I would have given it 4 stars had it simply been a prologue, but given that it is a short story, I expected it to be more self contained. I loved it right up until the end, but was disappointed when religious symbolism came into play. The ending was abrupt and just leaves you scratching your head. Though, this did help push Vicious higher up my to-read list as the writing here is sharp and exciting. This would have been interesting as a standalone piece, without the novel tie-in and "cliffhanger" ending, which gave about as much suspense as wondering whether your toast will pop up. The concept was intriguing. I was hoping for one of those stories that uses an inexplicable supernatural event to examine character relationships or perceptions; instead it was just some vague rumblings about the event that caused David's condition, and David being sad. The ending came out of nowhere; suddenly there's some kind of religious serial killer, no explanation, just there derailing the narrative. I understand this is a prologue (or something?), but if you're going to release it as short fiction, it ought to stand on its own feet. Positives: the opening paragraphs are well written and well constructed to draw you forward. Schwab's writing style isn't entirely to my tastes (not a fan of dramatic one sentence paragraphs used liberally), but it's not at all bad. I'd be interested to see either an actual short from her, or a proper novel; this in-between thing just didn't work.
Do You like book Warm Up (2013)?
I need more. Vicious world is so awesome I cannot belive there aren´t more stories
—Sarah
I need my hands on Vicious now! Too bad our local bookstore doesn't have it.
—11panda11
