“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.” – Vicious by VE Schwab

A Classic

Are you looking for something a little fun?  Or do you want to read something a little different while you’re holed up in quarantine?  This book is an oldy, but truly very very goody.  If you haven’t discovered Schwab’s writing before, now is a great time to start.  I have read every book by her and this series is a dark, delicious delight!  

What it’s about

This book introduces us to two incredibly smart and competitive best friends who early on work together to invent something amazing, but that power and quest for greatness eventually tears them apart.  They want to do two very different things with their knowledge and creation, and choose two totally different paths.  

“The paper called Eli a hero. If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain?”

The multi POV and duel timeline works seamlessly to catapult you into the world of ambition, jealousy, and betrayal that Eli and Victor thrive within.  The book is brilliantly written even though you may find yourself possibly rooting for the bad guy?  Or maybe the point is that there really AREN’T good and bad guys? We all have that capacity in us and it’s what we choose to do with it that is important.  

“There are no good men in this game.”

The book begins with one of the men in jail, then flashes back to when they both were both in college together.   They get paired up for a project and being writing a paper about gene splicing and ways to potentially be stronger or have special abilities. However, when they discover there IS a way to do it and decide to try it out, their friendship and lives are put to the test.  People die.  People are saved.  You aren’t sure which one is actually the good thing.  

What I loved

This book is an action packed joy ride from start to finish.  I enjoyed the concept that we could somehow admire the people that we compete with and dislike the most.  And that our relationships are hardly ever one dimensional but rather complex.  There’s also a depth to all the characters that makes you deeply invested, even when they aren’t making the best choices.  

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