If you’ve never read John Scalzi, you would be blissfully (but wrongly) unaware of what he writes. They fall into 2 very firm and exclusive categories.
1. Epic science fiction in space where everything is very serious and frequently goes to hell; and
2. The absolute most ridiculous story you will ever think of that can fit into the genre of science fiction that always involves scenarios that no one would ever think of and are endlessly enjoyable
This book is the latter. Think Doctor Doolittle with endlessly sarcastic dolphins and that unequivocally proves the point that cats rule the world and would be the best spies that ever existed. Its very fun, very silly and guaranteed to provide an entertaining afternoon of reading.

As the blurb suggests, Charlie is a loner. Not a lot of people care what happens to him. He is washed up, working as a substitute teacher and his love life is non-existent. His siblings are leading fulfilling lives while he essentially babysits his deceased fathers house in order to stop the rest of the family from selling up and moving on. Until his uncle dies and Charlie is asked to represent him at his funeral and take on his extremely successful chain of parking garages. From the get-go, Starter Villain is nothing you could possibly expect.

You may be thinking parking garages? Couldn’t be all that interesting. This book wrecked me and my sense of humour for a good few weeks. The jokes are blatant in their pith, the people are positively bonkers and parking garages have never seemed so daring because who doesn’t love a good front business.

Scalzi imparts his particular stamp on the shady world of supervillains with such effortless ease, I found myself rooting for the villain. But the least villainous villain and the oldest of the villains because this book doesn’t have an innocent bystander throughout the majority. Its like if Austin Powers was told from the POV of Dr Evil but then the good guys weren’t ACTUALLY good guys because they were funding the villains from the background. And the villains had a secret society headed by a boss that would give Don Corleone a run for his money.

I really REALLY loved the potty mouthed dolphins and their hatred of people. I feel like they embody the good old f the patriarchy sort who are just looking out for themselves – wouldn’t you manipulate better living conditions if you had been involuntarily experimented on? Their inclusion in the narrative was so ridiculously outlandish that I swear I cackled on the majority of occasions.

Starter Villain is FUNNY. Its overt in its sarcasm and doesn’t pull its punches with the backstabbing and double crossing. Plus, there triple crossing that turns the whole thing completely on its head in the final pages. The protagonist is absolutely clueless when it comes to plotting and I found myself giggling while binging it in the middle of the night. When I say the whales had me cackling, I am not lying. Also, believe me when I say, you will never look at your cat the same.

Charlie is a down on his luck former business journalist and current substitute teacher who inherits the family parking garage business. Complete with cats in management positions, dolphins on strike, and an evil lair built inside a remote volcanic island. Unfortunately, some of his new business associates are not excited about this new kid in town and hilarity ensues...

Charlie never expected to inherit anything when his estranged billionaire uncle died. The very last thing he expected was to find out that not only was said uncle something of a supervillain, but Charlie himself is sole heir to his criminal empire. Now he’s got to contend with his late uncle’s rivals if he wants to stay alive.

This book was delightful and SO MUCH FUN. Volcano lairs! Talking cats! Dolphin labor unions! Profane funeral bouquets! It might be my favorite Scalzi novel so far, which is saying something since I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve read by him. Even better than the Kaiju one, which was fun but I didn’t fully connect to it and so only gave it four stars. This one’s firing on all cylinders. If I have one complaint, it’s that the cover is ever-so-slightly misleading. A unique premise, brilliantly executed.

TW: mention of suicide

John Scalzi knocks it out of the park again with this fun, action packed novel. Charlie is surprised when he finds out he is the only heir of his estranged Uncle Jake. And he gets more than he bargains for when he discovers his uncle's real business is villainy! Charlie gets a crash course in this field and makes it up as he goes as he's thrown in and just trying to survive. Along the way there are volcanos, cats, assassinations, dolphins, and crazy shenanigans. This story is so fun. I was drawn in immediately with the cover and the story lives up to the vibe. Charlie is very relatable as he reacts to his situation with the awe and confusion that I would most certainly feel, and navigates this new world with cleverness (that I probably wouldn't have). This is a fun breath of fresh air!

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the advanced digital copy. All opinions are mine.

For anyone who reads science fiction on a regular basis, a new John Scalzi novel is a noteworthy event. Scalzi has been one of the best SF writers around for a while now. His “hard” SF novels are first-rate (like the classic _Old Mn’s War_), and so are his high-octane space operas (like the “Independency” trilogy). And then there’s his loonier side, as displayed in _Agent to the Stars_ and _Redshirts,_ and now this one. It’s his “COVID novel” (there are a lot of those around now), and not really catagorizable, and not terribly long (less than 250 pages), and not terribly complex, but it’s highly inventive, very sneaky in its plotting, and wickedly funny.

