Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Vicious

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

39 reviews

kspag206's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

This book is amazing. I’ve never read a book quite like it. The writing is fantastic, the characters are so complicated. And the fact that there are so many and each have their one well developed voice is amazing. This book really makes you think about morals whilst also feeling like a spin off of DC’s Jessica Jones. Fantastic. And the way this story comes full circle is just….chef’s kiss.

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ceruleanheather's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a deliciously dark, twisted tale of what can happen when people get super powers. Sometimes it is difficult to tell who the villains and heroes are.

The story goes back and forth between the present (ish), and ten years ago. Ten years ago Victor and Eli were friends in med school with a crazy theory about people gaining super powers called EOs (ExtraOrdinaries). Their bond is already an odd one in this time, but it works somehow. There is much jealousy though, and inevitable betrayal.

In the present, Eli and Victor are anything but friends. One has a god complex, and one seems self aware yet not quite caring. The betrayals have been festering and everything is heading to a climax at midnight.

Along the way we meet Mitch, Sydney, Serena, and a host of other characters. Each one being drawn into the epic conflict. Through each perspective we get to explore that fine line between what makes a person a hero or a villain, and so many gray areas. I love that there are no true background characters, as each one has their own demons to wrestle and their own role.

The two main characters are a psychopath and a sociopath, so fair warning. I was utterly fascinated by the way their minds worked though.

*TW* animal death (but keep reading)

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obfuscatress's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

To be honest, this book did not live up to my expectations based on some of the reviews I had heard of it prior to reading it. Until about 75% into it, I was looking at rating it just about (if not less than) three stars. My main issue lies with the fact that one of the main characters seems to suddenly acquire very strong motivations for their actions that are not foreshadowed nor are they ever explained or explored in any detail. To me personally, this change made no sense and made it difficult to connect with the story. That being said, there are several clever little twists added to the plot in this final quarter of the book, that I felt it ultimately deserved a better rating. In addition to that, virtually every other character is interesting and fairly complex considering the limited time we get to explore each individual and relationship within such a fast-paced plot.

While I can't say I regret reading this book, I could not in all honesty recommend it to someone else. However, now having read the book and found so much of the later plot and character development interesting, I will probably read the sequel too. If you're happy to be infuriated with the way one of the central characters is written for most of a book, maybe this one is for you too.

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foggyoblio's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so good! Go into it knowing nothing! Just go read it! I’m literalLu screamed at the last line and at least 12 others in the book. It’s just so so so so so so good!!!!

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haveyouseencass's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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erebus53's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

This is an origin story of supervillains. It tells the story of a couple of guys who were in premed when they started experiments to learn more about near death experiences. I got a vibe like the movie Flatliners(1990) with the level of obsession., and in with that, one of the main characters is called Victor, which is the name of another obsessed young student who fascinated himself with reanimation in a completely different classic novel... I doubt that is more than coincidence. The strangely gifted people are called EOs (extra-ordinaries) and much like Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, or X-Men, Spider-Man, and the NBC series Heroes the book explores what happens when people have impossible powers, and includes the argument about whether this is a physical or spiritual gift; whether it is deliberate and divine, or just a fluke.

The backdrop is clearly superheroic. You have a fictional city called Merit, which is an unremarkable, American town. The main characters have alliterative names, or names or descriptions that have significance to their powers, but from the get-go all the Vs made me feel like this is a lot more like Alan Moore than Stan Lee. For starters the "heros" are sociopathic before they even get started. There is nothing quite normal about these two college room-mates.

The story is tropey enough that it's fairly easy to get a handle on, even though it's told non-chronologically. Entire sections are flashbacks to 10 years ago. There are short memories that are repeated in different chapters.. one of which was long enough that I thought I might have accidentally lost my place and be reading the wrong bit. That was mildly irritating; a phrase can anchor something poetically without an entire callback.. that might work better if it was a movie (montage it, pitch it a little lower, put some echo on or something?) or maybe a graphic novel.. (make it yellowed like old paper.. or throw the colours out like a faded photo with no blue in it..)

The middle part of the story begins to lag a bit. But it picks up a little more as the things start to culminate. I do wish the ending felt a little more planned but it starts to become a little unclear what is going to happen. I do like that the story feels out the edges or limitations of the powers that people have, and explores a little of the synergy you can get when more than one person with a gift is working together. I think it would be marvelous if there were more people with normal strengths rather than uncanny things, but that is still included in the story.

This is a very different story to something like Hench (which is about jobbing for the supervillains), and has some similarity in YA stories like Songbirds and Snakes in which the mindset of the main character is toxic and dangerous. There is some bloody violence and necromancy in this story, so if you don't like dark then this isn't your book.

Clock this one up if you want to do a reading challenge where the hero is a bad guy, and it's set in a City starting with M (yes that's a challenge prompt for the 52 BookClub Chanllenge 2024).

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bookjunkie630's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

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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skillyillian's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this, what an awesome read. Superpowers in a modern day setting is well outside my usual wheelhouse but I loved Addie LaRue so much I knew I wanted to read more from Schwab. It was so worth it 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

The characters are fun, I absolutely adore a good motley crew/found family story and this one hit the nail on the head. Victor, Mitch, and Sydney are one of the best found families I've seen in a long time. Victor is Mr. Brooding, all self control and an unsettling power that's quiet until it's not, and it's hot AF. Mitch is a terrifying, tattooed gladiator, full of intelligence and a soft spot for the little girl he and his cellmate have adopted together, which brings us to Sydney. A tween scared of her own power when the story starts, she grows up in several ways as time progresses, until she's a very different person by the end. You cheer for all three the whole time as you watch them become a team and work together against Eli.

Speaking of which, Victor and Eli are the #1 most gay pair of nemeses I've ever seen in my life. Constantly thinking of each other, what they look like, what they're doing, daydreaming about seeing each other again for literally ten years, the little moments of intimacy during the flashbacks to their college life together. So gay. So in love. Extremely home of the sexual.

The flashbacks thing is such a cool way to write a story, and an awesome tool for keeping the reader in suspense. Something exciting happens and you're like "holy shit, what happens next?!" And boom, it's ten years ago again and you have to wait to see what's next in the scene you just read and desperately want to get back to. What a rad fuckin idea, man. Loved it. Seeing characters make certain choices and then getting backstory to their motivations and why the choice they made is significant was so dope.

The way the powers in this story are created and the effects they have on their users is so incredibly well thought out and unique. I couldn't help but marvel at how interesting it was and I spent the whole time waiting to see what the next EO's powers would be and it was never a let-down when someone else was introduced.

V.E. Schwab is brilliant. I loved this and I will definitely be reading the next one soon.

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