Vicious
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4.4 • 589 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
V. E. Schwab's New York Times bestseller Vicious is 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, 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
V. E. Schwab’s chilling supernatural thriller unfolds like a hyper-violent revenge fantasy. Victor and Eli were the sharpest (and most obnoxious) students at their university, with a passion for science that led them from hypotheticals to dangerous, illegal experiments that left them both with extraordinary abilities. Ten years on, Victor—who can both give and take excruciating pain—is out of prison and seeking vengeance on Eli, who is now unkillable thanks to his regenerative skin. We love how Schwab shifts back and forth from the good old college days to a grim near-future world, creating a fast-paced puzzle filled with ethical dilemmas and some truly visceral violence. Vicious is a gripping and binge-worthy read.
Customer Reviews
One of my favorite books. A fresh take on super power genre
Super creative. I think Ve Schwabs ability to use non linear storytelling to make a super personal story something fresh and unique is something to be applauded.
It’s fine
3/5 ⭐️. I don’t really get how this became such a highly recommended booktok piece. It was ok. Unique perspective re: superpowers but lacked in character development. I just never felt that invested in any of the characters or their arcs.
Slow Start
It was a great read in the end, but it was a slow start, which is troubling a book is long. If you stick with it, it is worth it!