And the winner was....
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
364 pages
Published September 24th 2013 by Tor
A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.
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.
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.
That's right, exactly what Liz, the little puppetmaster that she is, wanted to happen: we're reading Vicious. And considering the favorable reactions I've had to Schwab's writing in the past (if you didn't realize, she writes YA under her full name of Victoria Schwab), I can't say that I'm not pleased by this turn of events. (Though tbh, I would have been happy no matter which book won, 'cause I've heard good things about them all.)
So have you read or been meaning to read Vicious? If so, join us in June as we discuss it! The twitter chat will be the last Wednesday of the month, the 25th, at 8:30 EST, with the hashtag #WednesdayYA. Until then, we'll be reading and sharing bits and quotes and vlogs, or whatever may catch our fancy, and we hope that you will, too!
Ooh, I must try to remember to lurk during this chat! After what felt like ages of seeing everybody raving about "Vicious", I finally caved and read it for myself, and it sank its hooks into me. It is now one of those books I adore with a quietly smoldering love.
ReplyDeleteDon't lurk, JOIN US!!
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