Starter Villain
by John ScalziPublished by: Tor Books on September 19, 2023
Genres: Adult, Science Fiction, Humor
Pages: 272
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Following the bestselling The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi returns with Starter Villain, another unique sci-fi caper set in the strangest of all worlds, present-day Earth.
Inheriting your mysterious uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.
Sure, there are the things you'd expect. The undersea volcano lairs. The minions. The plots to take over the world. The international networks of rivals who want you dead.
Much harder to get used to...are the the sentient, language-using, computer-savvy cats.
And the fact that in the overall organization, they're management...
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- Comedic take on villains and villainy
- Villains like you’ve never seen them before
- Laugh-out-loud scenarios that’ll keep you guessing
- Animals that are probably smarter than the humans, to be honest
- A sarcastic narrator
- Fast-paced, over-the-top adventure
I received a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished project and may differ from their final versions.
I would be lying if I said the cover wasn’t a large reason I originally decided to pick up Starter Villain. To be fair, I kept passing it by, because who has the time for reading all the books? But then there’s that cat . . . just looking snazzy in its fancy suit . . . totally judging me for not picking this book up. (And make no mistake, it is 100% judging me.) Once I read the synopsis, though, I absolutely knew this book was for me, and I’m so glad I decided to give it a chance!
Starter Villain is an action-packed romp through what happens when an average man inherits a villainous legacy. As it turns out, the answer is chaos, hilarity, plot twists galore, several explosions, and many unexpected surprises.
As my very first John Scalzi book, I can say without a doubt that I’ll be going back for more. While a bit over-the-top at times, Starter Villain was a ridiculously fun romp from beginning to end, and it left me wanting more (not in a bad way, but in a please don’t rip me out of this world just yet sort of way). This is a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you. Just sit back, enjoy the ride, and prepare to laugh . . . often!
Charlie puts the “sarcastic” in sarcastic narrator in this irreverent, witty satire of a villain novel.
To be fair, it’s not entirely his fault. You’d be sarcastic, too, if your uncle you didn’t know died and left you his supervillain empire . . . along with all his enemies. Of which there are many. Any of which could have murdered Uncle Jake. All of which sure would have liked to. Especially if the series of attempted murders at his funeral are any indication.
Charlie behaves exactly the way you would expect an average person to when they suddenly find themselves in way over their head. Mostly, he panics. Lucky for him, there are people around him that can guide him into his uncle’s shoes and, hopefully, keep him alive in the process. Much more qualified people (and animals). Which is handy, because everything Charlie thinks he knows about the world is about to be called into question.
More accurately, I did see it. But my brain didn’t register it as an actual, no-bullshit, holy-shit-that’s-actually-a-knife knife until the dude, who had produced it from an overcoat pocket, cocked back his arm in a windup to drive the frankly rather substantial blade into my uncle’s already cold and lifeless heart.
In fairness, it had already been an extremely odd service.
I feel it should go without saying that Charlie isn’t exactly qualified to run a supervillain empire.
I mean, he’s a divorced substitute teacher, living in his parents’ former house, which his siblings are pressuring him to agree to sell so they can get their cut. If you looked up “successful” or “qualified” in the dictionary, Charlie’s face would be nowhere near that mess. Not that he isn’t trying. More that he just can’t quite catch a break. All he wants is to open his own pub, for goodness’ sake, not get caught in battles of wit with people who have much more experience than he does.
That’s not to say that Charlie can’t hold his own. Because he does. Mostly because he has to. You’d be amazed what a person can learn if it’s adapt or death. I enjoyed seeing Charlie evolve over the course of the book, as he gains his footing and becomes at least passably competent. While it’s pretty clear he’s never going to be the elite supervillain that his uncle was, the proverbial apple didn’t fall too far from the tree to get the job done.
“I can’t tell if you’re joking with me,” I said.
“I’m mostly joking with you.”
“That ‘mostly’ is doing a lot of work in that sentence.”
The side characters in Starter Villain do a lot of heavy lifting: from the slightly terrifying but entirely delightful Morrison, to the highly intelligent (unionized) dolphins, right down to Charlie’s cat.
Because what’s a villain without his minions? I believe Gru taught us that. I don’t want to give too much of this away, because part of the fun of this story is discovering all the weird little idiosyncrasies along with Charlie. Needless to say, there are talking animals . . . and they have a lot to say. Not always politely. I promise, they’re absolutely delightful.
As I said, the people around Charlie are, thankfully, entirely competent . . . albeit of dubious loyalty. After all, Uncle Jake earned his position and kept his employees closely under thumb. Well . . . mostly. I mean, he did end up dead, didn’t he? Unfortunately, Charlie has none of his connections and isn’t sure who he can trust. Or if he should trust anyone. Dare I say that their wavering (and sometimes questionable) allegiance is part of what makes the secondary characters fun?
“No.”
“Then why did you make him lick it?”
Morrison looked at me. “It would have been nice to be wrong.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t know how to feel about you right now.”
Morrison nodded at this. “I get that a lot.”
This satire pokes fun at the villain genre, playing with common tropes, chewing them up and spitting them back out in ways that are as surprising as they are fun.
Think of it a lot like Minions for adults, but without that creamy center of wholesome goodness. Starter Villain isn’t exactly heartwarming, though it is extremely funny, full of plot twists, and every bit what you would expect from a novel about villains. The plot is fast-paced and chock full of actions, explosions, weapons, death threats, and fluffy (albeit not cuddly) cats.
Having read other Scalzi books, I can confidently say that his classic style of humor really shines in this work. It’s a combination of dry, tongue-in-cheek, and absurd that works so perfectly with this sort of topic. It’d fit in comfortably alongside things like Austin Powers and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Just when you think you know where this plot is going, it takes a sharp turn into new territory. I kept thinking I had it figured out, but then a twist would catch me by surprise. Usually, it was something completely unexpected that I hadn’t dreamed would happen in a million years.
“You mean on a scale of one to ten, where one is ‘live and let live’ and ten is ‘murder you slow, bury your corpse in the woods, then dig you up to shit on your skull’? Maybe an eight.”
“Okay, good.”
“That’s not actually good, Charlie.”
About John Scalzi
John Scalzi writes books, which, considering where you're reading this, makes perfect sense. He's best known for writing science fiction, including the New York Times bestseller "Redshirts," which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. He also writes non-fiction, on subjects ranging from personal finance to astronomy to film, was the Creative Consultant for the Stargate: Universe television series. He enjoys pie, as should all right thinking people. You can get to his blog by typing the word "Whatever" into Google. No, seriously, try it.
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Such fun to read your review! I loved this book (then again, I pretty much love everything by Scalzi), and this one kept me laughing from start to finish.
I’m reading this one right now! And it’s so good. (Hera the cat is definitely the best character so far.)