Starter Villain

by John Scalzi

Hardcover, 2023

Status

Available

Call number

PS3619.C256 S73

Genres

Publication

Tor Books (2023), 272 pages

Description

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital. It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good. In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member KallieGrace
Well here's a book full of catnip. Sort of a cozy supervillain story, where the stakes aren't high (except for all those guys that died along the way), the assistants are feline, and the body guards are salty dolphins who just want to unionize. I loved every bit of this.
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
Starter Villain is the rare John Scalzi novel that doesn't involve multiverses, space travel, or aliens. This time, we have talking spy cats, unionizing dolphins, and a crime organization unlike any other. Even without his favorite settings, however, Mr. Scalzi still puts forth a story that is
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 every bit as witty, brutally observant, and totally enjoyable.

One of the things I love most about Mr. Scalzi's novels is that his heroes are never extraordinary. They are not among the beautiful people, nor do they break the scale in intelligence or athletic ability. Instead, they struggle to make ends meet, land the next client, or know what they want to do with their lives. No one embodies this more than his latest hero, Charlie.

In Starter Villain, Charlie is the epitome of every man. Down on his luck, fighting with his family, and taking life one day at a time, he is one step away from hitting rock bottom. As you watch him confront his uncle's confusing and mysterious business dealings, you can't help but root for him because everything is so far over his head. Because he isn't anyone special, it is easy to slide into his mind and understand his confusion, anxiety, and astonishment.

It wouldn't be a John Scalzi novel without plenty of surprises, and Starter Villain has them in abundance. The plot does not follow any trajectory you can predict. The story never gets boring because it never gets stale or predictable. That makes reading the book such a refreshing experience.

Starter Villain also includes Mr. Scalzi's signature wit, which always enhances the reading experience. When combined with the unexpectedness of the plot and Charlie's ongoing disbelief at the trajectory of his life, Mr. Scalzi's newest story is a riot. Starter Villain is not a novel that requires much in the way of existential thinking. Rather, you can only sit back and enjoy the ride Mr. Scalzi takes you on. It is worth every second.
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LibraryThing member spiritedstardust
A book with rich dastardly wankers, clever kitties, angry dolphins & a clueless substitute teacher.
I think this would be better as a film.
Also, can Hera & Persephone please adopt me thanks.
LibraryThing member catseyegreen
Charlie is down on his luck. He's lost his job, his wife left him. his father died and he only has his beloved cat, Hera, to talk to. Out of the blue he receives notice that he is the beneficiary of his uncles' estate- but it has some strings attached.

read 9/22/2023
LibraryThing member MillieHennessy
I received a copy for free from Tor in exchange for my honest review.

A fun, quirky take on what it might look like to inherit an estranged family member's supervillain business in today's world. It's not terribly complex, but I don't think it needs to be. I enjoyed the main character's viewpoint
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 and felt there were situations where I would have acted similarly. Plus, there are cats! Cats who can type!

I finished most of this in one sitting, so clearly it was pretty engrossing for me. I thought it might be the start of a series and while it's possible to continue it, I appreciate that it appears to be a standalone (though I'll absolutely read more if there are more.)
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LibraryThing member SpaceandSorcery
I received this novel from Tor Books, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.

Every time a new Scalzi novel appears on the horizon, I know that I will find a fast-paced, humorous tale that enjoys poking fun at some of humanity’s flaws:
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 Starter Villain is no exception, and it proved to be as riotously entertaining as I hoped for.

Charlie Fitzer, a former journalist who lost his job and is now making ends meet by working as a substitute teacher, is besieged by financial problems: his current employ barely pays the bills and the house he’s living in might be taken from him since his half-siblings have every intention of selling it, so he’s unable to use it as collateral for a loan that would allow him to buy a historical pub and give his life a new (and hopefully fruitful) direction. Imagine then his surprise when he learns that his uncle Jake - a successful entrepreneur dealing in parking lots - just died and named him as his representative at the funeral ceremony: Charlie has not seen Uncle Jake since he was five years old, and all he knows about him is that Charlie’s father did not want his son to have any contact with the man.

