V. E. Schwab's Vicious: The First Book in the Villains Series

Chris G.: Different and engaging. Cerebral and surprising. The ending was the best finish of a book I can ever recall. Suspense, mystery and madness.

United States on Oct 20, 2023

Sophie Shallai: I loved this book. It keeps you on your toes, the language is beautiful and captivating and the story is really interesting. You’re really invested in all of the characters.

United Kingdom on Oct 14, 2023

Books by Proxy | @proxyfish: Vicious follows the lives of two college students, Eli Cardale and Victor Vale. Absorbed in their research into EOs, or ExtraOrdinary people, their discoveries lead them down a dark and dangerous path where morality, ethics and caution are thrown to the wind in their quest of discovery. As they embark on a journey of lethal experimentation, where creation is the goal no matter the cost, death might not be the worst outcome.

Ten years on Eli and Victor are sworn enemies. As the numbers of ExtraOrdinary citizens plummet under systematic execution, fate shows an intervening hand. This is a story of one fanatical, evil sociopath (aided by a beautiful and mysterious woman) versus another violent, evil sociopath (aided by a gentle giant, a small girl and a dog). The purge must end, but only one man can come out on top.
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Schwab writes a marvellously wicked tale that I found myself unable to put down. Vicious is extremely well crafted, exciting and tense throughout, and though it has more flashbacks than I do after a night out, they occur at just the right moments to carry the momentum and hold interest. The premise of the novel is a good overhaul on what we usually find...

United Kingdom on Aug 14, 2020

Ashwini A.: I was so afraid it wasn’t going to live up to its hype but I am so freaking glad it did. I am in no way saying that this isn’t a book without it’s problems but for me, for now, this was an absolutely great read.

I have to admit that I liked Vicious better than the two books by V. E. Schwab from the Darker Shade series. I think it’s more because of the characters, they are more fleshed out despite it being a shorter read. I could see more of Eli and Victor as well as Serena, Sydney and Mitch than I could see the characters from the Darker Shade series. They were three dimensional in the best way possible and I think that’s what made this book a delightfully dark read.

I think this is one of those books where everyone is problematic and you know it but you find ways to be fond of them and become attached to them anyway. It might say a lot about us but the fact remains that these characters are ridiculously easy to be attached to. Except for Eli who has his own set of morals that I don’t think I’ll ever agree with.

Take Victor Vale, if you take into account every action he takes in the book, you would see a very clear-headed villain. A person who is...

India on Apr 21, 2019

Ariana (The Quirky Book Nerd): I am finding it extremely difficult to come up with the right words to accurately describe just how much I adored this novel. I completed it well over a month ago and I am still constantly thinking about it. This was my first experience with Victoria Schwab’s work, and I was completely blown away by her talent. It has been quite a while since I was so quickly pulled into a novel. I found this incredibly hard to put down once I started reading; it’s one of those stories where you sit down to read a chapter or two and, before you know it, you’ve read a third of the book. This is due primarily to Schwab’s impressive abilities in character development and storytelling.

Vicious follows the story of two best friends turned archnemeses, with a narrative that jumps between the present day and their time in college together ten years prior. During their study of extraordinary abilities, things get out of control, landing Victor in prison, bent on getting revenge, and Eli attempting to wipe out every super-powered person in existence. In alternating time periods and perspectives, the story of their falling out is gradually filled in, and the mystery pieced together in a...

United States on Apr 03, 2018

Ashleigh @ A frolic through fiction: Review originally posted on my book blog: https://afrolicthroughfiction.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/vicious-by-v-e-schwab/

RATED 4.5/5 STARS

After reading this book I’ve decided to read every single story that Victoria Schwab has ever written. I decided to pick this up because i wanted to see if I would enjoy her writing as much in a different story, since I have read A Darker Shade of magic beforehand, and I have to say I am very impressed.

This was a story full of revenge and mystery, much like any superhero story. I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy the superhero aspect, because I haven’t read a superhero novel before, but I thought it was very cleverly planned out. I found the story to be entirely believable, since the theory behind superheroes starts out as a science experiment. Throughout the book there are explanations to why different people have different abilities, and the knowledge behind it all seems so thoroughly thought out, I had no problem with thinking it to be true. Although the story is based on science, the wording never became too complex or overwhelming, so it was easy enough for me to keep track of the science even though I personally...

United Kingdom on Jan 09, 2016

Sky: Eli und Victor? Held und Schurke?
Eli und Victor kennen sich an der Universität kennen und sehen in sich gegenseitig das Potenzial des Anderen. Beide ehrgeizige Persönlichkeiten, die sich auf ihr Studium konzentrieren und auf ihren Gebieten Experten sind. Zwei Studenten mit viel Wissen, die durch ihre Arroganz zu Außenseiter werden. Als ein neues Projekt auf die Studenten wartet, entschließt sich Eli mit dem Thema EQs zu beschäftigen. EO (ExtraOrdinary) sind Menschen mit übernatürlichen Fähigkeiten. Anfangs ist Victor skeptich, doch muss einsehen, dass sein Freund wohl einer Sensation auf der Spur ist.
Doch bald wird aus dem Projekt ein Experiment mit schlimmen Folgen, das sie beide auseinanderreißen wird. Ein Projekt über Nahtoderfahrungen und Kräfte, die unmöglich erscheinen.
Zehn Jahre später bricht Victor aus dem Gefängnis aus und will an seinen Freund Rache üben. Sein Freund, der immer mehr Gott spielt und mit seinem gewonnenen Wissen und Fähigkeiten den Tod anderer Menschen sucht.

Aus Freund wird Feind
V. E. Schwab legt mit "Vicious" ihren ersten Roman für Erwachsene vor und haut gleich mal richtig rein. Schon die Eröffnung hat es in sich...

Germany on Jun 22, 2015

T. Sparks: In a word: An unexpectedly different superhero story, full of love, evil, danger and viciousness, written with spare and lovely prose, with a careful and precise construction that will leave you breathless.

I knew Vicious was a story about superheroes and that the main characters meet in college and embark on some kind of adventure together, but that was about all I knew when I started reading. I didn't know I was going to fall in love with all of the characters (even the most evil ones!). I didn't know that the super powers of these characters would be so subtle and unusual. And I didn't anticipate the utter brilliance of the way Schwab constructed her story: by jumping back and forth through time, slowly peeling away layer after layer of her complex tale, giving the reader only hints at first, then carefully revealing its shocking depths. Schwab is like a diabolical choreographer, telling us her twisted story in bits and pieces as each chapter unfolds.

I don't want to spoil the story for anyone, but here's a quick rundown of what's happening. Eli and Victor are college roommates who end up in a senior thesis class together. When the professor asks his students to...

United States on Sep 27, 2013