Four years ago, Charlie Fister was a well-regarded investigative business journalist on the Chicago Tribune and a happily married man. But then his widowed father got sick and Charlie went home to look after him, back to the suburban Cape Cod he grew up in, and this was made easier by him being laid off (times are very tight in print media) and then divorced soon after. And then Dad died, and now Charlie is subsisting (barely) as a substitute teacher and living in the family home (ownership of which is shared with his three older siblings, and they want to sell the place). So now it’s just Charlie and his cat, Hera, and a stack of unpaid bills. Really, all he wants to do with his life is convince the bank to lend him a couple million so he can buy the McDougal’s Pub (and its accompanying restaurant and the building they're in) where everyone in Barrington comes to hand out and where they all had their first drink over the years.

But Charlie also has Uncle Jake, who is very wealthy, and whom he hasn’t seen since his mother’s funeral when he was five. Then he gets word that Uncle Jake has died and that he’s the only heir, and within hours his life has changed completely, beginning with his house being blown up. It all comes down to the fact that Jake was a villain, part of a worldwide conspiracy of villains, and now it appears that Charlie will have to become one, too -- Caribbean volcano lair and all. But “villain” doesn’t mean what you think it means. These guys aren’t Ernst Stavro Blofeld and the Convocation of Lombardy isn’t SMERSH. (Though there *is* a giant laser involved.) And Charlie may be functionally broke, but he’s also smart and imaginative, and he understands business, and he recognizes grift when he sees it. But his uncles operations were worth several trillion dollars and now Charlie’s in charge of it all. Fortunately, he has Tilly Morrison to explain it all to him, very sarcastically.

Scalzi doesn’t believe in straightforward storytelling, he prefers to bolt off in odd directions and throw you off balance, and that’s how this one goes, too. Just when you’re getting used to hyper-intelligent cats who can type (they don’t have the vocal equipment to talk) and who act as industrial spies, you meet the almost-as-uplifted dolphins who are going on strike over justified grievances (and who hate the cats, who count as management). Charlie’s competitor villains are entitled (none of them worked their way up, they just inherited their empires from Daddy) and not very competent, and even the scary types with guns aren’t quite what they seem. Plan your weekend around this one and dig in.

Mr. Scalzi's latest novel. The sole heir to a villainous empire must learn the ropes of the international villainy trade. I.E. banking and investment.
This is one you really don't want to know more about until you read it.
Dolphins, Whales, Cats, oh, my! And a volcanic lair!

I tore through this book in a single sitting. It's super modern feeling with a lot of commentary buried in it on big business, financial inequality, unionization, animal testing, general human rights, capitalism, family ties and infighting, and of course, villainy. I absolutely adored the animal companions in the dolphins and cats in this book--the cats made me happy and the dolphins straight up cracked me up. Scalzi does it again.

Starter Villain was a very fun book. I laughed out loud several times and I actually really liked all the characters. Charlie could have easily fell into the "idiot man with a way smarter woman propping him up" trope, but Charlie is completely out of his depth and recognizes that completely. Morrison is very much a way smarter woman who is helping him, but Charlie also recognizes that.

Also at the heart of this story is just a man loving his cats and I'm always going to be here for that. I also loved the dolphins and I really thought they were going to annoy me when I first read about them. Pretty sure they were the parts I laughed the most at.

I highly recommend Starter Villain.

Charlie is a former journalist who is divorced, working as a substitute teacher, and just struggling to get by. When Charlie's estranged uncle dies, he inherits his uncle's business and is thrown into the life of a villain, complete with talking cats, angry cursing dolphins, and a secret volcanic lair. What more do you need to know about this fun romp of a book?

I attended an event at a bookstore and ended up chatting with a representative from Macmillan, and during our conversation she sold me with pretty much the description above (really, the words talking cats and supervillain alone were enough) and before I had even left the event, I requested the book on NetGalley. I was thrilled to be approved and to have the opportunity to read this book, and I was not let down in the slightest. This was such a light, fun read that I literally devoured. I have already recommended it to some friends who are eagerly awaiting the September release.

Definitely thinking I need to check out some of Scalzi's backlist. If his other books are anything like this one, I'm officially a fan.

