Starter Villain
Ratings165
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings165
Average rating4.1
Locus and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi brings us a turbo-charged tale of a family business with a difference - as Charlie discovers when he inherits it. This one comes with a hidden headquarters, minions, talking cats and James Bond-like supervillain rivals. Warning: supervillain in training. Risk of world domination. Inheriting his late uncle’s business proves complicated. It’s also way more dangerous than Charlie could ever have imagined. Because his uncle had kept his supervillain status a secret – until now. Divorced and emotionally dependent on his cat, Charlie wasn’t loving life. Although they weren’t close, news of his Uncle Jack’s death didn’t help. And that was before Jake’s rivals (seriously vengeful ones) ambushed his funeral. Now Charlie must decide if he should stay stuck in his rut, or step up to take on the business, the enemies, the minions, the hidden volcano lair . . . Even harder to get used to are the sentient, language-using, computer-savvy cats – and the fact that in the organization’s hierarchy, they’re management. If Charlie does say yes, this lifeline could become a death wish. Because there’s much more to being an Evil Mastermind than he suspected. Yet could this also, finally, be his chance to shine? Praise for John Scalzi: ‘Hugely enjoyable, intelligent and good-humoured fun’ - The Guardian ‘Sheer geeky pleasure from start to finish’ - Financial Times ‘An escapist delight’ - The Times
Reviews with the most likes.
Imagine being bequeathed your uncle's supervillain empire—sounds cool, right? Prepare for undersea lairs, an army of minions, and a globe-trotting game of ‘who-wants-you-gone.' But the real twist? The top brass are tech-savvy cats that hold board meetings. Yup, you read that right!
Starter Villain? Hands down, the most delightful misadventure I've delved into this year. From sentient feline bosses to dolphins with agendas, and that quintessential villainous volcano lair, it's a rollicking romp that had me side-eyeing my own cat, wondering about her double life. Bursting with humor and lightheartedness, it's a one-sit, chuckle-a-minute, sci-fi frolic. Dive in and thank me later!
I quite enjoyed this on first reading, it's entertaining and somewhat amusing, and it has pace. It's the story of a former journalist down on his luck, whose dead uncle propels him into bizarre adventures and into confrontation with a bunch of rich and unscrupulous people.
Unfortunately, it seems that Scalzi doesn't really do characterization; or, at least, he didn't reckon to for this book. Most of the characters are either just names, or they could be described in a few words. They don't have any depth, they don't engage the reader.
We spend the whole book in the company of the first-person protagonist, Charlie Fitzer. But I don't come away feeling that I know him well, or with an active desire to read more books about him. He seems a decent enough guy, fairly intelligent, likes cats; but that's about it.
I suppose the story counts as science fiction mainly because of the intelligent computer-using cats, but apart from that it's not very science-fictional.
I enjoyed the story, but I did not feel it was one of Scalzi’s better books. While the world building was imaginative and at times amusing, the main character was nearly entirely a puppet throughout the narrative. Things happened to him, he was never really in control of his situation. And it’s sad because I often felt he was on the edge of making his own way in the really messed up world he was trust into, and was disappointed with how he ended up. I honestly don’t understand how this made the Hugo finalists list.
Beautifully daft, and I loved it!
Need another book.
