Book Snails Book Group discussion

Alrighty fellow Snails, with 30% of the vote, September's BOTM winner is Vicious by V. E. Schwab. Please remember to use spoiler tags. Happy Reading!

Thanks, Vickie! (and thanks for the email notification of the winner).

This book has an aggregate 4.25 GR reviewer rating, which is unusually high. I hope that means it's really good! Only 2% of reviewers gave it 1 or 2 stars (pretty rare also!).

Genre is fantasy/SF/adult fiction

Blurb:   (view spoiler)[
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?
(hide spoiler)]

This has been on my TBR list for awhile so I’ll try to tackle it in the second half of the month!

I just read this book this past spring for a different book club! It was quite enjoyable and even though it was not necessarily the type of book I would normally pick for myself, I still found it very easy to get through. I am excited to see what you all think!

I don't know if I'll get to this book this month, but I finally got an eBook version. Sounds interesting.

I started it a couple days ago. I’m enjoying it significantly more than the book I have to read for my book club (which I actually hate 😂)

StarMan wrote: "I don't know if I'll get to this book this month, but I finally got an eBook version. Sounds interesting."

Same here! Looks like a good book and can't wait to start it when I'm finished with my new Margaret Atwood.

Anyone else reading this one? I’m getting close to the end!

Hi Erin and all. Hope y'all are enjoying VICIOUS.

I finished it. I say 3+ stars, not quite 4 for me. But I can see why many people give it 4 or 5.

No spoiler review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

10 Q&As with author Victoria Schwab: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/...

Since the month is almost over....

Some random discussion questions for the group. Feel free to answer 1 or more, or discuss other aspects not listed here:

1. Who was your favorite and least favorite character?

2. Of the EO abilities in THIS book, which one would you want most, if any?

3. Did you have a favorite scene?

4. What didn't you like about VICIOUS? Would you have liked to see a different plot twist?

5. What did you think of the ending? Would you read Book #2?

6. Can you recommend another heros/villains/superpowers book that you enjoyed?

If your posts include big SPOILERS, please hide them via spoiler tags, or include a warning for folks who havent' finished the book yet.

I finished and gave it 3 stars.
I think Mitch was my favorite character. Eli was definitely pretty awful.
None of the abilities were particularly appealing to me, but I guess the self-healing would be pretty awesome. I have absolutely no desire to raise the dead!
I definitely want to read the 2nd book. It seemed that Sydney’s powers (view spoiler)[don’t fully work on EO’s, so I’m interested to see what Victor is like post resurrection. (hide spoiler)]

When I read it I gave it 3 stars as well.
Mitch and Sydney would probably have to be my favourite characters.

What I struggle with in books like this is trying to be interested in the story of a protagonist with such grey morals. I agree that Eli needed to be stopped, but Victor didn't feel like a good person to be rooting for either. It makes me wonder what their little crew will be up to in the following books, because he seemed like a pretty dark character throughout the novel. Maybe I'll read the next book, but I am also fine leaving it at this one.

I did enjoy that Schwab wrote unique take on how people come by their EO abilities in this world. It felt like a fresh twist on the idea of super powers and super heros.

Good point on the grey morals.

I liked Sydney & Mitch. And I'd have to pick Vale over Eli. At least Vale wasn't intent on killing every EO out there.

I was rooting for someone with brains enough to chop off Eli's head, toss six hand grenades at him, or shoot him with a rocket launcher (let's see him recover from that). Does that make me a villain?

A similar book is Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, if anyone needs more superpower plots.