The cover is what piqued my interest in Starter Villain, the latest book from John Scalzi. At first pass, the story appears to be a lighthearted, frivolous tale that is served with a side of buffoonery. Upon closer inspection, Scalzi is actually taking a sartorial view into all things capitalism.
The protagonist, Charlie, is a down on his luck teacher struggling to make ends meet. He has been living in his father’s house, with his cat, since before his father’s death. He does not seem to have many prospects at the moment.
This all changes with the death of his billionaire uncle. He soon finds out he has inherited his uncle’s entire estate, including the title of Villain. Along with this title, he also inherits, a secluded island, high tech security in the form of talking dolphins and let’s not forget the talking cats who have had him under surveillance for several years.
While his money problems have been solved, he now has a whole host of others. Like being the target of other Villains who want to wheedle, bribe and/or cajole billions from him. Did I mention they also might want him dead? He finds he has to negotiate the land mines that are now his life with the help of his uncle’s assistant and his cat.
There are several laugh out loud moments in this book. Couple the humor with great dialogue and the insightfulness into corporate/billionaire idiotic, and dare I say, asinine behavior, it made for a highly entertaining read.
I highly recommend this to readers who appreciate a creative and humorous story about modern day capitalism. An entertaining read, for sure and I enjoyed the laugh I got at modern-day foolishness.
I received a free copy from the publisher, via Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this science fiction satire about the state of capitalism, what makes a villain today, the power of unions, and of course cats.

Everyone has a dream. A happy life in a job one likes, with a spouse who will always be there to support you. Finding the love of a good cat. And of course the one we all dream about dolphin security guards for a palatial volcano lair, complete with hot magma that will actually melt bodies and not leave them laying there buring slowly and making a bad guy look dumb in from of his guests. These are dreams our soon to be super villain once had. However Charlie has lost his dream job, and his wife, cats are cats, and really no one thinks about the third thing, ever. Unless one is the writer John Scalzi. Scalzi's novel, a stand-alone is Starter Villain about a young man who inherits the keys to the kingdom from his uncle, and finding out that great power comes not only with great responsibility, but a whole lot of people trying to kill you.

Charlie is divorced, working as a substitute teacher, leaving in his late father's home that the rest of his family would love to sell, and frankly never talk to Charlie again. After another dream comes crashing to the ground, Charlie is visited by woman representing his uncle, an owner of parking lots and great wealth, who has just died. Though Charlie and his Uncle were not close, Charlie is asked to represent the family at his uncle's funeral, for a bit or remuneration. The funeral is not something that Charlie expected. Flowers of mourning have curses or mentions of seeing one in hell, there are attempts to both stab, get DNA, or X-Ray the body. And following the funeral, Charlie loses his house in an explosion. Charlie's Uncle it turns out was one of the wealthiest people on Earth, controlling things from behind the scenes with other rich villains, And Charlie has just been offered the golden ticket to power.

Another great book by John Scalzi that works as a satire of capitalism, bro brothers, nepotism, rich idiots, and comic books. With humor. Scalzi has really moved away from his early works, and I enjoy this new direction quite a bit. The humor is funny, the violence and action when it happens is surprising, and bloody. However where Scalzi really shines is his characters. Every single one, good, bad and cat or dolphin, even whale are believable. Charlie works. His friends work, and his foes just seem like bad people. Charlie is a character that doesn't take to this super villain stuff easy, but as a man who is at the end of his ropes he adapts and makes a real change. The support characters are just as good, and since this is a stand alone, if Charlie wasn't in the next book, there are many characters that could be. There is also a lot of emotion, between Charlie and the Uncle he never knew, a hard hit as Charlie is not close with his brothers and sisters, and lost his father recently. And his relationships with his cats. I must admit there had to have been a air quality alert for the amount of sniffing I was doing near the end.

I would like to see more in this universe, even a tie-in with the previous book The Kaiju Preservation Society. I think there would be a lot of potential. What I do enjoy is getting a whole story without having to read six books just for one adventure. I am a big fan of John Scalzi's work, and I think this will get a lot more people reading and enjoying him. I really can't wait for his next book.

Talking dolphins, cats as secret masterminds, and a secret villain cabal with a cash flow problem make for a fun-action packed story, full of Scalzi's quick-witted and sarcastic dialog. A very enjoyable weekend read.

I would like to thank Tor/Forge for a digital copy of this novel via NetGalley. This book was alot of fun.
It is a pretty quick read with great pacing. The plot involves a Charlie, a substitute teacher who finds himself involved with a major crime syndicate when his uncle passes away and leaves behind ridiculous amounts of money. There are typing cats, sentient cats and whales. There are multiple plot twists that keep the story interesting. This novel also tackles themes such as unionization, capitalism, wealth distribution in very interesting ways. This novel really worked for me. It had the right balance of lightheartedness and seriousness. One of the best reading experiences I've had in a while.
4.5/5

I really liked this book, I've read a few books about supervillains or evil secret agencies and they tend to gloss over how they manage to function, which falls apart when you apply any amount of thought. Not this book. It goes fairly in depth on the business model of doing evil while staying fun and absurd the whole time. I really appreciated the attention to detail, and had a lot of fun reading this.

