#ReadThemAllThon Review: Vicious

Summary: This book completely lived up to the hype, with fantastic world-building and an enjoyably complex antihero.

“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?” (Source)

To start, yes this book was as awesome as it sounds and as awesome as you’ve heard it is. Every aspect was well done, including:

• The world-building. The way in which characters developed superpowers and the variety of powers they possessed were both intriguing and internally consistent. World-building at its best.
• The plot. The story was fascinating and the author did an amazing job keeping up the suspense. At the beginning, she revealed just enough about each scene to make me want to know more. And towards the end, the momentum leading to a confrontation between Victor and Eli was palpable.
• The characters. Eli and Victor were both complex individuals with numerous motivations driving them. Their relationship was also a complicated thing, involving competition even when they were friends and grounded in their friendship even when they were rivals.
• The writing. The writing was beautiful, even poetic at times. The action was very vivid and the more introspective scenes were equally engaging.

I was nervous this book wouldn’t live up to all the good things I’d heard about it, but it was better than I expected in every way. I’d recommend listening to the hype and picking this up.

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