Book Review:
Title: Vicious
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Titan Books
“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”
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?
I am a lover of stories that have a focus on villains, anti-heroes and morally grey characters. I love books that tackle dark subjects that really make you think – where there is a thin line between the good and the bad. Where you can understand the motivation behind an action without ever justifying it. Where the 'hero' might actually be a bad guy and is so committed to their plan that they are consumed solely by it. These types of books really call to me.
Saying that, I don’t know why I put reading Vicious off for so long, because this book was essentially all of that and more! I’m always hungry for dark, twisted reads and this book filled me to the brim. Maybe its because this sounded like the book I’ve always wanted to read, and I was scared it was going to be nothing like what I had imagined, and I would be left with this immense feeling of disappointment. Finding a book that on the surface seems to tick all your boxes, and then when you get past the cover and the blurb it’s all just ends up being meh is the worst feeling, and I really didn’t want that for this book. But what I’ve learnt (from reading the ADSOM trilogy and now Vicious) is that Ms. Schwab never lets me down.
The concept of Vicious is one I’ve personally never read in a book before, which made it so refreshing. There are plenty of books that deal with humans that gain some sort of power, but I haven’t read any that delve so deep into the background of it and where the abilities are so heavily debated. Is it right, is it wrong? Absolutely fascinating.
The characters were all completing captivating too. I loved the flip between present and past tense that slowly showcased the dynamic between Victor and Eli and how they went from roommates to enemies. Individually, these two men are some of the best written characters I have ever read about. And the relationship between Victor, Mitch and Sydney was the purest. Victor is still his usual conniving self around them, but you can tell he has a soft spot for them and it’s literally everything.
I also loved the dynamics between Eli and Serena – the way the relationship was built on each of them using the other to make themselves feel better about their own downfalls. Eli feels soulless and is extremely hard to kill, but he isn’t immune to Serena’s powers. And everyone does exactly what Serena tells them to do, so she loves the fight she sees in Eli eyes.
Basically, Victoria’s mind is brilliant and powerful, and we are not worthy.
I could rave about all the aspects I loved about this book, really delving in scene by scene, but I would be here for hours, so let me just end this review by saying…
The plot is fascinating and so well thought out. The pacing of the story is perfect. The writing is incredible. And the characters are the cherry on top. If you couldn’t tell already, Vicious gets, without a doubt, a well deserved 5 stars from me!
The question is, do I devour Vengeful now or do I wait a while, so I can space it out and won’t have to say goodbye to these characters so soon?
No comments:
Post a Comment