of 5 stars from me for being my one favorite book above all others. If you haven’t read it. What are you waiting for?
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