Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

54 reviews

stardustvein's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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leweylibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I DEVOURED this book, and I truly can't think of anything that I didn't like or that rubbed me the wrong way at all. In fact, before I even finished this book, I went out and bought the second one 🙌 And gosh I am even more impressed with myself for picking out this book for Blaine for Christmas lol.

Some things in particular that I love:

The entire premise really lol I've been telling people it's giving X-Men but darker. It feels like a more realistic and plausible version of superheroes.

The characters, especially Victor and Eli. I am such a sucker for morally gray characters, and they are both that to a freaking T lol. Eli's religion and how it guides him is so interesting to me, and Victor's jealousy and his mutilating books (especially his parents' self-help books lol) is also interesting. And, of course, their powers
(self-healing for Eli and giving and taking away pain for Victor)
are so illuminating. And their relationship with each other? Gosh. So much to unpack there.

The pacing was perfect, idk how anyone could think it's slow (and I know someone who did).

The discussion around what makes a hero, sidekick, and villain is 🤌 Those might be the parts that I love the most.

Quotes:
  • All Eli had to do was smile. All Victor had to do was lie. Both proved frighteningly effective. (18)
  • The moments that define lives aren't always obvious. They don't always scream LEDGE, and nine times out of ten there's no rope to duck under, no line to cross, no blood pact, no official letter on fancy paper. They aren't always protracted, heavy with meaning. (58)
  • It could work, and if it did work, he wanted the chance to hold the power, the evidence, the proof. He wanted to be the proof. Without it, this was Eli's monster, and he was merely the wall off which Eli bounced his ideas. With it, he was the monster, essential, inextricable from Eli's theories. (60)
  • Eli, who showed up in the hallway sophomore year with a suitcase and a smile. Eli, who believed in God and had a monster inside him just like Victor, but knew how to hide it better. Eli, who got away with everything, who had slipped into his life and stolen the girl and the top rank and the stupid holiday research grant. Eli, who, despite it all, meant something to Victor. (78)
  • The years had worn on Victor in more obvious ways, hardening him, but they hadn't left Eli untouched. He didn't appear a day older, but the arrogant smile he'd often flashed in college had given way to something crueler. Like that mask he'd worn for so long had finally fallen off, and this was what lurked behind it. (90)
  • And Victor, who was so good at picking things apart, at understanding how they worked, how he worked, looked at the photo, and felt...conflicted. Hate was too simple a word. He and Eli were bonded, by blood and death and science. They were alike, more so now than ever. And he missed Eli. He wanted to see him. And he wanted to see him suffer. He wanted to see the look in Eli's eyes when he lit them up with pain. He wanted his attention.
    Eli was like a thorn beneath Victor's skin, and it hurt. He could turn off every nerve in his body, but Victor couldn't do a damned thing about the twinge he felt when he thought of Cardale. The worst part of going numb was that it took away everything but this, the smothering need to hurt, to break, to kill, pouring over him like a thick blanket of syrup until he panicked and brought the physical sensations back. (90-91)
  • If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain?
    He took a long sip of his drink, tipped his head back against the couch, and decided he could live with that. (91)
  • Victor Vale was not a fucking sidekick. (96)
  • "You thought our powers were somehow a reflection of our nature. God playing with mirrors, but you're wrong. It's not about God. It's about us. The way we think. The thought that's strong enough to keep us alive. To bring us back. (133)
  • There had been an excerpt, blown up large and pasted on the window, and in a passage studded with overwrought gems--his favorite being "out of the ruins of our self-made jails..."--he had seen the perfect opportunity to spell out a simple but effective" we...ruin... all...we touch." (168)
  • There was a moment of such perfect quiet, the kind he used to feel in church, a sliver of peace that felt so... right. It was the first time he'd felt like himself, like more than himself, since he'd come back to life.
    Eli crossed himself. (212)
  • Serena remembered sitting cross-legged on her bed and listening to the news, her friends huddled on the comforter around her-- but not touching; there seem to be a thin wall, separating them from her, fear, or maybe awe-- and it was then she realized that she wasn't a ghost, or a god.
    She was a monster. (236)
  • "I hope Victor hurts him," she said cheerfully. "A lot."
    "Jesus. Three days and you're already taking after him." Mitch sagged into a chair, ran his head over his shaved head. "Look, Sydney, there's something you need to understand about Victor--"
    "He's not a bad man," she said.
    "There are no good men in this game," said Mitch.
    But Sydney didn't care about good. She wasn't sure she believed in it. "I'm not afraid of Victor."
    " I know." He sounded sad when he said it. (276)
  • But these words people throw around--humans, monsters, heroes, villains--to Victor it was all just a matter of semantics. Someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens. Someone else could be labeled a villain for trying to stop them. Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human. (288-289)
  • ...a decade in and out of prison had taught him this: there were some people you had to stay away from, people who poisoned everything within reach. Then there were people you wanted to stick with, the ones with silver tongues and golden touches. And then, there were people you stood beside, because it meant you weren't in their way. And whoever Victor Vale was, whatever he was, and whatever he was up to, the only thing Mitch knew was that he did not want to be in his way. (304)
  • She readjusted the shovel on her shoulder, and wondered if Eli would live forever, and how much of forever someone could reasonably remember, especially when nothing left a mark. (361)
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on_your_raedar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was so good! Once I got into it, it was really hard to put down (the library due date helped some too 😂😂). 

Fastest summary: this book is about Eli, a college student, that does his thesis on extraordinary (EOs) people and his roommate Victor, the POV you spend majority of the book in, work together to test Eli’s theories into practice to see if they can make EOs. Victor accidentally kills someone with his gift and Eli turns him in and goes on a self righteous kick using religion as his motivator. You spend the whole book waiting for the V and E show down. 

I’m not sure if the intent was to make Victor a likeable character but I really liked him. Mitch was easily my favorite character, I really hope the6 make this into a movie or tv show and get his character right because I’d love to see him. Sydney was a solid character, she’s really young so I’m excited to see her growth if she’s in book 2, especially with
her not knowing that Victor killed her sister, not Eli. I can already feel the tension there, but I hope it works out.
 

Needless to say, I have book 2 ready to start and also another book by the author. I could easily see V.E. creeping into my top 5 authors and I’m ready.
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pjdotcom's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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beeontoast's review against another edition

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

5.0

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chronicacademia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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rrio's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ladynavalon's review against another edition

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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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donatio's review

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As always V. E. Schwab did not disappoint.
I loved the writing style and how she skipped back and forth between the past and the present. The characters were well-crafted and I found a connection to every one of them, especially Victor's group of strays. 
It was not really action-packed but I still loved how the story evolved. 
Before reading one should check the trigger warnings, because it gets dark at points and "There are no good men in this game" is quite true. The mix of flashbacks and present might be annoying for some people too. 
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widdlemun's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved seeing Victor and Eli's dynamic. It put an interesting spin on superheros/supervillians. It was fucked up and a little cheesy at times. I do not regret a single minute reading this.
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