Vicious

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same ambition in each other. A shared 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 with 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 arch-nemeses have set a course for revenge but who will be left alive at the end?

"Supremely plotted and incredibly well-written." --The Independent

"Stark, cynical novel... urgent, insightful prose. Vicious? Yes, that certainly applies. We d also add dangerous and surprising." --SFX

"Vicious has been garnering much pre-publication praise, and rightly so: it's a brilliant exploration of the superhero mythos and a riveting revenge thriller." --The Guardian

"Schwab's artful chronology-bending plotting rivals that of any Iain Banks novel, and her writing is a sly, cynical treat. Vicious grungy spin on timeworn tropes." --Financial Times

"A dynamic and original twist on what it means to be a hero and a villain. A killer from page one... Highly recommended!" --Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author

"Schwab writes with the fiendish ingenuity, sardonic wit, and twisted imagination of a true supervillian - Greg Cox, New York Times

"Vicious is the superhero novel I ve been waiting for: fresh, merciless, and yes, vicious." --Mira Grant, New York Times bestselling author

"Schwab gathers all the superhero/supervillain tropes and turns them on their sundry heads... I could not put it down." --F. Paul Wilson, New York Times bestselling author

"Vivid, highly original, Vicious is a masterclass in storytelling, a superlative left-field take on familiar superhero tropes that is, quite simply, unmissable." --Adam Christopher, author of Empire State and The Burning Dark

"Vicious is a supremely clever, cruelly addictive thriller easily cloaked in the trappings of genre fiction whilst telling a stunningly powerful, wonderfully absorbing horror story of timeless archetypical passions whilst exploring the nature of heroism, villainy, friendship and family. A magnificent treat for all lovers of the dark fantastic…" -- --Comics Review