Charlie’s shocks are far from over, however: at the funeral - where many floral arrangements sport less than complimentary phrases - people seem more interested in confirming that Jake is really dead, and one of them even tries to knife the corpse. On top of all this, Charlie is contacted by his uncle’s administrators and learns he’s been named Jake’s successor - but not to the parking lots “empire”, because his uncle really was a very successful, highly placed criminal with a broad scope of interests. A villain. And Charlie must learn quickly how to step into his shoes…

Do you remember those older Bond movies where bad guys participated in vast, encompassing organizations dedicated to mayhem (think Spectre)? Where the main villain owned a secret retreat, usually on a deserted island, that was his base for the construction of some doomsday machine? And where said villain appeared usually stroking a cat? Well, Starter Villain enjoys all these elements, and more. The novel is a lovingly irreverent homage to those movies and tropes, with satellite-killing laser beams, secret vaults holding unimaginable riches, dastardly plots to influence world politics, and so on, all viewed through the progressively less innocent gaze of Charlie, who starts this adventure like the proverbial fish out of water but little by little shows a huge reservoir of pragmatic good sense and a shrewdness that keep him afloat (and alive!) in the very troubled waters he’s forced to navigate.

Charlie is not alone in this adventure, though: back home he shared his life with two stray cats he had adopted, Hera and Persephone, and the final revelation in the avalanche of discoveries he’s subjected to is that some cats are quite intelligent and able to communicate through a special keyboard - Charlie’s two housecats belong to this peculiar category and were his uncle’s observers from day one. I am aware, through John Scalzi’s social media, of the presence of both dogs and cats in his household, so this latest theme in the novel is indeed a way of showing his affection for his feline friends and a way of introducing a commentary on human foibles from the perspective of another species. The discovery that these highly evolved cats hold executive positions and manage large funds in the organization is only one of the amusing revelations you can expect from Starter Villain.

Cats are not the only sentient creatures you will find here, however: at some point Charlie is introduced to talking dolphins, who immediately present their labor grievances to the new boss, threatening a strike: this is one of the funniest sections of the story, both for the rude, foul-mouthed disposition of the cetaceans and for their chosen names which range from “Who Gives a S**t” to “Eat the Rich”. The dolphins’ names made me somehow think about the ships’ names in Banks’ Culture series: weird and funny at the same time, they were the perfect way of depicting those creatures’ attitude toward the rest of the world.

The hilarious, improbable characters peopling this story are placed in an equally improbable (?) corporate setting in which the villainous organization operates through a subscription system and even holds yearly meetings in a luxurious environment - the trick here is to be able to survive the assassination attempts from the other… ahem… colleagues. Don’t look for layered villains here: they are humorously depicted caricatures whose lack of subtlety is indeed the main attraction: they need only to be totally evil, and that’s what makes them perfect for the tone of the story.

I had great fun with Starter Villain - no surprise there, what was unexpected was the ending of Charlie’s journey and the real reason for his uncle’s choice of successor. Unexpected but ultimately right for the kind of person Charlie is shown to be. Once again, I closed this latest Scalzi book with a big smile on my face, and that’s exactly what makes this author one of my favorite reading choices.
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LibraryThing member Kavinay
"Testicles as a service..."
There's a lot going on for Scalzi to repeatedly roast tech bros and capitalism, and I'm down for it!
LibraryThing member Shrike58
By this point in his career, John Scalzi is nothing if not consistent, and this is a tasty piece of entertainment. Somewhat akin to "The Kaiju Preservation Society," you have a para-contemporary story where one Charlie Fitzer, a down-on-his-luck erstwhile print journalist, finds himself the
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 "starter villain" of the title, as he inherits his uncle's "business" operations. As this is John Scalzi, absurd hi-jinks ensue. However, this situation is also played for satirical and critical intent, and the conclusion comes with a certain poignancy. One really can't say much about the plot, but if you've enjoyed Scalzi's writing before, there's no reason why you won't enjoy this story. I'd still like to see the new space opera Scalzi has alluded to at points.
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LibraryThing member Carolesrandomlife
This book was all kinds of fun! When I saw this cover, I just knew that I needed to have this book in my life. I have appreciated John Scalzi’s humor in the past and I just had a good feeling about this book. I am happy to report that I was not disappointed. The book was funny and kept me on my
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 toes because nothing was impossible in this quirky little tale. And if you are wondering if cats play a role in this story, I can assure that they do indeed.

