Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

74 reviews

lizziaha's review against another edition

dark

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

A very interesting look into villainy. The jumbled storyline (particularly in the beginning) was a bit hard to follow at times, and the characters made some truly abhorrent choices. But this brand of super powered people that Schwab has introduced is very intriguing. I kinda wanted more info about the various superpowers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Torture, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

Moderate: Confinement, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Car accident

june_buggie's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Would be better if it was gay but other than that no notes keep everything the same but like gay

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Animal death, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Child death, and Stalking

Minor: Alcoholism

multiple suicide attempts from two different characters, two are technically successful though the deaths are temporarily, and one unsuccessful. There is a scene where one of the main character repeatedly self harms while experimenting with his new regenerative healing abilities. Graphic depictions of death via electric shock torture/spoiler>

itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Pros

• I really liked some of the side characters, particularly Mitch, Sydney, Serena and Dom. I think in the case of the first three, we got a more throrough look into their lives and how circumstances changed their lives. Are they the most interesting characters of all time? No, but they were better than the two men who were supposed to be the focus of the book in my opinion.
• It did get interesting with the countdown to Vic and Eli's showdown towards the end of the book.
• I think Dom's powers were very interesting (reminded me a little of Homura's time stop powers from Madoka Magica) and my favourite of the bunch, and I would have liked to have seen the full extent of their powers.

Cons

• The two main leads felt kind of generic and cookie-cutter compared to characters and I feel like I've seen characters based in this concept of intimate enemies done infinitely better in other pieces of media. These guys feel like all edge, little substance (mostly on Vic's part with the latter).
• Eli's religious bigotry compounded with his mental health issues just came off as a lazy excuse to make him "the truly evil character" and frankly ableist concerning the latter (i.e. the "he's evil because he's crazy" stereotype). With the former I feel like there wasn't much exploration into what made him that way, and I feel like he just ended up repeating the same hollow sentiments of God wanting EOs dead because they're freaks etc. over and over. This could have been improved by exploring his religious upbringing more, which I think could have lended some more opportunities for darker moments.
• Speaking of, I don't like how Dom was introduced so late into the story and ended up being treated more as a get-out-of-danger-free card instead of a fully fledged character which is especially damning when he is physically disabled.
• I think the timeline constantly jumping around harmed more than helped the narrative. I think the book took longer for me to read than it actually did because I had to do mental gymnastics to keep track of who did what that I feel like I forgot some important details along the way.
• I think the way Serena was killed was kind of out of nowhere and felt cheap. Then again I might be biased because I really liked her character and the ways in which she was lowkey terrifying
• On a similar note Angie felt like she was just there to be the generic love interest that got fridged partway through the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Suicide, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

klejnot_1293's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

OMFG THisSSSSssSSSSSSSsss

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and Death

gabym's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Gay gay homosexual gay

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Self harm and Religious bigotry

Minor: Abandonment

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, and Animal death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Confinement, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Torture

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Alcohol, Gore, and Grief

renn_the_reader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, and Stalking

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, and Torture

Minor: Self harm and Blood

agenericmirkwoodelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow! This book has got to be the most effective use of non-traditional story structure I’ve ever seen! 

The quick chapters and constant bouncing between timelines make it impossible to put down! Especially, I found, during the beginning. 

It relies very heavily on implication, which I think works wonderfully! There were many instances where I was smacked in the face with a sudden, dreadful realization maybe a chapter or two before the event was covered. This was pretty clearly intentional, and executed perfectly! 

I love the unique set of characters, and the complex explorations of morality! Will definitely be picking up the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gore, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death

ladynavalon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Torture, Physical abuse, Gun violence, and Grief

astrid_mel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, Death, Animal death, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

Minor: Car accident, Alcoholism, and Addiction