chronicallybookish | Vicious (Villains Book 1)

Vicious (Villains Book 1)

V. E. Schwab

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V. E. Schwab's New York Times bestseller Vicious is a masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, desire, and superpowers.

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?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

“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 of Marvel Universe vs The Avengers and Patient Zero

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Fantasy Books of 2013

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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Posts about this title from chronicallybookish

chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Sep 15 2025

a very yappy vibes-based fall tbr

I was VERY yappy when I filmed this buckle in besties #booktok #toberrad #falltbr #fallbooks #tbrlist

14 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Infinite Realms Book Club \ \ Nozomi \ \ • Apr 24

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Poll:\ \ May voting \ \ Hi everyone it is that time to vote for which books we will be reading in May! As always we have 3 fantasy and 3 thriller books to choose from! Voting will end on 4/30\ \ Everyone will have two votes so that you can vote for both genres if you would like\ \ Make sure to join the discord so that we can discuss all our reads!\ \ Join for free or login

May bookclub voting!

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The Brothers Gwynne\ \ Ed & Will\ \ • Apr 1

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Poll:\ \ April Vote\ \ Hi guys, here is the final vote for REVENGE! This will be the Wildcard category, so every book that has come 2nd so far is up for the running!\ \ Truth and Courage!\ \ Ed and Will\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login

Booksworn April Vote - WILDCARD

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Alysha Fortune Reads\ \ Alysha\ \ • Jan 14

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Women Fantasy Authors that arent romantasy

Here is my completed list of fantasy and scifi books written by women that aren’t Romantasy! #books #booktok #bookstagram #booksta #bookworm #fantasybooks #fantasy #scifi #Romantasy #womenauthors

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DocoftheDarkArts\ \ Bob Stuntz\ \ • Nov 17 2025

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\ \ Join for free or login](https://docofthedarkarts.binderybooks.com/item/girguDmmbOOmrmRmIU7I/)

Weekly Reading Update: 11/8/25 - 11/15/25

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The Brothers Gwynne\ \ Ed & Will\ \ • Nov 16 2025

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Poll:\ \ Voting - December\ \ What shall be the December pick?\ \ Upgrade for $12 or login

Vote!

7 books

The Brothers Gwynne\ \ Ed & Will\ \ • Nov 16 2025

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Poll:\ \ Will you be joining? \ \ The Booksworn Bookclub begins December the 1st! \ \ The theme for Season 1 of the Booksworn is REVENGE!\ \ We have chosen 5 categories, with 1 book voted for by Bright Stars every month (voting takes place on Bindery and over on our Discord under ‘Booksworn Book Club - club vote’ for extra votes!). You can vote for multiple options. First vote will open later today! (This bookclub is available for all paid members on Bindery - First Swords have access to the reading channels on discord, and the Bright Stars are the only people allowed to vote!)\ \ The categories are:\ \ #1. Short and Sharp (under 400 pages)\ \ #2. Adaptations (books that have been adapted to the screen)\ \ #3. 21st Century (books written in the 21st century… obvs)\ \ #4. Translations (books translated into English)\ \ #5. Wildcard (an alternative form book/one from another category that got a high number of votes)\ \ For the first month the choices are:\ \ Carrie - Stephen King\ \ Vicious - VE Schwab\ \ The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones\ \ The Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Garcia-Moreno\ \ God of Vengeance - Giles Kristian\ \ Coffin Moon - Keith Rosson\ \ Razorblade Tears - S.A. Cosby\ \ At the end of the month we will host a video-chat discussion with you all about the book we chose! Can’t wait to get started.\ \ Truth and courage\ \ Ed and Will

Our first Bookclub pick!

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Ladybug Books\ \ Samantha\ \ • Sep 23 2025

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\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://ladybug-books.binderybooks.com/item/9B7fagsGBxKBCdEulaoN/)

Bindery Intro and What I Would Choose if I Could Only Recommend 10 Books

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chronicallybookish\ \ Kaley\ \ • Sep 15 2025

a very yappy vibes-based fall tbr

I was VERY yappy when I filmed this buckle in besties #booktok #toberrad #falltbr #fallbooks #tbrlist

14 books

somenoveltea's bindery\ \ Maddie\ \ • Sep 4 2025

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Dark Academia Recs!

i seldom do recs but dark academia is my FAVORITE sub-genre of all time. also drop any recs u have bc i'll literally read all of them #booktok #bookrecs #darkacademia #bookrecommendations #darkacademiabooks

16 books

Fantasy & Frens\ \ Zoranne\ \ • Jul 10 2025

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SIX FANTASY BOOKS TO READ THIS SUMMER ☀️🗡️🌊

Have you read any of these?

6 books

Reads with Rachel\ \ Rachel\ \ • May 1 2025

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The BEST BOOKS I read in 2024

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Mari's Black Girl Unlimited review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3417736431 Morgan made my copy of Ember In The Ashes: https://www.instagram.com/artbyhurricanyounot/ Vicky Bagget melting down over a kid's book: https://www.facebook.com/vicki.g.baggett/videos/1293426925359816/?fs=e&mibextid=UalRPS

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Moonlit Fables\ \ Rupali\ \ • May 1 2025

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also the month i watched pride & prejudice and had my life changed 🤩\ \ more in-depth review coming s

also the month i watched pride & prejudice and had my life changed 🤩