A fun intelligent look at who the real villains are. I always enjoy John Scalzi's witty style. Fans will enjoy this latest offering. Thank you so much for allowing me to review it prerelease.

Starter Villain follows Charlie, a divorced substitute teacher struggling to make ends meet, living in his family home that his siblings want to sell, with his cat. When he learns his uncle dies, and he suddenly inherits his supervillain business, Charlies realizes it’s more complicated than you would imagine to be a villain. Especially when you discover your cat is a tech-savvy spy in management.

Starter Villain is the humour I expect from Scalzi. After reading almost all of his books over the years, I knew I would love this one, and it did not disappoint. It is incredibly sarcastic, filled with good banter, and is just generally over-the-top silly in places. Was it almost too silly in spots? Maybe! But that just added to the enjoyment. Who doesn’t want unionizing dolphins?

Scalzi’s writing is short and snappy which made for a very quick and easy read. He gets straight to the point of things and the story never really stands still, it’s constantly moving and pulling you along with it. Even adding in all the humour, it still pushes the story forward while allowing you to get to know the characters a little more through the banter and sarcasm they throw at each other.

My only real complaint about Starter Villain was the endings and twists. I found I had predicted it early in the story, and was really hoping for a different surprise. It’s not even a real complaint, because the ending was still enjoyable, I was just personally hoping for something different, but others may not have that issue.

If you’ve read Scalzi before, you’re going to to love Starter Villain, and I don’t really need to convince you. If you’ve never read Scalzi, Starter Villain is an excellent starting place to get a feel for his humour. If you’re on the fence about whether Scalzi is for you, but you’re a cat person - then this is definitely the book to read.

Scalzi is such a FUN, great writer. The stories that he comes up with (especially the last few) have been outstanding! The cover alone for this book would be enough for me to check it out...a cat in a suit...yes please! The story was wonderful and I enjoyed that I didn't figure out the plot (which I usually do early on), so kudos for that.

This is a unique read with adventure, villains, and sentient cats! Main character Charlie Fitzer, a former journalist turned substitute teacher, inherits his uncle's business, which happens to involve seedy characters and cats in management. Humor and action abound in this easy read!

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There is a ton of humor in here, some action, some cool sci-fi elements, and some food for thought as well.

Charlie is a divorced former journalist who has been eking out a living working as a substitute teacher while caring for his ailing father. Now his father is dead and Charlie is squatting in his father's old house; the house that is supposed to be sold with proceeds split up between Charlie's step-siblings. Then Charlie's uncle Jake dies and Charlie inherits a whole boatload of crazy.

I loved this book completely. It is fast paced and fun from the beginning to the end. You never knew what sort of crazy was going to pop up. From super intelligent spy cats to angry dolphins pushing for unionization; this was a wild and crazy ride. I loved watching Charlie (and his cat Hera) navigate this villainous world and loved even more when Charlie's fairly nice guy decisions put an absolute wrench in everyone's plans.

Scalzi is a consistently excellent writer who has fun concepts with easy to engage with characters and a writing style that is easy to read. I love his stand alone books like this and the intriguing ideas they explore. This is a perfect entertaining summer read.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this book, it's a hugely entertaining read and perfect for reading on summer vacation. I loved the concepts, the fast-pace, and the craziness here. I also loved that it was all done in a way that is thought-provoking. Highly recommended for those looking for a fun and creative read. I can't wait to see what Scalzi writes next.

4ish stars.

Neither the author's best (The Interdependency) or worst (Kaiju Preservation Society), but enjoyable enough.

John Scalzi is always a good read. This book was a little lighter than previous books, but still had the unique premise that Scalzi is known for. It didn't have as much sci-fi as I usually expect from a Scalzi book, but the premise is different for sure. Hera is my personal queen, and I wish that I had her in my life. Charlie handled the idea of villainy way better than I would have.

First, the cover is GORGEOUS. You might be wondering, "Does the book live up to it? Are the cats actually important?" The answer is YES, evil boss cats are indeed a big part of this book, and they are awesome.

This is a fun book. I was giggling all the way through. It's not an overly deep or emotional book, but it is a wildly comedic story.

This is the story of a man who inherits a supervillain corporation from his uncle. Unfortunately, the other supervillains don't appreciate this turn of events. He is quickly in trouble as the villains try to kill him and upset his plans.

