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egg_apologist's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Fascinating concept, interesting characters to go along with it, but not particularly well executed in my opinion. The book is clearly trying very hard to be a character-driven novel, but I am unconvinced that it succeeded. The chapters are so incredibly short, which has the fun and interesting effect of making the plot feel like a countdown toward the inevitable showdown of the two main characters—Victor and Eli. This made the book very fast-paced and delightfully suspenseful, but it also had the added effect of forcing the narration to cut down severely on both the descriptions of characters/settings AND the amount of dialogue present in each chapter, which resulted in the novel doing a lot of “telling” about the characters, rather than “showing.”
In order to keep the chapters short so that the novel could move the plot along quickly, we (the audience) get very few scenes showcasing what any of the characters (main- or side-) were like before they became ExtraOrdinary individuals (EOs, for short). For example, instead of showing us how close Victor and Eli used to be before their inevitable falling-out (something that would’ve enriched their personalities pre-EO life and fleshed out their characters a lot more), we are given only the shortest glimpse into their lives together in college. We’re shown barely anything at all of their lives before they both decided to become EOs. The flashback scenes pretty much jump straight into showing how those two became EOs, and then their subsequent falling-out in the aftermath. Therefore, we don’t really see much of what they were like together before they fell out with each other; the audience is forced to simply trust that (at least on some level) those two used be friends. Since we don’t get to see much of how close they used to be, their falling out with each other (and therefore their “showdown” that the plot is pushing us towards) doesn’t end up having the same emotional impact that it would’ve had if we’d truly witnessed how close they had been in the past. Not including enough scenes showcasing their backstories also ended up making all of the characters feel just a little bit flat overall.
It is also hinted at (but never outright confirmed) thattransforming into an EO might, perhaps, lessen a character’s empathy towards other humans. This had so much potential to be a fascinating bit of lore, but once again, the audience is given so few glimpses into what Victor, Eli, or any of the other EOs were like before they became EOs, so there simply isn’t enough data for the audience to make a hypothesis one way or another about whether or not this is supposed to be true, or if it’s actually a falsehood that certain characters simply choose to believe. What’s worse, the few-and-far-between glimpses that we are given of their lives before they were all EOs don’t show the characters as necessarily being all that different in their pre-EO lives as they are shown to be in their lives as EOs. Occasionally, certain characters will insist to us that the EOs are behaving differently (i.e., the narrative “tells” us that they are now different), but we are never shown any corroborating evidence (that is, we aren’t shown very many (if any) scenes of what they were like before), so we just have to choose whether or not we want to take those particular characters’ word for it. It could very well be the case that this lack of evidence to corroborate those claims was actually intentional—maybe it was a sort of way to entice the audience to read the next book in the series so that they can find out whether that particular bit of speculation is true. But regardless of what the intention was, the effect was that, since the narrative had already done so much telling rather than showing when it came to the characters’ personalities and backstories anyway, this lore-drop just ended up feeling like yet another thing that the narrative chose to tell rather than show.
To be honest, I feel bad giving this book such a low rating because I truly felt like it had so much potential. But I really do think that the choosing to prioritize creating suspense in the plot (i.e., choosing to keep all of the chapters incredibly short and fast-paced) over prioritizing fleshing out the characters’ backstories (i.e, writing longer chapters in order to “show” the audience more about the characters rather than just “telling”) is a HUGE mistake if the aim is to write a character-driven story. It would’ve been a genius move for a plot-driven narrative, but in a character-driven narrative, that decision only served to undermine the amount of time needed to write characters that are truly three-dimensional. This book was overall a little disappointing, but since it is the first in a series, I’m still willing to give the series as a whole the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, this issue of writing a character driven story that doesn’t actually quite succeed in fleshing out characters enough gets improved upon as the series continues.
In order to keep the chapters short so that the novel could move the plot along quickly, we (the audience) get very few scenes showcasing what any of the characters (main- or side-) were like before they became ExtraOrdinary individuals (EOs, for short). For example, instead of showing us how close Victor and Eli used to be before their inevitable falling-out (something that would’ve enriched their personalities pre-EO life and fleshed out their characters a lot more), we are given only the shortest glimpse into their lives together in college. We’re shown barely anything at all of their lives before they both decided to become EOs. The flashback scenes pretty much jump straight into showing how those two became EOs, and then their subsequent falling-out in the aftermath. Therefore, we don’t really see much of what they were like together before they fell out with each other; the audience is forced to simply trust that (at least on some level) those two used be friends. Since we don’t get to see much of how close they used to be, their falling out with each other (and therefore their “showdown” that the plot is pushing us towards) doesn’t end up having the same emotional impact that it would’ve had if we’d truly witnessed how close they had been in the past. Not including enough scenes showcasing their backstories also ended up making all of the characters feel just a little bit flat overall.