Charlie is down on his luck. After losing his journalist position and getting divorced, he moved back in with his father, who has now passed, and is trying to make ends meet by working as a substitute teacher. When his estranged billionaire uncle dies, he is asked to stand up for him at his funeral where the mourners seem rather enthusiastic. Before long Charlie is swept away by a world of supervillains who all seem eager to outmaneuver him.

The story was rather exciting and kept me guessing until the end. I loved the fact that there were some pretty big surprises in the story. Charlie was at a serious disadvantage in the world of supervillainy so I was really hoping to see him succeed and he did hold his own – at least most of the time. The humor worked into the story was incredibly well done which took the story to the next level. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this fun little book to others and cannot wait to see what will come next from this talented author.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Tor Books.
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LibraryThing member travelgirl-fics
i was expecting a bit more from the end, but have to say the book as a whole was truly enjoyable. the characters, including the animals, seemed like integral pieces of the storyline...

i'd like to think there's at least one sequel in here, though i'm unsure if it's just me wishing for more from that
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 universe or a feeling that something wasn't quite finished at the end...
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LibraryThing member janerawoof
An odd read, but enjoyable. Charlie, the protagonist, inherits his late uncle's businesses--parking garages, which are legitimate, and also his illegal businesses. He travels to the HQ, a small volcanic island near Grenada, to take over. Mayhem ensues, having started at Uncle Jake's funeral. There
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 are also spy cats who communicate by typing, [including Charlie's own two cats] and dolphins, intent on forming their own union for rights, who use microphones to communicate. I took this work as a satire on business and on unions. Highly original and packed with humor.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
Charlie Fitzer has hit a down period in his life. He's recently divorced, has lost his job as a business reporter, and in living in his father's house after his father's death. However, the house is jointly owned with his older stepsiblings who want him to sell. He has less than $200 to his name
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 and his dream of buying a local pub is just a dream.

Then he learns that his billionaire uncle has died. Uncle Jake was his mother's brother. He hasn't seen him since his mother died when he was a child. To say that he was surprised when his uncle's assistant comes and asks him to greet people at the funeral home would be an understatement.

The surprises continue when he realizes that all of the mourners at the funeral home are only there to be certain that Uncle Jake has died. When his house is blown up, he learns that he has inherited his uncle's estate. Only part of it is legal. His uncle was a villain and the other billionaire villains all want what Charlie has inherited. But Charlie isn't alone against this league of supervillains. His uncle's assistant Matilda Morrison and his cat Hera are also on his side.

Charlie soon finds himself in a different world. In this one there are cats who communicate using keyboard, talking dolphins who want to go on strike, and commando whales. There are also many plotting villains who are trying to take advantage of Charlie's lack of knowledge about his new life.

This was a fun story ably narrated by Wil Wheaton. I enjoyed the talking cats and Charlie's ability to outwit the supervillains.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
Charlie Fitzer has hit a down period in his life. He's recently divorced, has lost his job as a business reporter, and in living in his father's house after his father's death. However, the house is jointly owned with his older stepsiblings who want him to sell. He has less than $200 to his name
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 and his dream of buying a local pub is just a dream.

Then he learns that his billionaire uncle has died. Uncle Jake was his mother's brother. He hasn't seen him since his mother died when he was a child. To say that he was surprised when his uncle's assistant comes and asks him to greet people at the funeral home would be an understatement.

