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?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.
just gonna start off with saying that this was a very interesting read. i think the most remarkable thing about v.e. schwab is that she is always able to capture the essence of a story really well. from adsom to the invisible life of addie larue, and even including this savage song, her writing remains distinct and characteristic of her style, but shifts to match the mood of the plot and the tone of the character's voices. this is something i can't say i've really experienced from a lot of other authors. i think her stories are always fleshed out and told in elaborately unique ways that separate them all from one another. if there's one thing i can rely on, it's knowing that v.e. schwab will deliver a project with her whole heart attached to it.
despite how much i continue to love v.e. schwab's writing, i just could not get into this one as much as her previous works. the premise of an anti-hero driven story is something i always gobble up cause i find that the complexity behind the character's motivations, hopes, and past is usually alluring. and that was totally the case here. i loved reading about victor vale's time at lockland university, his relationship with eli and how that resulted in their inevitable falling out, and learning more about his time in prison with mitch. but i think some of that need for retribution was lost between the flashback chapters and when it finally came down to getting dirty. it felt anti-climatic. for a book titled vicious, it was quite tame tbh. knowing how much people have hyped up this book, i was a little let down.
in addition to this, i just don't click with some of the themes explored in this book, particularly eli's reliance on religion as the rationale behind what he does. his character development jumped from being a bright college student ambitiously hellbent on discovering the impossible, to an asshole who felt he had received a god-given mission and became a villain overnight. i can understand it in a paradoxical sort of sense, considering eli's character from the start of the novel, but it still felt like a cop-out to create a villain out of the two main characters. it was weird and uncomfy to me.
i appreciate that the ending was kept open for future direction. i really enjoyed sydney's character and think her story is worth exploring more! i am just unsure if i will read venegeful. i'm curious to know many more details about victor's whereabouts, what happened to eli, etc etc but don't think i have the energy to read the sequel because im worried about disappointment again.
regardless, there were some really great things about this book. the characters were fun, the premise of the story was interesting, and i enjoyed the writing a lot. it was just slow and a little anti-climatic, but maybe you can overlook that if you're intrigued by the plot and don't mind slow pacing. i loved learning about their time at lockland university and thought that the first half of the book was so worth reading because of this. their backstories are reminiscent of traditional comic books, adding an element of nostalgia to it all.
p.s. eli is a tool.
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