Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Publication Date:  September 24, 2013
Publisher:  Tor
Pages:  364
Series:  Vicious #1
Genre:  Science Fiction
Synopsis:  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?


Review:  At last I have caught up with V.E. Schwab's books in Vicious, which is probably her most highly acclaimed novel.  Reminiscent of comic book heroes--or villains, Vicious has quickly become one of my favorites this year.

The writing reminded me of Neil Gaiman, a praise I do not bestow lightly.  There is a certain cadence, a precise flow of words that holds promise.  It all begins with an escaped felon and a little girl digging up a corpse.

As far as she was concerned, that was the only good thing about digging up a corpse.

Vicious does not shy away from the wicked side.  There is death, and corruption, and scientific experimentation.  Hero, villain, antihero, victim, nemesis--everyone has their mask and it is up to them whether they believe it or not.  The morality is not clear cut and it is a tale laced with revenge and with blind beliefs.  It is one hell of a story.

I have one, and only one, slight against this otherwise fantastic and captivating novel: with every turn of the page, I felt like I was waiting for something.  For the big confrontation, for the moment hinted at from the very first sentence.  I'm glad I didn't hold my breath.  So many things occur throughout the course of the story, and although I find no fault with them individually, they all hinged on the anticipation of that final scene.

You must make time for that which matters, for that which defines you: your passion, your progress, your pen. Take it up, and write your own story.

Victor is a clever ex-con seeking revenge.  Victor is a monster, a sociopath, and a danger to society.  I spent the entire length of the book rooting for him.  Because there is nothing worse than a villain that fancies themselves a hero, and that is Eli in a nutshell.

Eli, devoted to the idea that it is his mission to hunt down those with powers and the one who began it all, who first began toying with the idea of people with peculiar and inexplicable abilities.  All it took was a nudge from Victor, a wonder at testing the chance of becoming extraordinary themselves.  Naturally, that did not progress smoothly.

How do people become EO's---ExtraOrdinary--in the first place?  Step One:  Death. Step Two:  A whole lot of willpower and adrenaline.  It's an intriguing and creative theory that set the gears in my head turning.

Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.

The powers of each EO were fascinating.  Not unusual, inventive abilities, no, but the psychology and characters behind them make the novel.  Sydney, my personal favorite, can resurrect the dead.  A little girl who is perpetually cold and is on the run.  Mitch is a hacker who escaped from prison along with Victor, and is remarkably human in an inhuman setting.

This isn't good vs. evil, human vs. demon, and I like that.  Vicious exists entirely within the gray and the ambiguous.  It is what happens when you mix a skilled writer with traditional comic book themes.  It is compellingly written and morally complex and a perfect recipe for disaster.  So, clearly, I fell in love with it.