A review by rehtaehwashere
Vicious by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 

 

• What I liked: I loved the scientific take on superhumans, and that they're called EOs. I also liked that,
  unlike superhero movies and comics, they're viewed as anomalies because they're people who have technically died and something about their death is what gave them those abilities.
  I like that the most powerful person in the book wasn't the villain
  , Eli, but a woman named Serena who could get whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
  I also like that Serena HATED that no one would fight her on things.
  I felt bad for Sydney because her sister
  bought into Eli's 'holier than thou' shit and helped him find her to kill her.
  I like that Victor struggles with his humanity
  but that it isn't because he's an EO - it's
  because he always has. Mitch and his chocolate milk were great, too. I like that Eli's religious delusions make him more and more crazy as the book goes on - true to life, right there.
• What I disliked: Near the end the author unnecessarily draws out a scene where they're just entering a building (super annoying) and I disliked the dog killing scene.
  I know they brought Dol back immediately, but it just made the killing seem even more unnecessary than it already was like… what's the point of that? Maybe there's a point later on.
  The bouncing back and forth between current time and '1 year ago' or whatever every other chapter was annoying too. I get the author didn't want to give away the backstory all in one but I hate time bouncing in books. It was done well enough in this book for the most part which is why it wasn't a DNF but especially in the beginning it was annoying. 
• Overall thoughts: A really cool book with an interesting take on superheroes overall. I like how realistic the villain felt and that his own discovery combined with his already insane religious beliefs and psychotic personality made his dive into psychosis after his change feel more real and gave him a good enough motive
  to kill other EOs 'at the will of God' or whatever.
  Especially after taking a last name that's alliterative like Victor's - his friend/enemy - despite thinking he's better than him the entire book. I want to know more about Victor's relationship with his parents which is mentioned frequently but not in any detail,
  and what is happening with Victor after being revived at the end of the book.
  I immediately went out and bought the second one so obviously I liked it. 
• Recommend to a friend? Y