Release Date: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 364
Received: From Author
Star Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★½ ☆
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?[goodreads]
My Thoughts
This is another book that I put off for about a year and a half. Yeah, I know, well I was very dumb back then to not pick this up. And I won a giveaway from Victoria herself on her Twitter for a signed copy! I'm even more stoked now that I've read it and enjoyed it. Vicious isn't very ethnic oriented, but the dramatic effects kept me in sync throughout the story. If you're at least 100 pages in, I think the book will take you home instead.
The novel essentially follows two smart boys in college, then fast forward 10 years later, sworn enemies. Heroism is a big part of the novel and also the characters. After every chapter, we question who is the "bad guy" and who is going to save the day. But I couldn't really trust either of them. They both have completely different motives and they haven't done great things. Victor is the supposed protagonist and I guess he could be, but really shouldn't.
I love supernatural powers. I have a weird knack for reading or watching stuff about them. These powers are generally common, so it's easy to grasp. I also liked that throughout the story, it was near the end until we figured out Victor's ability. There was also a young girl who aided Victor, Sydney, and I really loved her charisma. ExtraOrdinaries is an interesting term for those who have abilities and it reminds me of a crime TV show. Anyways, Vicious gravitated through heroism, power, and friendship. It brought things into perspective of what we are capable of and what we'll do to unleash that control.
Vicious will also be featured in my original blog feature "Curtain Call", so look out for that when times come. I've learned that many people misinterpret ideas and actions, in order to keep their opinion the truth. I'm looking forward to Victoria's next work.
4/5 STARS
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