Vicious, V. E. Schwab
Vicious, V. E. Schwab
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Vicious

Author: V. E. Schwab

Narrator: Jeremy Arthur

Unabridged: 9 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/01/2022


Synopsis

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.

About V. E. Schwab

VICTORIA “V. E.” SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades universe, the Villains series, the City of Ghosts series, Gallant, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Fragile Threads of Power. When not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily May on August 03, 2015

"Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human." I actually received an 100-page preview of Vicious a few months prior to reading the full version and picked it up with absolutely zero expectations. Then, suddenly, I was catapulted into a world that did more......more

Goodreads review by Anne on March 25, 2025

A Tale of Two Sociopaths. One just ever so slightly more lovable than the other... This was right up my alley with all the Create-A-Superhero stuff! The reality, of course, is that neither of these guys are heroes. Victor and Eli were college roommates who experimented with a theory that Eli had about......more

Goodreads review by Hannah on December 17, 2018

You know that feeling of nostalgia you get when you're reading one of your favorite books? That's how I felt the whole time I was reading this. It was like I already knew this world and these characters. And that's not to say that they were bland or stereotypical (because they were extremely complex......more

Goodreads review by Regan on June 09, 2023

WHAT THE HELL EVERYONE IS SO MESSED UP. BUT THATS WHAT MADE IT SO AMAZING.......more

Goodreads review by Jesse (JesseTheReader) on May 05, 2020

The easiest 5 stars I've ever given. Full review to come! I just need to gather my thoughts.......more


Quotes

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


Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year