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Vicious

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Vicious

By: V. E. Schwab
Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
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V. E. Schwab's New York Times bestseller Vicious is a masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

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?

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.

"A dynamic and original twist on what it means to be a hero and a villain. A killer from page one…highly recommended!" —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Marvel Universe vs The Avengers and Patient Zero

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Fantasy Books of 2013.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

Action & Adventure Contemporary Fantasy Paranormal Paranormal & Urban Superhero Fiction
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Critic reviews

Entertainment Weekly's 27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now

"Fresh, merciless, and, yes, vicious. Wow." —Mira Grant, New York Times bestselling author of the Newsflesh Trilogy

“Schwab's characters feel vital and real, never reduced to simple archetypes... In a genre that tends toward the flippant or pretentious, this is a rare superhero novel as epic and gripping as any classic comic. Schwab's tale of betrayal, self-hatred, and survival will resonate with superhero fans as well as readers who have never heard of Charles Xavier or Victor von Doom.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A fun, morally-flexible revenge tale...Vicious methodically ratchets up the tension as Victor and Eli circle each other for the inevitable kill.” —Daniel H. Wilson, NYT bestselling author of Robopocalypse

“Schwab gathers all the superhero/supervillain tropes and turns them on their sundry heads.... I could not put it down.” —F. Paul Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of the Repairman Jack series

Vicious is dark and intricate and daring, twisting back and forth through time and morality and life and death until you can't turn the pages fast enough. I loved it.” —Dan Wells, author of I Am Not a Serial Killer

“An epic collision of super-powered nemeses. The writing and storycraft is Schwab's own superpower as this tale leaps off the page in all its dark, four-color comic-book glory.” —Chuck Wendig, author of Blackbirds

“Utterly brilliant. Schwab takes the notion of superhero fiction and bashes it on its head...prepare to be thoroughly entertained.” —Jackie Kessler, coauthor of Black and White

“A noirish cross between the X-Men and 'The Count of Monte Cristo.' You won't be able to stop turning the pages.” —Alex Bledsoe, author of The Hum and the Shiver

“V.E. Schwab writes with the fiendish ingenuity, sardonic wit, and twisted imagination of a true supervillain.” —Greg Cox, New York Times bestselling author

Continue the series

Vengeful Audiobook By V. E. Schwab cover art
Vengeful By: V. E. Schwab
Victorious Audiobook By V. E. Schwab cover art
Victorious By: V. E. Schwab
Complex Characters • Engaging Plot • Morally Gray Protagonists • Unique Premise • Tight Storytelling • Perfect Tone

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I love this series. its one I will listen to again. the Narrator is a 10/10 he really brings the story to life.

Amazing!

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4.5 stars

I listened to this book and I honestly couldn't stop listening. I badly needed a nap, but I kept going because I wanted to know how everything would play out. First off, I knew nothing about this book going in, and I really liked letting the story unfold on its own with no foreknowledge of the characters or the universe. So I will do my best to keep this review spoiler-free.

The story revolves around two major characters, Victor and Eli, who meet as college roommates. They both take a class that assigns them to develop an independent research project. Although their projects seem completely different at first, they talk and eventually decide to work together using each of their ideas to see if they can induce a body to develop extraordinary abilities.

This is a series that is aptly named because neither character is the "good guy". This COULD be considered a superhero/supervillain origin story, but it doesn't feel like the usual superhero novel to me. That said, I definitely thought of the darker Batman-type stories a few times when reading this.

Victor and Eli are both very interesting characters, but both act for selfish reasons, making them characters you would normally hate. Except somehow Schwab is able to make you feel some empathy for each of them, which I attribute to her amazing writing. Personally, I did end up having a favorite, but I'd rather not sway other people's opinions, so I'll keep that to myself. I really liked Mitch's character, who was a good foil for Victor, and I liked how protective he was of Sydney. Serena was scary, but I think Schwab gave you enough so that you at least understood her motivations.

Overall, I would say I loved this book and can't wait to read the next one (thank God I waited until both books were published to read this). I had some confusion with the time changes, but that may have been because I was listening to it and didn't have the book with me to read along.

The narrator, Jeremy Arthur, was perfect for this book. I don't know if his voice would have worked for other books, but it definitely worked for this one. He struck just the right atmosphere for me and it contributed to me not wanting to put this down. This is my first time with this narrator, but I would definitely be interested in listening to other books by him. I'm glad he's narrating the second book in this series.

Couldn't stop listening

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Not as enjoyable as her magic series. Too dark and violent. Characters are interesting and I. Oils get into it more if there were more light spots.

Dark and violent

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I’d say it the ending was a bit anticlimactic. I mean, if Eli lost his head too I’m sure it wouldn’t fix itself. Otherwise it was a good read with a little “save the cheerleader, save the world” feel.

No surprises but a good story

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V.E. Schwab is one of the finest writers of our generation. Every book is SO good. A beautifully developed and creative world with limitless character development. Vicious is so exciting and engaging I cant stop listening and this narrator is truly talented. 10/10

One of the BEST

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