I think I was disappointed by the lack of true cartoon villainy. I was kind of hoping for Doofenshmirtz, but this book is more interested in exploring Elon Musk.

A video review including this book will appear on my channel in the coming weeks.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for a copy to review. All opinions are my own.

This was everything I wanted from a Scalzi book! Lot's of lol moments, a lot of good observations (particularly on corporate $$$$ culture). I absolutely loved how the cats (and dolphins and whales) played into this. I'll definitely be gifting this to some friends for Christmas. Scalzi is always a reliable entertainment and this one didn't disappoint.

Loved this. I went into it blind, so Scalzi surprised me with a number of twists. Despite satellite killing lasers and sentient cats with real estate portfolios, it ended in a "fairly" realistic way that I loved. <spoiler> He didn't get the girl, he didn't get the trillions, he - happily for him - didn't get the criminal empire... But he did get the cats and a more comfortable life.</spoiler> You could do much worse than that! Fun. :)

What would you do if your trillionaire uncle passed away, leaving you his entire fortune and his secret supervillain empire? How would you defend your island volcano lair from CIA assassins and rival supervillains' missile attacks? And what do you do when the sentient genetically modified dolphins who work for you unionize and threaten to go on strike?

These are the questions Charlie, the protagonist of John Scalzi's book Start Villain, has to answer.

Scalzi is a deeply funny writer, and one of the places where he shines is reveling in the absurdity of certain genre tropes we take for granted--in this instance, supervillains, and how such wealthy megalomaniacs would actually function in the real world.

A 32 year-old divorced journalist-turned-substitute-teacher grieving the loss of both his parents and the dissolution of his marriage, Charlie is an unlikely supervillain at best. Much of the humor in this book stems from the juxtaposition of Charlie's principled, everyman morality with the absurd excesses of the billionaire supervillains in whose company he now finds himself.

At its heart this book is a scathing critique of the ultra-rich, and the way their wealth insulates them from the struggles of ordinary people. Scalzi also makes it abundantly clear that inherited wealth is in no way related to hard work or personal capability, the timing of which feels darkly apropos as the world watches Elon Musk's self-publicized downward spiral.

But don't worry! Starter Villain is not a dry lecture on classism. It's a fun, funny, engaging read which pokes fun at tropes we've taken for granted over sixty years of watching spy thrillers. And, as the cover suggests, it does explain why it's mandatory for supervillains to own a cat.

Listen. Saying much about this book would be a great disservice to anyone reading it in the future. So I won't. What I will say is that you should absolutely read it if you think Scalzi is a mad genius of words, burritos, and chaos and even if you don't you should absolutely read it. I had SO MUCH FUN! I snorted coffee out of my nose on no less than 4 occasions and that's a rare review for me. Snorting is reserved for the most divine hilarity. I have already recommended this books to every person I see whether they want to hear it or not. I will add it to my friends holds lists against their will and perhaps put it in the path of passersby because they don't know they need it in their life. Read the thing!

This book was really fun! Scalzi is a master of these funny, quirky stories with great social commentary.. I liked it enough to read again.

squeeee! John Scalzi! This is ... different. Yet also delightful. And very very much a book that could only come from John Scalzi. The premise is ridiculous, so I won't try to explain it. Just read the book. You're welcome.

Coming in September!

Rounding up from 4.5 stars...

I adored this book. It was weird and unrealistic and I enjoyed every second of it.

The plot may have been far-fetched, but the book sucked me in and wouldn't let go. I read this one in less than a day because I just wanted to see where the author was taking the story.

I'm a huge cat lover, so obviously Hera and Persephone were my favorite characters. I wish that I could actually have a conversation with my cats. I also loved the dolphins. I found the bit about them going on strike and forming a union to be hilarious. I was cracking up during the "negotiations" at times.

I wasn't sure where the author was going to go with Charlie's story, but I appreciated how the author ended things. I won't say much more than that as not to spoil things.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light scifi story.

Read if you enjoy:
✔️ Light Science Fiction
✔️ Villainous MCs
✔️ Talking animals
✔️ Cat side kicks

Charlie Barnes is a below-average failed journalist and current substitute teacher, fumbling his way through life and living in his dead dad's house, when he suddenly inherits his estranged great-uncle's supervillain empire along with all of the computer-savvy cats + foul-mouthed dolphins + layer after layer of absurdity that being a modern supervillain entails.

