Villains

A trade paperback repackage of New York Times bestseller V.E. Schwab's Vicious, a masterful tale of ambition, jealousy, and superpowers which will include:

• A new cover by Wil Staehle, cover artist of the iconic Shades of Magic trilogy covers
• Schwab's Tor.com short story set within the Vicious universe, "Warm Up"
• A teaser for the upcoming sequel, Vengeful

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

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

2018 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION CATEGORY

Entertainment Weekly's 27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now

A super-powered collision of extraordinary minds and vengeful intentions―V. E. Schwab returns with the thrilling follow-up to Vicious.

Magneto and Professor X. Superman and Lex Luthor. Sydney and Serena Clarke. Victor Vale and Eli Ever.

Great partnerships―now soured on the vine.

But Marcella Riggins needs no one.

Flush from her brush with death, she’s gained the control she always sought―and will use her newfound power to bring the city of Merit to its knees. She’ll do whatever it takes, from taking over the mob to collecting her own sidekicks, and even leveraging the two most infamous EOs, Victor Vale and Eli Ever, in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

With Marcella's rise, new enmities create surprising opportunity―and the stage of Merit will once again be set for a final, terrible reckoning.

“In Vengeful, V.E. Schwab is at the top of her game, with twisty action, oddball family pairings and unexpected antiheroes you can’t help but root for.” ―Washington Post

“Schwab's characters feel vital and real, never reduced to simple archetypes... In a genre that tends toward the flippant or pretentious, this is a rare superhero novel as epic and gripping as any classic comic. Schwab's tale of betrayal, self-hatred, and survival will resonate with superhero fans as well as readers who have never heard of Charles Xavier or Victor von Doom.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review