Vicious, V.E. Schwab
I don’t know why it took me so long to get round to reading Vicious; I think it’s my favourite of Schwab’s books so far. I started with A Darker Shade of Magic, I think, which was very much hyped. With Vicious, I had heard some hype about it, but it’s been out a while, so I didn’t really feel a pressure to like it, and maybe that helped. Also, it’s a superhero novel — sort of. Maybe supervillains. But maybe it’s best to say it’s morally dubious superpeople, each of whom may have a point but none of whom are really doing the right thing, in a world where it’s difficult in the extreme to figure out the right thing.
Normally the multiple timelines in this story would annoy me, but it worked in Vicious, giving us glimpses of the past to fill in the story, while giving us bits of the ‘present’ to tantalise. Schwab handled it with assurance, and I was content to trust her that the things she was showing me were necessary for the story — it didn’t feel like an overfond author giving us unnecessary background. In fact, the narration feels very clean: every word necessary, every chapter honed to a sharp point.
The characters… well, you can’t quite like them, but I was intrigued by them. By their sharp edges and their inconsistencies, their beliefs. Both Vincent and Eli had reasons for their actions, and you can see exactly the point where they diverge — with the background story slowly being filled in, you actually get to see the difference it turns on, and catch it sneaking up on them. I found Sydney’s changes toward the end fascinating, and I think there’s a seed there for a potentially very interesting story about her and Victor, too. I wonder if that’s what the sequel will be about… either way, I’m very much looking forward to that.
So glad you enjoyed this one! The multiple timeline thing definitely sounds like it makes the book interesting. I’ve been considering picking this one up for a long time, but honestly I’m not sure why I haven’t. I didn’t read A Darker Shade of Magic yet, either…I really need to get with it.
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It’s a very interesting structure, and it really kept pushing things along for me. I preferred Vicious to ADSOM, but both are good!
Agreed, I liked this one more than ADSOM. I also started with it first, so unfortunately everything else I read afterwards by Schwab had a lot to live up to.
I’m glad I’m not alone in that! And eek, yeah, starting with Vicious would give the others a lot to live up to. I sort of worked up to it — ADSOM, This Savage Song, Vicious.
I’m really glad you loved this one, too! I read it when it was first published and I think I’ll have to re-read it before the sequel arrives.
I am a big fan of her writing style – especially in this novel. I’m actually a bit worried about the sequel, I thought Vicious worked really well as a standalone. I liked the switching between timelines, the tension it created was fantastic. So yeah, I’ll definitely be reading the sequel! 🙂
Yeah, I wonder what the sequel will do. But I think I trust Schwab to handle it well!
SO GOOD, RIGHT? I absolutely loved this, so I am really glad to hear you did too. I completely agree with everything you’ve said here too: I loved how it really discussed the depths of morality and good vs. evil. Definitely more thought-provoking than I was expecting. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! ♥
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It was great! I can see why everyone was excited about the prospect of a sequel.