Book Review - Vicious

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Cover art courtesy of Barnes and Noble
Title: Vicious
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Tor
Publication Date: January 20, 2015
Version I Read: Paperback

Rating: 5/5

Wow. All I can say is wow. When you read the summary of a book and think “There is no way in hell I’m going to like it,” yet you have this almost morbid desire to buy and read it anyway, and then it turns out to be one of the best books you’ve read in years, that’s saying something.

Victor Vale has just broken out of jail, which he was in for murder, in order to kill someone else. Seems like a great guy, huh? The reality is a lot more complicated than that. While in college, Victor and his then-best friend, Eli, became intrigued by the possibility of creating an ExtraOrdinary (or EO), a human being with supernatural powers. Ultimately, they succeeded, Eli becoming gifted with regenerative abilities, and Victor having the ability to turn off (and on) his and others’ pain. But things quickly turn sour between the two friends, setting off a plot that many consider The Count of Monte Cristo meets superheroes.

There have been more and more deconstructions of the superhero genre in recent years (Watchmen probably being the most famous and influential), but this one certainly stands on its own and I think it’s worth a read to just about everyone, even those who aren’t normally into speculative fiction. If you are into speculative fiction, buy this book and read it. Now.

Spoiler alert.

I loved every single character. And I mean loved. They are all so believable and textured, and human. Even Eli, as messed up as he is, (he was abused by his father, always sympathy points from me) is incredibly nuanced. Serena is very interesting and trying to decipher her motivations was something I had a lot of fun with while reading. I especially love her twisted relationship with Eli, and how, in a lot of ways, she really is the one in the driver’s seat. And yet her humanity still shows through, as shown when she lets Sydney go the second time, and for a very interesting reason: that Sydney seems to have become more alive and defiant after death. And Mitch. I friggin’ love Mitch. I think he’s probably my favorite character.

For being advertised as a really dark story (with “bad against worse,” as the opening quotation says), I don’t think it is. The worst thing Victor does is torture and kill Dale, and while that would normally be enough for me to hate a character, I can understand why he did what he did under the circumstances. It’s also entirely possible that the loss of empathy is something physiological that’s happened to the brains of the EOs, which means they literally cannot function the way normal humans can, which, to me, anyway, only makes them more sympathetic. And in spite of that hardship of being human anymore, all of them show signs of empathy at multiple points during the story. Victor, despite what he seems to think, clearly cares about Sydney and her feelings. And Sydney and Serena care very deeply, about each other, the respective missions, and in Sydney’s case, the dog Dol. Eli may have little empathy for his victims, but his motivations clearly stem from the way he was raised, and in spite of the horrible things he does, it’s hard not to feel sorry for him.

The powers the EOs themselves are appropriately muted and, dare I say, realistic. Of our main characters, Victor has control over pain, his own and others, Eli can regenerate endlessly, to the point where he might not even be able to die, Sydney can revive the dead, and Serena can essentially mind control others. Victor and Eli discover that EOs can be born under the right circumstances, and all of them have had near death experiences, which is also quite unique.

The non-chronological narration was an interesting choice that worked with the almost noir feel of the story, and I didn’t think it was particularly hard to follow. Sometimes this can be a problem in books, as in more visual media like comic books or film, you can show visually how different a scene in the past (or the future) is from one happening now. This is obviously more difficult with books, and I did find myself going back and checking chapter headings every now and again, but for the most part I think it worked just fine with the narration.

Eli’s end was quite fitting, and while I was reading the climax, at first I thought things kind of ended up that way, but thinking more about it, it was probably Victor’s plan all along. Which went exceedingly well, might I add, because now that he’s officially dead, no one will be looking for him. It is, dare I say, a very happy ending, and a very satisfying one.

There are some unanswered questions, which I think work to the story’s advantage. What exactly is that thing EOs lose? What will happen to Eli? What happened to Mitch? Is he going to stay with Victor? What about Sydney, for that matter? And Victor himself—what’s he going to do with his goal accomplished? We get nearly no hints of this, but, again, it works.

Verdict: Between the phenomenally unique take on superheroes, the nuanced, believable characters, and the fast-paced, intelligent plot that leads to an amazing conclusion, you do not want to miss this book. 

Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use. 

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