The surprises continue when he realizes that all of the mourners at the funeral home are only there to be certain that Uncle Jake has died. When his house is blown up, he learns that he has inherited his uncle's estate. Only part of it is legal. His uncle was a villain and the other billionaire villains all want what Charlie has inherited. But Charlie isn't alone against this league of supervillains. His uncle's assistant Matilda Morrison and his cat Hera are also on his side.

Charlie soon finds himself in a different world. In this one there are cats who communicate using keyboard, talking dolphins who want to go on strike, and commando whales. There are also many plotting villains who are trying to take advantage of Charlie's lack of knowledge about his new life.

This was a fun story ably narrated by Wil Wheaton. I enjoyed the talking cats and Charlie's ability to outwit the supervillains.
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LibraryThing member sennebec
Billed as a romp, it's that and more, with a host of villains and wanna-be villains, all merrily scheming and plotting away. This also has one of those rare parts that I call a 'bed shaker', a scene where the dialogue is so funny, the whole bed shakes as I laugh silently to avoid waking my wife. In
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 this one, that takes place between our protagonist and a pod of cloned dolphins right out of a gangster movie. Add in cats that can type and are twice as smart as most of the bad guys, and you have a tale that's pure delight.
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LibraryThing member Maydacat
I can’t recall when I’ve had this much fun reading a book. This tale was a hoot and a half! Charlie’s life has taken a tailspin. He lost his job, his marriage ended in divorce, and he is working as substitute teacher, just to put food on his table. His life has taken a definite downturn, but
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 on the positive side, he owns a lovely - and loving - cat. And things get better! He acquires a second cat who sort of adopts Charlie. Then he finds out his estranged Uncle Jake has died, and he is supposed to attend his wake and funeral. And then he finds out he is heir to a lot of money, a boatload of money. But then Charlie’s house explodes, (don’t worry, the cats are fine), and he realizes he has also inherited his uncle’s enemies, the villains. But on the positive side, the cats are really super-intelligent spy cats, and they have been keeping Charlie safe. So far. Jake’s number one assistant is guiding Charlie through all this upheaval, and with her help, Charlie and the cats, (along with the dolphins and the whales) have things well in hand. Maybe. Charlie may be a “starter villain,” but those older villains should not underestimate his abilities. After all, he survived being a substitute teacher! This hugely humorous and wonderfully written book is highly recommended by me and my four cats, who may or may not be spies.
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LibraryThing member grizzly.anderson
The cover image (a cat in a suit under the heading "meet the new boss") is an interesting choice. It certainly fits Scalzi's sense of humor and the general memes about cats. But in reality the cats are not the villains, nor are they really the new boss.

Charlie's estranged massively wealthy rich
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 uncle has died, and his estate pulls Charlie into the strange world of the mega-rich, who are largely indistinguishable from criminals. The rest of the tale is a comedic commentary on extreme wealth, politics and the ethical treatment of animals as Charlie tries to understand the world he's been thrown in to, for lack of anything better to do with his life.

Its a fun story with witty dialog, biting humor and super-intelligent cats. Its also a very fast read.
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LibraryThing member foggidawn
Charlie, recently divorced and with less than $100 in his checking account, is foundering. He used to be a journalist, but now he's working as a substitute teacher, living in a house that is partially owned by his estranged siblings, who want him to get out so they can sell the property -- but
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 then, he'd be homeless. When his wealthy uncle Jake dies, he expects nothing. The last time he saw his uncle was years ago, at his mother's funeral. So, when his uncle's assistant shows up with a request -- and a bequest -- Charlie's not sure what to think. Then he attends his uncle's very strange funeral, and his house explodes. And that's just the beginning...

This is a fun romp, Scalzi-style. There's plenty of witty banter and outrageous invention, plot twists galore and delightful tidbits like typing cats and extremely profane dolphins. If you're looking for light and fun, this is a sure hit.
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LibraryThing member Narilka
Starter Villain is another novel by John Scalzi that is in the similar vein as Kaiju Preservation Society - it takes place in the modern day and the cast of characters has to deal with an extremely unlikely situation with some fantastical elements. In this case... Charlie's Uncle Jake has died and
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 Charlie has absolutely no idea what he's in for when he agrees to stand for his Uncle at his Uncle's funeral. Things go downhill from there in the best way possible.