It is also hinted at (but never outright confirmed) that
To be honest, I feel bad giving this book such a low rating because I truly felt like it had so much potential. But I really do think that the choosing to prioritize creating suspense in the plot (i.e., choosing to keep all of the chapters incredibly short and fast-paced) over prioritizing fleshing out the characters’ backstories (i.e, writing longer chapters in order to “show” the audience more about the characters rather than just “telling”) is a HUGE mistake if the aim is to write a character-driven story. It would’ve been a genius move for a plot-driven narrative, but in a character-driven narrative, that decision only served to undermine the amount of time needed to write characters that are truly three-dimensional. This book was overall a little disappointing, but since it is the first in a series, I’m still willing to give the series as a whole the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, this issue of writing a character driven story that doesn’t actually quite succeed in fleshing out characters enough gets improved upon as the series continues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Police brutality and War
willow_the_wisp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
bootrat's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, V.E. Schwab's characters are always so well written and relatable, I love them all. The universe and the powers in this book were really interesting and I loved the way they were explored and developed. The time jumps back and forth were also done really well; it's not always a device that's utilised well in books, and often makes things more confusing, but Schwab used it well to develop the characters and the storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Self harm, Police brutality, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death and Fire/Fire injury
ribbenkast's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
V.E. Schwab strongest writing is when she's writing villans. In vicious all characters are villains.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
There's a sexual relationship between two characters that isn't consensual/the concent is extremely dubious. This is becauselottie1803's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, and Murder
vvayl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
You all don’t understand how much I love books about morality especially were the characters could eased be villains or heroes if we see thinks white and black, but thinks are never like that.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the book, but I’m not sure if I want to read the second one.
I’m happy with the way things ended.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the book, but I’m not sure if I want to read the second one.
I’m happy with the way things ended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jgalla's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
bugcollector's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I guess, hence the title, I was hoping to
root for a villain or morally gray character, but ended up feeling deceived.
the real trick here is thinking the mc is the villain, when he's actually the hero, and having questionable morals sums up to lack of empathy.
I don't even know what makes him a villain, is it his upbringing and the way the world seem to defy him? isn't being misunderstood by 'society' at the beginning is a part of the hero trope?
I liked victor more when he was human, the only part of himself lost to becoming EO was the ability to keep my attention. He stopped observing, and we weren't immersed into his inner thinking anymore (besides from a casual "I want to make ever bleed" every now and then)
another thing that was lacking for me was Ever and Victor's relationship.
Victor was pinning over him only a little bit at the beginning, and even though we're told he later on became obsessed with wanting to kill him, I don't think it really came through.
their friendship building lacked some feelings that were essential for rooting for them later on.
Not enough heartache, and we didn't see Evers side all these years other than the over religious thing he had going on. Did he just forget about Victor?
Speaking of that, the author just mentions once throughout the whole book that Ever has grown in an abusive household causing religious trauma, which only victor knows about , but it's never used later on.
I can't even say it made their connection deeper, because they don't mention anything.
The only explanation i could think of is that it's meant to be explored in the sequel, but i still find it lacking.
At last, the end of the book, the grand finale. I expected to at least have some sort of a conversation between the two mc.
Instead it's a shooting range and then we're done.
However, I don't want to bash the book completely.
I did enjoy the begining, read it fast, and felt that the characters had a lot of potential. It's a nice misfits come together and found family story, for those in search of similar tropes.
root for a villain or morally gray character, but ended up feeling deceived.
the real trick here is thinking the mc is the villain, when he's actually the hero, and having questionable morals sums up to lack of empathy.
I don't even know what makes him a villain, is it his upbringing and the way the world seem to defy him? isn't being misunderstood by 'society' at the beginning is a part of the hero trope?
I liked victor more when he was human, the only part of himself lost to becoming EO was the ability to keep my attention. He stopped observing, and we weren't immersed into his inner thinking anymore (besides from a casual "I want to make ever bleed" every now and then)
another thing that was lacking for me was Ever and Victor's relationship.
Victor was pinning over him only a little bit at the beginning, and even though we're told he later on became obsessed with wanting to kill him, I don't think it really came through.
their friendship building lacked some feelings that were essential for rooting for them later on.
Not enough heartache, and we didn't see Evers side all these years other than the over religious thing he had going on. Did he just forget about Victor?
Speaking of that, the author just mentions once throughout the whole book that Ever has grown in an abusive household causing religious trauma, which only victor knows about , but it's never used later on.
I can't even say it made their connection deeper, because they don't mention anything.
The only explanation i could think of is that it's meant to be explored in the sequel, but i still find it lacking.
At last, the end of the book, the grand finale. I expected to at least have some sort of a conversation between the two mc.
Instead it's a shooting range and then we're done.
However, I don't want to bash the book completely.
I did enjoy the begining, read it fast, and felt that the characters had a lot of potential. It's a nice misfits come together and found family story, for those in search of similar tropes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship