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.

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.