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Vicious V.E.Schwab review

Rating 5 stars  

Vicious  

V.E.Schwab  

This book was centred around the idea of death and life, good and bad, light and dark a hero and a villain. V.E.Schwab took these concepts and created a universe that gave man the chance to become almost godlike and the consequences that follow. She delves into the concept of religion being used as a defence for committing crimes e.g., murder against others (this is regarding Eli). V.E.Schwab gave us two main characters Victor and Eli who were neither good or evil allowing us to see both of their sides and understand both to an extent. In an overall summary the book was about two guys who had different ideas on the same concept and separate ways to carry out said idea. The idea of gaining superhuman powers and what that could mean for the world. This led them to both do horrendous things for the sake of their goal for Victor it was revenge for Eli it was the cleansing of the world of the so called ‘monsters’ that walked amongst them.

Partially three features that stuck out to me from this book was 1) the usage of the hero or villain archetype, 2) The reasonings for Elis continuous murders and 3) Victor's drive for revenge and destruction of Eli.

Regarding the first one I personally find it interesting to see how people depict heroes and villains because it gives us an insight into people's personal views and beliefs. In Vicious you could say before they killed themselves and gained power that neither of them was the villain Eli was simply a ‘better person’ if we look at him through the lens of the people surrounding him – this is ignoring Victor as he saw that there was another side to Eli. Then Victor would be the ‘worse’ of the two, through a societal viewpoint. However once Eli gained his powers you could say this is when the roles shifted and we saw Victor become envious and spiteful of Eli, so eager to match Eli to be special like he was. Then you could label him as becoming the villain especially when he finally got what he wanted. He died and came back to life but the cost was Angie's life. Making him a murderer (given it was an accident so it would be classed as involuntary manslaughter. I am unsure if there would be a difference in America). After this when he went to Eli for help or some sort of guidance and he betrayed Victor you could say that this established Victor as the villain in Elis eyes, as Angie was someone who made him feel whole and Victor took that away from him. So, when Victor ended up in a cell this marked his deep-rooted hatred for Eli emerging and his thirst for revenge. As we continue through when Eli and Victor are face to face and Victor tries to kill Eli even though it is not possible due to Elis's healing powers. Victor just wants to cause Eli pain as his power is intensifying or numbing the effects of pain. We can see the joy he feels and during this part some may class him as the villain but Elis words calling him a monster and that his existence is going against to God, that he has the devil in him makes us wonder if Victor really is the Villain. Moving forward Eli shoots Victor three times and leaves him there to die. Which is a messed-up thing to do but we move from that. Victor goes to prison he ends up in solitary confinement for 4 years and then is integrated into the prison for six years he breaks out with Mitch and is now free. We now get to see (and in my opinion where the overarching idea of the ‘villain and hero’ is established to an extent as in reality neither of them was completely good or bad). Elis killing EOs and doing it in the name of God. Which is a direct contradiction against the second, fourth, slightly the seventh and eight commandments:  

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.  

4. You shall not kill.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

So, what exactly is forbidden by the third commandment? The word vain (as it’s rendered in the ESV) can mean “empty,” “nothing,” “worthless,” or “to no good purpose.” We are forbidden, therefore, from taking the name of God (or taking up the name or bearing the name, as the phrase could be translated) in a manner that is wicked, worthless, or for wrong purposes.  

The text above describes what the second commandment could be interpreted as. Also, regarding the second one he steals people's identities. Additionally, he lied about what happened to Victor and what happened to his professor. Hes a consistent liar. So, in the eyes of the God, he follows he would be committing multiple sins and deemed as a villain. He continues to be seen as a villain by me. Victor is helpful to toes around him to an extent it is not his main goal so you cannot say he has completely pure intentions by committing revenge on Eli he helps all Eos to not be killed by Eli. So, in some regards Eli is the hero.

The reasoning for Elis murders is because he is doing in the name of God. He believes that all EOs are going against gods will and that makes them dangerous regarding himself as the only good one and Serina is just there because he cannot get rid of her. I find his perception on religion to be extremely interesting and confusing due to what he is doing is going against some of the fundamental laws of God. I will not delve too deep into the area of religion seeming as Christianity (the religion I think he follows) has many denominations but as a Christian I find it amusing to see him try and defend his actions by using the shield of religion.

In a whole I just find it interesting to know why people want revenge that intense need to see them fall and for Victor it was captivating as I related to his feelings albeit a bit concerning but we continue. Seeing the similarities in what he thought and did (excluding murder) to what I would have done was simply fascinating and I quite enjoyed it to be fair. Also, I enjoy seeing what revenge can make a person do and how far they would go to see the demise of someone that wronged them.

In general, I recommend the book due to its complexity of the themes demonstrated which I could talk for hours on, the quality of the writing that enabled me to read it in two and a half days. It is an enjoyable book and I recommend it.  

It may not interest people who have difficulty understanding the ideas presented or the usage of violence just a slight warning for the contents of it. However, do not let that put you off entirely the violence is not just there for the sake of it has a meaning and a purpose so give it a go.