Take a photo of a barcode or cover
nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
Vicious
by V.E. Schwab
content warrnings: murder, suicide, self-harm, violence, gore, torture, drug overdose, animal death
representation: asexual protagonist (not revealed until book 2)
Finally, a Schwab book I like! After the complete flop that was This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet, I was a little skeptical going into another one of her books, but now I think it might just be her YA I'm not that into because I really liked this.
Originally written as a standalone, Vicious follows Victor Vale and Eli Ever, college roommates who start to explore the possibilities of EOs – people with ExtraOrdinary abilities that seem to only manifest once someone has died and come back to life. So they begin experimenting. Flash-forward ten years later and Victor is getting out of jail, swearing revenge on his former best friend.
I've seen this described a lot as Professor X and Magneto but they're in college, and that's not too far off. In terms of characterisation it's totally off, but if that's the general dynamic you're into then this is definitely the book for you.
I loved the way that this was structured. It jumps around in time, all circling around a specific event. We'll go from two days before to ten years earlier, back to two days before to one year earlier. Along with the time jumps there are also constant POV changes; we get the perspective of all of our main characters, most commonly Victor and Eli. This all sounds way more confusing than it is. Schwab is masterful at switching between time, place and perspectives, giving you just enough information so you can get your bearings.
In general I wasn't a massive fan of the other Schwab's I've read, but even with those I still really liked her characters and the same is true here. Even when they're unlikable, they're endlessly compelling. Victor and Eli are The Worst in very different ways: Victor is dramatic and openly callous, while Eli commits horrific acts under the guise of doing the right thing. It's an incredible dynamic, and one that you can see the roots of even when they're college students. They have a strong relationship, something you can see even when they're trying to murder each other. I definitely think they're a little in love with each other but it's very much left up to the interpretation of the reader.
Alongside our protagonists, we have their sidekicks, for lack of a better word. Sydney and Serena Clarke are sisters on opposite sides: Sydney is a thirteen year-old who Victor saves (and lowkey adopts) and Serena is a twenty year-old who manages to make herself indispensable to Eli. My favourite aspect of the book was the relationship between the sisters. Something horrific happened between them before the events of the book and neither of them can quite get over it. Sydney feels betrayed by her big sister and Serena feels conflicted over a difficult decision she had to make in an attempt to help her little sister. Our fifth major character is Mitch, Victor's roommate in prison who's a talented hacker. He's just a sweet man who's loyal to a fault and I loved him.
This book is a super fast read. It's about 340 pages, and all of those pages fly by. It technically took be six days to finish this but that's actually two or three sittings in total. While this book was really enjoyable and a quick read, I did find myself not caring at certain points, especially towards the middle. The ending makes up for every single grievance I have, though. It's one of my favourite endings ever and I gasped in delight when I realised what was happening. It's perfect for a standalone but also makes me excited for the next book, something which is almost impossible. I'm glad I finally got around to this, and I'm now much more excited to read other works of Schwab's.
representation: asexual protagonist (not revealed until book 2)
“But these words people threw around - humans, monsters, heroes, villains - to Victor it was all just a matter of semantics. 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 human.”
Finally, a Schwab book I like! After the complete flop that was This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet, I was a little skeptical going into another one of her books, but now I think it might just be her YA I'm not that into because I really liked this.
Originally written as a standalone, Vicious follows Victor Vale and Eli Ever, college roommates who start to explore the possibilities of EOs – people with ExtraOrdinary abilities that seem to only manifest once someone has died and come back to life. So they begin experimenting. Flash-forward ten years later and Victor is getting out of jail, swearing revenge on his former best friend.
I've seen this described a lot as Professor X and Magneto but they're in college, and that's not too far off. In terms of characterisation it's totally off, but if that's the general dynamic you're into then this is definitely the book for you.
I loved the way that this was structured. It jumps around in time, all circling around a specific event. We'll go from two days before to ten years earlier, back to two days before to one year earlier. Along with the time jumps there are also constant POV changes; we get the perspective of all of our main characters, most commonly Victor and Eli. This all sounds way more confusing than it is. Schwab is masterful at switching between time, place and perspectives, giving you just enough information so you can get your bearings.
In general I wasn't a massive fan of the other Schwab's I've read, but even with those I still really liked her characters and the same is true here. Even when they're unlikable, they're endlessly compelling. Victor and Eli are The Worst in very different ways: Victor is dramatic and openly callous, while Eli commits horrific acts under the guise of doing the right thing. It's an incredible dynamic, and one that you can see the roots of even when they're college students. They have a strong relationship, something you can see even when they're trying to murder each other. I definitely think they're a little in love with each other but it's very much left up to the interpretation of the reader.
Alongside our protagonists, we have their sidekicks, for lack of a better word. Sydney and Serena Clarke are sisters on opposite sides: Sydney is a thirteen year-old who Victor saves (and lowkey adopts) and Serena is a twenty year-old who manages to make herself indispensable to Eli. My favourite aspect of the book was the relationship between the sisters. Something horrific happened between them before the events of the book and neither of them can quite get over it. Sydney feels betrayed by her big sister and Serena feels conflicted over a difficult decision she had to make in an attempt to help her little sister. Our fifth major character is Mitch, Victor's roommate in prison who's a talented hacker. He's just a sweet man who's loyal to a fault and I loved him.
This book is a super fast read. It's about 340 pages, and all of those pages fly by. It technically took be six days to finish this but that's actually two or three sittings in total. While this book was really enjoyable and a quick read, I did find myself not caring at certain points, especially towards the middle. The ending makes up for every single grievance I have, though. It's one of my favourite endings ever and I gasped in delight when I realised what was happening. It's perfect for a standalone but also makes me excited for the next book, something which is almost impossible. I'm glad I finally got around to this, and I'm now much more excited to read other works of Schwab's.