Vicious, byVE Schwab, is a superhero (erm, supervillain) flick in which two pre-med students (Eli and Victor) discover that the origin ofextraordinaryabilities is a fatal incident from which the victim is successfully resuscitated.Being experimental in nature, both as college students and as science-majors, the boys decide to duplicate these circumstances. They learn (too late) that the exact nature of powers-gained is decidedly circumstantial.The story zig-zags over a period of roughly ten years, but picks up with Victor straight out of prison and Eli in the midst of a murder spree. An escapee inmate and two inadvertentExtraOrdinaries, (Schwab's clever name for superpeople), round out the cast, with the role ofgood guydecidedly absent.There are no heroes in this one, only bad guys and worse guys. Honestly, I spent most of the book wondering if I was rooting for the right character, which might be Schwab's whole point. Themes of conveniently contrived divine authority, vengeance, and the logical obligation (rather than the emotional or instinctual tendency) to choose right behavior over wrong lend a whole lot of grey to this utterly engrossing tale.I wholeheartedly recommend this book. In fact, I can see myself reading it again. It is, pardon me for saying,SUPER.Smart, dry, and strangely endearing. Schwab weaves in just enough science to satisfy. Her brisk chapters, frequent time shifts, and well-timed perspective swaps make this tidy standalone read like a perfectly paced puzzle.Five stars!Have you read anything by VE Schwab? Tell me your favorites in the comments!-J