Vicious (novel)
novel by V. E. Schwab
Vicious is the first novel in the Villains Trilogy by American author V. E. Schwab. Published by Tor Books in 2013, Vicious follows two college roommates who learn how to create superhuman abilities but later become archenemies.
Plot summary
Victor Vale and Eli Cardale begin as college roommates and discover that near-death experiences, under the right conditions, can create extraordinaries (EOs): superhuman abilities. When Victor tries to create his abilities, things go wrong and people take a fall and he ends up in jail. 10 years later, Eli, now under the name Eli Ever, has started a crusade to kill every other EO, and Victor has broken out of jail, with fellow inmate Mitch, to get revenge on Eli.
Reception
The Guardian called Vicious "a brilliant exploration of the superhero mythos and a riveting revenge thriller". It received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called Schwab's characters "vital and real, never reduced to simple archetypes" and praised the book as "a rare superhero novel as epic and gripping as any classic comic". Publishers Weekly also named Vicious one of its best books of 2013 for SF/Fantasy/Horror. The American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association likewise awarded it the top fantasy book in their 2014 Reading List.
In late 2013, the rights for a film adaptation of Vicious were bought jointly by Story Mining & Supply Co and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions.
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