While wasn't my favorite-favorite by Scalzi (Old Man's War is pretty impossible to top), it was weird and snarky and funny and ridiculous and everything I love about his books - highly recommended!

AND THAT COVER.... I CANNOT EVEN.

From the publisher: Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.

Charlie, the narrator of Starter Villain, is something of an affable idiot. Divorced and living in the childhood home he doesn’t even own due to complications with his siblings after his father’s death, he was laid off from his job as a journalist and is now working as a substitute teacher. He wants to buy a beloved local pub, but he has no money and no collateral. The best thing he has going for him is his relationship with his cats.

Then Charlie’s estranged Uncle Jake dies, and his lawyer shows up asking Charlie to attend his uncle’s memorial. Charlie is hesitant, and finds the request a little weird, but he agrees. And so his life as a starter villain begins. Yes, his uncle owned a large chain of parking structures, but he had other, bigger, more nefarious interests as well (mwa ha ha).

I enjoyed the Chicago area setting, and our narrator is an affable naïf who is fun to spend time with. Scalzi is clearly a cat lover and that certainly resonated with me. In the super villain business, it’s not dogs who spy for villains on other villains. (Yes, the cats are intelligent spies who can type on a computer using a special keyboard. Including Charlie’s cats.) I learned a new word – quisling! (“A traitor who collaborates with an enemy force occupying their country” according to the OED.) The narrative is pro-union, and against cats murdering birds. Intelligent talking dolphins also come into play, and I couldn’t stop myself from singing “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish” every time they made an appearance.

Charlie does better handling the various super villains that he meets than one might expect, and as he doesn’t take things seriously it was hard for me as the reader to take things seriously either. I perhaps did not enjoy Starter Villain as much as I enjoyed The Kaiju Preservation Society; the whole thing came off as a little less original, and the “starter villain” idea began to wear a little thin. Still, Starter Villain was a fun read with some genuine laughs for me.

I read an advance reader copy of Starter Villain from Netgalley. It is scheduled to be released on September 19 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

John Scalzi has done an excellent job imagining what a 2020's villain would be like...and yes, the 20's villain is that billionaire corporate asshole who only has their own self interest at heart and will stab anyone in the back if there is money to be had and finds a way to make money off even the worst of world events.

This is the world that main character, Charlie (ex-journalist and current substitute teacher), gets thrown into when his rich Uncle Jack dies. He's not seen Jack since he was 5 and has no idea why his uncle would name him his heir. Of course, as with most eccentric rich guys, there are strings attached. Those strings sets Charlie, and his cats on, in order to avoid spoilers, what I could call an "interesting adventure" into that world of rich billionaire assholes.

The book is hysterical, especially the dolphins. It's probably what James Bond movies would look like had they been written by Douglas Adams. Starter Villain is the perfect fun read for those who want science fiction that doesn't take itself too seriously (The Kaiju Preservation Society and Redshirts fit that bill as well).

Speaking of Douglas Adams, I have come to realize, after reading a number of John Scalzi's books, he's filled that void in my bookshelf that was left when Douglas Adam's died.

I love John Scalzi. He’s funny, timely, and poignant, and he puts a great spin on SF literature. Starter Villain is no exception here. The basis of the story is quite entertaining and while not all that original at first, it becomes its very own thing by the end and that is well worth the read.

The best characters here are Charlie, Til, and Hera. They all work for the story and while you always get the idea that there is something happening beneath the surface of the story the final revelation will be a surprise. Is that a spoiler? I guess, maybe. But honestly, it is much more involved than what I just wrote. Is THAT a spoiler? Hmmmm…

If you’re a Scalzi fan you’ll love this book. If you’re unfamiliar, this is a good one to give a shot. It’s not super sci-fi-ish and there is a mystery and hilarity enough to keep you entertained and committed. I say go forth and read this novel, it’s a good’un.

Scalzi has some of the best wit and sarcasm in the Speculative Fiction game today, in my humble opinion.

While this story of an unhappy middle-school teacher stepping into the ring of villainy was a non-stop madcap ride of hilarity, nonsense and hijinks, it also had a surprising amount of heart (as well as some talk of the philosophy of unionized animals).

Overall, a great read and a phenominal escape!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.