Vicious

Two brilliant, ambitious college roommates researching near-death experiences discover that trauma at the threshold of death can grant survivors extraordinary abilities, and their reckless experiments to gain powers of their own turn a friendship into a decade-long war between two men who each believe the other is the true monster. Schwab tells the story out of order, cutting between the fateful college years and the present-day collision course, so the reader assembles the betrayal that split them and the elaborate revenge now unfolding, complete with a resurrected ally, a gifted young girl, and a dog brought back from the dead. The book takes the superhero premise and drains it of heroes, populating it instead with two coldly compelling antiheroes whose rivalry raises real questions about what power does to the people who seize it. This suits readers who want dark, fast, morally gray fantasy with a clever structure and characters who are villains from every angle, especially fans of antihero rivalries. It fits less well anyone wanting clear good and evil, warmth, or a linear plot, since the book is cool, twisty, and populated by the ruthless. The detail that these extraordinary abilities can only be gained by dying and coming back, so power itself is born from trauma, gives the book its sharp central premise. Slick, propulsive, and satisfyingly bleak, it rewards readers who enjoy rooting for no one and everyone at once. Those wanting heroism or emotional warmth may find it chilly, but the dueling antiheroes and the nonlinear reveal are exactly what make it so compulsively readable.

Best for readers who want something unflinching: morally complex, heavy, and honest about the worst of things. The writing rewards attention without being demanding, a good balance of depth and readability. It moves quickly: once you're in, it's hard to stop. Not the right choice if you're after something comforting or redemptive.