Vicious

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A recurring thought I have as a modern reader is that it must be very hard being a modern author and trying to write fantastic works that are ‘original’. Today’s readership consumes so much media on the daily that it’s almost impossible to concoct an idea that’s entirely new. As I’ve discovered through reading the chosen books from my book club, some authors do their darndest to, but often fail (at least in my eyes). However, reading a bunch of these new authors, I have noticed that some are able to adapt and write original works that are merely a different exploration of an already well-established idea. V. E Schwab is one such author. Having enjoyed her romantic take on the Faustian deal in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, I have now picked up and read another of hers: Vicious, a fascinating exploration into the superhero phenomenon and the dichotomy of good and evil in that genre.

Eli and Victor were once college friends who saw the best in each other, the hidden ambition, inspiration, and determination to leave their mark on the world. Both believe they have found this when they begin working on their final college thesis: an exploration into how adrenaline and near-death experiences can trigger a mutation and create an EO (ExtraOrdinary) person with special abilities. But disaster strikes when the thesis shifts from the academic to experimental. Ten years later Victor has broken out of prison and is hunting down his old friend (now foe), with the aid of a young EO with a handy ability of her own. Meanwhile Eli has taken it upon himself to hunt down and remove every other EO he can, with the questionable exception of his own sidekick. With terrible power on both sides, will either still be alive in the end?

Schwab takes the origin story and the binary of the hero and villain and not only turns it on its head, but inside out, sideways, and then flattens it. Using the well-established genre cues (at first) to indicate that Victor is the villain and Eli the hero, she quickly pulls that rug out from under our feet by jumping back and forwards in time to create context for the incredible character change. Vicious quickly becomes a story that challenges and then dismantles a number of superhero foundations, a story where there the protagonists are both villains, the sidekicks are more powerful, and the strong men are actually held up by stronger women. Victor and Eli’s character development is really intriguing and Schwab’s technique of creating context through backtracking works beautifully for this book. It’s a similar experience to Addie LaRue, just more compact.

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I’m definitely coming to appreciate V.E. Schwab as a modern writer. While her central story ideas are based on something already very well established and grounded in literature, her sideways explorations into those ideas and her fresh and engaging interpretations on them are truly clever and captivating. If you’re looking for a new voice telling some newish stories, give her a go. Perhaps even start with Vicious.

Author: V.E. Schwab, 2013

Published: Titan Books, a division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd, 2014