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egg_apologist's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Police brutality and War
obfuscatress's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Blood, and Abandonment
Minor: War
cleot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: War
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
V.E Schwab publicized an editors comment, which read “you’re readers will follow you anywhere.” Out of all the authors I have read over the years, I cannot think of one more fitting of this than Schwab, and Vicious is just the latest example.
Vicious follows two best friends, Victor and Eli, and the dark path that awaits them as a science thesis goes horribly wrong. The experiment in question: what is the essence behind an ExtraOrdinary person….and is it possible to create one?
I love the philosophical questions intertwined with the dark academia setting and more gruesome plot progressions, since it rounds into a more complex story. Even though Victor is a morally gray character, I still found myself rooting for him, in spite of his numerous faults. I think this goes to show the significance of character development in Schwab’s work (even the side characters), something I am exciting to read more of in the future. I have a feeling that the sequel (vengeful) will be a five star read for me, since there is less “magic system” development:)
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Medical content, and Abandonment
Minor: War
jehansflowers's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
the suicide is for Science Reasons, but is still relatively graphic. animal death is a dog, & isnt permanent