Vicious – V.E. Schwab

I’ve been gone for a hot minute. I got distracted. Why?

Because this book inspired a whole novel idea. I’ve been obsessively working on it for weeks. Vicious by Victoria Schwab was outstanding.

The book proposes the concept of ExtraOrdinary people. The right cocktail of circumstance and adrenaline can push people to develop unique abilities. Eli and Victor, who met in college, chose to study this phenomenon, though they never realized how far it would go.

If you give humans superpowers, how many of them would truly become heroes?

The writing in this book is nothing short of addicting. I was compelled to keep reading. I couldn’t put it down. It was impossible.

It opens with Victor digging up a grave with a young girl named Sydney. He had just broken out of prison and found her soaked with rain on the side of the road. The papers were calling Eli, his old college roommate a hero. What happened?

This book’s power comes from the way it was told. Schwab utilized a non-linear time line to give the readers just enough information about the past to keep them asking questions about the present. Most importantly, you never know who the true villain is. They both seem nefarious.

The dynamic between Victor and Eli was my favorite thing. They shared the same ambition and passion to be the best version of themselves. They were competitive with each other to an unhealthy point. I was obsessed with it.

Not a single character in this book was flat. Each one and their own struggles, their own internal conflict, that made it impossible to put the book down. I was invested in the growth of each, individual character. There was no good and bad. They was only bad and not so bad. I loved every character despite their morally gray tendencies.

Everyone had their motives. No one thought they were wrong.

The book is amazing. Especially if you have a soft spot for villains like I do.

Read it.

It is an excellent example of what happens if you have an anti-hero as the protagonist.

“The absence of pain led to an absence of fear, and the absence of fear lead to a disregard for consequence.”

V.E. Schwab, Vicious