This was a highly enjoyable and satisfying read. The twists were appropriately twisty and the plot appropriately villainous. The villains were... well, human I suppose with very logical motivations that I could see playing out in real life. Charlie got through it all like a champ. I don't know how Scalzi did it but even with all the villainy this story is truly heart warming. That ending hit me right in the feels. I'm glad I had one of my own cats sitting with me when I finished.

I also never knew that button boards for animals were a thing and have now gone down the internet search rabbit hole. I am seriously considering trying this with my cats. This is probably a bad idea since one of my cats is already quite a talker.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Wil Wheaton. Wheaton's narration + Scalzi's prose = chef's kiss for me.

I've already listened to the story a second time with my husband and he found the whole thing hilarious.
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LibraryThing member wdwilson3
Like all of Scalzi's books, this has some fresh, original ideas and snappy dialogue, but suffered in the second half with an ever-widening circle of lies. Con artists conning con artists conning... you get the idea.
LibraryThing member Pyle313
I really enjoyed this book. This did not have the one problem for me most of the Scalzi books I have read have had where you are given a massive amount of names right as you start to try and keep track of. I also loved how the story resolved, it was a very nice self contained story which is nice to
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 find in this genre.

The only thing I think it was lacking is the main character went from being very lost and overwhelmed to supposedly still overwhelmed and confident too quickly in my opinion. I needed more of him getting a handle on what was going on before he was "thrown to the big dogs" so to speak, it would have made how he interacted and dealt with all the events of the book a little more believable. This was fixed a little by how the story was resolved but by that point it had already removed me a little from the story.

Like I said on the whole though I loved the book and the ride it took me on. Still a 5 star read and it makes me even more excited to dive into some of his series after only reading his one offs, later this year!
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LibraryThing member bookappeal
Cleverly funny and action packed.
LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
John Scalzi books are either a hit or miss for me - and this one is a miss. I liked aspects of this book (Unionizing Dolphins and Cats in Administration), but I wished there was more... villainy. I know, that isn't actually the point of the book, but still.

As for the setup, secret lair with
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 volcano, cabal of evil doers, was very fun. But, the ending was a bit of a let down. I'd say more, but that would spoil the book.
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LibraryThing member lavaturtle
This book is just a hell of a lot of fun. Wacky "supervillain" hijinks, plot twists that just keep coming, and a premise that has a lot to say about the comparative evil of a James Bond villain vs. modern capitalists. Also, more talking animals than you'd expect.
LibraryThing member theWallflower
It’s fine. That’s all, just fine.

It’s not Redshirts, it’s not Old Man’s War. There are no poignant lessons to be learned from the story. In fact, I might say it’s Scalzi’s dumbest story yet, in the sense that I was entertained, but didn’t learn anything. Not about identity or
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 socio-politico-economies or what makes a person a person. Seems like Scalzi’s not exploring serious themes in his books anymore. The SRE (Satisfying Reader Experience) was minimal.

Half the novel is infodumping and learning the premise. The Kaiju Preservation Society was much the same way, where the plot took a backseat to world-building. And in this novel, there’s nothing fantastic that needs explaining, which makes the exposition more superfluous. The central conceit is that there’s a secret society of supervillains that keep the world economy running and they’re all trying to take each other. And it’s just not very funny. This book doesn’t feel like it’s about anything. I’m disappointed.

And don’t let the cover lie to you. There are cats in here and they do talk, but there are no cat people or business cats or people with cat heads. It’s a funny cover but it’s misleading about the content therein.
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LibraryThing member quondame
What happens when an underemployed former business journalist inherits his uncle's roll and a billionaire villain and gets thrown into the league that inspired SPECTRA? Mix with talking cats and filthy mouthed dolphins and have fun. Of course the body count is non-negligible.

Awards

Language

English

Original language

English

Original publication date

2023-08-29

Physical description

272 p.; 8.55 inches

ISBN

0765389223 / 9780765389220

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