I'm a huge fan of John Scalzi. I've enjoyed everything of his that I've read. Lately, it seems like I alternate between reading a new release of his with something older (that I haven't read before).

Most recently, this was The Android's Dream, followed by Starter Villain which is not even a new release, but pre-release! I feel so special to read this before everyone else, and I do not mean that sarcastically or facetiously. My only regret is that Starter Villain will soon be an audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton, and there is no better combo than Scalzi + Wheaton.

This book is fun, witty, and down-right LOL funny at points. Starter Villain definitely lands in the quirky category for me. Those of you that prefer your science fiction to be super super serious might not enjoy this one as much as I did! I mean , c'mon, there's cat in a business suit on the cover!

The downside? Starter Villain is apparently a stand-alone novel, so we won't be getting more stories about Charlie. Perhaps the cats (or the dolphins?) could get a spin-off? I really enjoyed the world building here and I was disappointed to have it end. This one is a bit on the shorter side, and pacing wise, I felt the very beginning dragged a bit and the end was rushed.

If you like sci-fi, Scalzi, or just want to read something really unique and entertaining, I highly recommend picking up Starter Villain when it comes out later this year.

This was actually my very first Scalzi (I know, a travesty, right?), and I adored it! Okay, he kind of cheated by using cats, which is pretty much the way to my heart in any situation, but it was witty, fun, clever, quick. It makes me want to read more from Scalzi for sure, and I'll definitely be recommending this to my SFF book club and customers.

Look, this is FUN. It is not meant to be profound, reflective upon our lives or anything similar - its purpose is to entertain and make you laugh , and maybe adopt a cat.
We have a regular guy that is struggling to make ends meet and get out of the funk he is currently living, when he founds out on TV that his estranged billionaire uncle has died. And suddenly there he is, at the funeral, at his uncle's late request, and everybody is looking at him, but he has no idea what he is getting into. The only thing clear is that his uncle's so called business competitors are trying to kill him too.
Think of these goons as the old villains of 007 movies. We have this generational conflict between villains, where the informational era is pushing them behind, and those who adjust well will stay relevant. We have even a sort of villain conference in a fancy hotel, completed with cats as the perfect companions.

It is a fast read, with some good action, outsmarting enemies and making peace with being just a regular joe with a beloved cat in the end.
Oh, and the cats are sentient, did I tell you that? There are sentient dolphins too, so that is a plus.
Just go with the flow and have fun with the absurd. I had fun, and now I want a cat as well.

It's no exaggeration to say I knew I was going to love this book after a few chapters. Heck, I really should have known by the cover and the dedication alone. Starter Villain by John Scalzi is witty, imaginative, and out of this world bat sh*t crazy!

It is unlike anything I have ever read before and I found it to be the perfect diversion from the typical genres and books that I read. It was close to a five star read for me, but a lull in the middle of the book and the fact that Charlie happened to pick up on everything so easily made me drop it one star.

However, if you're looking for something to genuinely make you laugh out loud and take you a wild ride, I highly recommend Starter Villain. I enjoyed it so much I even pre-ordered the special edition version from Inkstone books!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an ARC of this book!

The book was a delight!
Down on his luck Charlie, is tapper by his estranged, late Uncle's head staffer to "host" his funeral, held at a local funeral parlor. While a bit perplexed at the request, Charlie agrees, in part motivated by an offer of payment after the funeral is over. What could go wrong?
Well.. everything. His home is blown up, with a CIA agent inside, while he is on his way home and he is extracted from this harrowing situation by his... cat. His wonderful, amazing, typing brilliant cat.
From there poor Charlie is caught up in a world of genetically engineered cats, striking dolphins, volcanic lairs, and villainy. None of which he is prepared for, but he manages... mostly. Sort of.
Another wonderful novel- Scalzi has knocked it out of the park again!

Starter Villain was the cat lover's book I didn't know I needed. I cannot believe how delightful this quick little read was! I've had Kaiju Preservation Society on my Kindle for quite some time (also written by John Scalzi) and after reading Starter Villain I will 100% be bumping it up on my TBR.

Starter Villain follows Charlie, a down on his luck substitute teacher who inherits his uncle's supervillain business - and yes, when the synopsis said "supervillain business," THEY MEANT IT. The best way to describe my vision whilst reading this book is that this book is an adult book version of The Incredibles movie (the first one obviously). We had murder, mystery, explosions; even hyper-intelligent animals (and not just the cats!) I adored this book. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I wanted more! I wish the book had been either a tad bit longer, or perhaps made into a series.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the author and Tor Books for the opportunity to read and review this book! All thoughts written here are 100% my own and uninfluenced in any way.