All of Us Villains is a captivating and engrossing tale that’s just about on par with highly accomplished dystopian novels such as James Dashner’s The Maze Runner and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. The book takes place in the modern day, but in a world where magic (spelled “magick” in the novel) still exists, along with a more powerful and valued version of it known as high magick. If this is also giving you some Harry Potter vibes, you’re right on point. However, Foody and Herman, giving their own unique twist to the story, write on page 4 the following: “Every generation, each of the seven families was required to put forth a champion to compete in a tournament to the death. The victor would award their family exclusive claim over Ilvernath’s high magick, a claim that expired upon the beginning of the next cycle, when the tournament began anew.” To give a bit of context, Ilvernath is the tiny town-like civilization in which all 7 of the most powerful (and really, only notable) magick-possessing families live and compete every generation. Our main characters are Alistair Lowe, Isobel Macaslan, Gavin Grieve, Briony Thorburn, Elionor Payne, Carbry Darrow, and Finley Blair, the 7 teenage competitors (dubbed as “champions”) for the soon upcoming tournament. The book opens when there are just a couple of days left to go until the start of the competition, and in fact, a good portion of the book is spent on describing tournament preparations and the central characters’ thoughts during that time as opposed to the tournament itself.
There certainly is no lack of action in this story; if you’re looking for some juicy combat and a wild plot, you will not be disappointed. I felt like the literary strategy described above (spending a good portion of the book on developing and helping readers understand the characters) really paid off when it came to not just the plot but also developing very multi-faceted characters each with their own flaws (their inner-villain). While this left me conflicted about many of the characters, this was an element of the novel that I appreciated because it didn’t provide a clear answer of who to root for until much of the book had flown by, and even near the end, there was a lot of potential for even more character development/twists. It also kept true to reality because no one is perfect in actual life either, and survival situations such as the tournament are apt to bring out everyone’s inner evil and even cruelty.
A unique aspect of this book is that it provides the POV of 4 of the 7 characters, which I found effective in that it allows the audience to connect more with the characters but doesn’t make the process of readers keeping track of them hectic. The 4 main champions who the book focuses on are also the most dynamic and interesting characters (although I personally wouldn’t have minded swapping Briony’s for Elionor’s perspective).
I’ve got to admit, this book had a lot of potential to be cringey, but the authors did a fantastic job of spinning All of Us Villians into a very engaging –and magical– tale (pun intended). Many major questions were left unanswered at the end of the novel which perfectly set the book up for a sequel. Although (MAJOR SPOILER***) if Alistair dies due to Isobel’s cheap use of the Reaper’s Embrace curse (that was really ironically made using his own blood) on him, I don’t know if I can continue the series. The reason I say this is because Alistair ends up being one of the most morally upright and relatable characters in the story, and the only central characters who are likable or interesting enough are Isobel (who I, however, now kind of detest because of what she did to Alistair) and Gavin. I guess from a utilitarian standpoint, Isobel did the right thing by siding with Briony and Finley since Alistair said he would fight (and by implication, kill) them if they wouldn’t agree to give him some time to find a way to keep his recently “resurrected” dead brother, Hendry, alive when the tournament (and its high magick) ended. However, Alistair made a fair and convincing point when he said that Briony, Finley, and Isobel’s strategy to end the tournament of joining the relics with their strongholds would still require quite some time that he could use to try to help his brother, and as written above, Alistair proves himself to be the noblest and caring character of the entire story (e.g. through risking his life to secure the all-mighty Cloak relic for Isobel). Furthermore, it’s a lot easier to feel sympathetic for Alistair when the other central characters are not as likable and when noting that his own family murdered his brother (yes, those heartless souls really did that) to provide him with a powerful curse he could yield in the tournament. Alistair, who also has feelings for Isobel (that are somewhat reciprocated), is just done dirty by her when she plays an absolutely cruel trick that’ll lead to his demise and left me pretty mad. I have to admit, I had a bit of hope for Alistair’s survival from the curse near the end, but soon scrapped it when the authors wrote in the book acknowledgments, “…you should know by now that villains tend to get what they deserve.”
A drawback of the novel that I felt was the incorporation of some government official/interference in the story. This official was some Agent Yoo, and the book described her as the government’s “eyes” on the tournament and Ilvernath. The government (most likely of a fictitious country) had apparently recently found out through an anonymously published and circulating book about the lingering presence of magick on Earth and the secrets of Ilvernath and was interested in acquiring some of the magick itself. The presence of Agent Yoo felt kind of awkward to me throughout the whole story, and I just disliked her in general. But maybe I was supposed to; anyways, this is just a minor critique of mine.
In conclusion, All of Us Villians is a fabulous work of literature that will be hard to put down. Its transitions, plots, and character development are all smooth, and the ending will leave you wanting answers (a.k.a. a sequel that hasn’t yet been released). I only hope that this isn’t one of those series that has a promising beginning but then gradually dies. But kudos to Foody and Herman for making their mark in a category of YA literature that has already seen so many great books!
Review by ~ Andrew
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