Vicious

Ever since I saw Batman V Superman, I had been obsessed with the idea of a full-fledged versus story that'd include an epic seesaw battle, fierce rivalry, serious tension & an alarming hatred between 2 characters. So I was really excited when I found [b:Vicious 40874032 Vicious (Villains, #1) V.E. Schwab https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532011194l/40874032.SY75.jpg 19250870] & it became my most anticipated book ever. And let me tell you when a book or movie lives up to your hype & expectations it feels DAMN GOOD. It's a simple story. Victor & Eli were best buddies & college roommates, they both developed special abilities due to NDE (near death experience) trials. This leads to an inevitable fall out among them, putting Victor in prison & turning Eli into a monster. 10 years later Victor now out of the prison, has one goal in mind i.e. to make Eli suffer. What I loved:-Complex & equally good side characters alongside the 2 leads to make it a back & forth contest. Their backstories, interactions & first encounters with Victor & Eli made the story more compelling.-Deep dive into the minds of villains: why they are what they are, why they do what they do. -The ploys & strategies used by both the teams. I was awestruck by how well the tactics were executed, it felt like watching magic tricks & figuring out how the hell they did it. All of the characters put their powers & abilities to excellent use.-Development & variation in character of both Victor & Eli as the story progresses. Eli is an excellent villain he has beliefs which I ended up agreeing with but his methods got out of control. I was highly impressed with Victor; I had really underestimated him. He got smarter, mature & more rational while Eli went in the other direction. Both end up being complete opposites of each other which made it exciting.I only had a couple of minor issues which don't ruin the overall experience: - The origin of powers: It's too easy, the process should be more complicated.- 2 characters finding each other as a result of total luck & this event ends up playing a vital part in the outcome of this rivalry.In the end I'd like to say I was thoroughly entertained by this book. It gave me all the things I had wanted from Batman V Superman. It's a wild ride without any dull moments; it's action packed, fast paced, thrilling, stylish, dark, suspenseful & of course vicious.