From Goodreads: 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?
My Rating: 4.5 hearts
Thoughts on the Novel: I’ve never been into comic book superheroes
or watching movies about them, but I love reading stories where characters have
superpowers. I also really enjoy books that feature psychopathic characters or
serial killers. So, it’s no surprise that I absolutely loved Victoria Schwab’s
Vicious.
Told through a narrative that switches between the past and the present
as well as between characters, Vicious explores a complex friendship between
two very similar men obsessed with power. It’s got plenty of twists, and will
leave you wondering if you should even root for Victor to stay alive since he’s
pretty much as mentally unstable as Eli but just does a better job of hiding
it.
Vicious was released by Tor in September 2013.
Comments
About the Cover: I wish this was a little darker in style to reflect the mood of the book.
