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ellenwm's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Addiction, Suicide, and Abandonment
meganemarshall's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I don't understand how anyone could read this book and not root for Victor. Maybe I had the wrong idea going in. I thought it was going to be hero vs villain or 2 villains against each other. Instead, it was a functioning psychopath against a religious crazy psychopath.
I feel like we're supposed to see both Eli and Victor as villains, but I don't see Victor as a villain at all. Sure, he's killed people, and maybe in the next book, he goes full super villain. Instead, he gets out of prison with his bestie, hunts down a monster, and adopts a little girl and a dog. He is the perfect morally grey protagonist. Good - no, but not the worst of humanity.
Unlike Eli, who, on the other hand, is the worst. He is a villain. He is the bad guy. He's crazy. He acts like he has the moral high ground, but he's just a religious fanatic, like many serial killers before him. Relying on religion for his motives felt weak.
People really raved about this book, and maybe it just didn't hit for me. It was a good time, but it didn’t blow me away. I'll put the sequel on my TBR, but i'm not gonna pick it up immediately.
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug abuse
cchaney876's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
triley's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Blood, and Suicide attempt
megw27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
tamzy6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
outlast0002's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction
capsandclauses's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. I think anti-heroes might just be my jam. If you haven't read Vicious already (which you probably have because it was released over a decade ago and is really popular), Vicious is the vigilante origin story of Victor Vale, a prison escapee with the power to stop pain. Years ago in college, Victor and his sociopathic best friend Eli Cardale (now Ever), experimented on themselves to turn themselves into superpowers, until one night where it all went wrong. Victor ended up in jail and Eli ended up a superhero (but really not at all).
Now, Victor has broken out of jail and along with a young girl and his soft-hearted giant of a fellow escapee, is out for revenge.
I loved the reluctant found family vibes. The powers were cool. And the characters were absolutely ruthless.
“But these words people threw 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.”
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Torture
katebella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction and Drug use
sarah_hutchins's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death