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Quick answer: If you loved Vicious, try Vengeful, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, A Darker Shade of Magic, Renegades, Six of Crows and The Lies of Locke Lamora. Each one features morally gray characters, superpowers or villains you cannot help rooting for.
V. E. Schwab's novel follows Victor and Eli, two brilliant college roommates who discover how to gain extraordinary abilities through near-death experiences. Ten years later, after a betrayal, Victor escapes prison to hunt his former friend. Readers love its anti-heroes, its nonlinear timeline and its dark humor. These books share the same morally gray energy.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Genre | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vengeful | V. E. Schwab | Fantasy | readers who want more Victor and Eli |
| The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue | V. E. Schwab | Fantasy | readers who want more Schwab |
| A Darker Shade of Magic | V. E. Schwab | Fantasy | readers who like parallel worlds |
| Renegades | Marissa Meyer | YA | readers who like superhero teams |
| Six of Crows | Leigh Bardugo | YA fantasy | readers who like criminals |
| The Lies of Locke Lamora | Scott Lynch | Fantasy | readers who like con artists |
| Red Rising | Pierce Brown | Science fiction | readers who like revenge |
| Ninth House | Leigh Bardugo | Dark fantasy | readers who like dark academia |
| The Atlas Six | Olivie Blake | Dark academia | readers who like rivals |
| Steelheart | Brandon Sanderson | YA science fiction | readers who like evil superheroes |
| The Secret History | Donna Tartt | Literary thriller | readers who like friendships gone wrong |
| Hench | Natalie Zina Walschots | Fantasy | readers who like villains |
| Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir | Science fantasy | readers who like snark |
| The Poppy War | R. F. Kuang | Fantasy | readers who like dark anti-heroes |
| Mistborn: The Final Empire | Brandon Sanderson | Fantasy | readers who like heists |
1. Vengeful by V. E. Schwab
The sequel brings new villains and a war over powers.
Best for: readers who want more Victor and Eli.
2. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
A woman makes a deal to live forever but is forgotten by everyone she meets.
Best for: readers who want more Schwab.
3. A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
A magician travels between four versions of London.
Best for: readers who like parallel worlds.
4. Renegades by Marissa Meyer
A villain infiltrates a team of superheroes.
Best for: readers who like superhero teams.
5. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Six outcasts plan an impossible heist.
Best for: readers who like criminals.
6. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
A gang of thieves pulls elaborate scams.
Best for: readers who like con artists.
7. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
A miner infiltrates the elite.
Best for: readers who like revenge.
8. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
A dropout monitors Yale's secret societies.
Best for: readers who like dark academia.
9. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Six magicians compete for a place in a secret society.
Best for: readers who like rivals.
10. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
In a world ruled by evil superhumans, a boy joins the rebels.
Best for: readers who like evil superheroes.
11. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A group of college students commit a murder.
Best for: readers who like friendships gone wrong.
12. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
A temp worker for supervillains is injured by a superhero and plots revenge.
Best for: readers who like villains.
13. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
A swordswoman and a necromancer face deadly trials.
Best for: readers who like snark.
14. The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
A war orphan becomes a powerful shaman.
Best for: readers who like dark anti-heroes.
15. Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
A street thief joins a crew to overthrow a dark lord.
Best for: readers who like heists.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Vicious: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
Continue with Vengeful for more Victor and Eli. If you want superpowers and villains, choose Renegades, Steelheart or Hench. For criminals and heists, try Six of Crows, The Lies of Locke Lamora or Mistborn. If you loved Schwab's style, read Addie LaRue or A Darker Shade of Magic. For dark friendships, pick The Secret History. Schwab tells Vicious out of order, jumping between past and present, and The Poppy War and Gideon the Ninth also reward readers who like unpredictable structure and characters who make terrible choices for understandable reasons. All of these are best for adult and older teen readers because of violence.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Vicious YA?
No. It is an adult novel, though many older teens read it.
Is there a sequel to Vicious?
Yes. Vengeful was published in 2018.
Is Vicious violent?
Yes. It includes violence and death.
Is Vicious a superhero book?
It is about people with superpowers, but it focuses on villains and anti-heroes.
Is Vicious a standalone?
It is the first book in the Villains series.
How do characters get powers in Vicious?
They become ExtraOrdinary, or EOs, after surviving a near-death experience.