John Scalzi is quickly becoming one of my very favorite authors. Come for the interesting premise, stay for the fast pace, banter, and jokes. You're sure to be pleased!

Witty, pacy, and super fun, as Scalzi always is. Also very contemporary-feeling; I'm not sure if that will age well but it was very entertaining now (the Zoom call made me really laugh). Extra points for the cats and the dolphins.

Starter Villain is another wild and wacky comedic romp from Scalzi, following nicely in the wake of Redshirts and The Kaiju Preservation Society. It's about a very non-villainous and non-heroic guy who inherits a criminal empire that was set up in the James Bond tradition. I'll avoid spoilers, but here's a quote from page 207: "...I'm here on an island in the Caribbean, being told I need to talk to the dolphins in the middle of a labor action about some whales that might have torpedoes, armed by a secret society of villains who want access to a storeroom full of objects probably looted from the victims of the friggin' Nazis and who are maybe willing to blow up -my volcano lair- to get it." It's a fun, fast read!

John Scalzi’s Starter Villain is a quick and fun read, perfect for those who enjoy their fantasy with a large dose of humor…and talking cats.

When we meet Charlie Fitzer, his life is a shambles. He’s divorced, broke, working occasionally as a substitute teacher, barely getting by while living rent free in his father’s house (to the frustration of his older siblings who are eager to sell the property and take their share of the estate). He’s a 32-year-old writer “working on his novel” while dreaming of owning the neighborhood pub. Charlie is lonely. He has no social life, and his only friend is a cat.

Then his long-lost Uncle Jake dies, and Charlie is asked to serve as family representative at the memorial service. At the funeral home, Charlie discovers that all the “mourners” are only in attendance to be sure that Jake is really, truly dead. It turns out that Uncle Jake was not just rich. Uncle Jake was a Villain.

Soon after the bizarre funeral, Charlie is swept up into Jake’s deadly circle of associates, all vying for domination. Can naive Charlie survive the threats and manipulations of the world’s biggest super villains?

Full of twists, turns, explosions, double crosses, and asshole dolphins, Starter Villain is a delight!

This was my first book by John Scalzi, but it will not be my last. There are a ton of reviews out there on this one, but I will share that it was one of my favorite books of 2023, and you should definitely pick it up - even if you think it's not your thing/not your genre. It also makes me want to get a cat.

Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

The best cover! This was so dang funny. Perfect length. Not much more to say. I loved it. Will recommend to everyone

This book was pure escapism and I loved it. Talking spy cats, cantankerous cursing dolphins, plans to be the world's greatest villain-what's not to love!

Charlie Fitzer is broke, living in his old home, and trying to scrape up enough equity to buy the local bar so that he can feel he has control of something. But then his Uncle Jake died and he find that he is his heir. But not just to his parking garage empire, but to his super-villain business empire that comes with a cool Caribbean hideout on a volcanic island! But he now has rival villains out to get him. Thankfully, his side has hyper intelligent cats, talking dolphins forming a union, and a very competent assistant who has everything under control. All Charlie needs to do is show up and not get killed. But that is a bit hard when houses get bombed, missiles tossed around and threats of destruction are handed out like candy. Will Charlie survive is the major question! So come for the hi-jinks, the twists, and the over-the-top fun of this fast paced romp!

3.5
A perfectly enjoyable, but unexceptional, story about a struggling substitute teacher and failed journalist who inherits a giant criminalish enterprise.

This book succeeds purely on its premise. The story itself is very so so. Personally, I think it's a premise that would be better suited to a short story because there really isn't enough to propel it for a full novel--at least in its current state.

It isn't bad. It's fun and pretty much what I expected, but I can't help but wish it was more.

In this party of a book, John Scalzi answers the question of what might it be like if our estranged uncle we knew very little about died and left us in charge of his supervillain empire that is essentially run by hyper-intelligent cats with the dolphins threatening to strike.

I'm not sure any of us would be ready to handle any of this, which makes the book such a treat. The plot is outlandish, but the people feel grounded and real, which is a hallmark of the best Scalzi writing. It is also frequently hilarious.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough so get reading!

Starter Villain by John Scalzi is a great cozy sci-fi book to read curled up with your cat and a nice cup of tea. It tells the story of Charlie, a burnt out substitute and former journalist whose over it attitude is entirely relatable. He inherits his estranged uncle's businesses and comes to the discovery that his uncle was a Villain. It becomes his job to manage everything from parking garages to super intelligent cats.

This book feels very low stakes, despite the premise. Like with previous books by Scalzi, such as Redshirts and Kaiju Preservation Society, the plot unfolds much like a action comedy movie, where you understand a lot of the broad strokes, but the ride is so fun you don't mind. Like with most of Scalzi's books, there were sections where I found myself laughing out loud, though I won't spoil about what in the review. This was a delight to read and a perfect palate cleanser between heavier subject matter.

QUICK TAKE: it's Scalzi, so you know you're gonna have fun. This is humorous, sharply-written, a little over the top, and a bit convoluted in the back half, but ultimately a really good addition to the Scalzi oeuvre.

"In a dog-eat-dog world, be a cat."

An excellent examination of the power dynamics, competition, and minds of supervillains...if they existed.

The main character provides the reader with an excellent entry point to the world of supervillains, whose motives and methods just might surprise you.

Scalzi has written a fantastic book that examines what makes a villain. There's plenty of humor from Charlie's reaction to his newfound status and discovery of what his uncle actually did for "business" combined with some action and commentary about wealth, privilege, and even labor unions.

Hilarious and delightful! I had so much fun between the Bond Level plot and twists to the hysterical hyper-intelligent cats and foul mouth dolphins. John Scalzi has found the perfect balance between humor and somber. You never know what laugh-out-loud antics will devolve into nail-biting scenarios. 10/10 would recommend to anyone.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Scalzi strikes again with his razor sharp wit and twisting schemes. He writes as if he's in a playground of his own delights. This was a really light and fun read akin to Autin Powers meets something like Oceans Eleven with a revenge undertone.
I really liked the finale of this book and the 'keep you in the dark' feeling about some of his uncle's backstory and dealings.

The cats were an especially nice touch as well. F the dolphine!

I was curious about Starter Villain by John Scalzi. What exactly is a Starter Villain and how do cats play into it? Since I have enjoyed this author's previous works, I decided to give it a try. This book was full of action and intrigue and had plenty of humor. The plot wasn't terribly complicated, but there were plenty of twists which made for an interesting read. This will be recommended to mystery lovers who want to try something a little different.

Really disappointed in this one. It started out with so much promise, but became really tell and don't show in the back half. The idea of a villian learning on the job should be so fun, but it turned into business deals and corporate speak. No one is trustworthy which means you never actually learn anything, you can't believe what anyone is telling you, and you end up just waiting for the conclusion to bring it all together.
But there are some bright moments in this book. I love the many cats and there are some excellent jokes. The writing is also a stand out. But the direction of the book wasn't something I was interested in.

Scalzi is just the greatest. His books are so much fun, and "Starter Villain" is no different. When his Uncle Jake dies, a mysterious woman shows up and asks Charlie to represent the family at the funeral. If he does, he will be rewarded. This comes at a great time since he is basically broke, and his job as a substitute teacher isn't making him a fortune any time soon.
At the funeral, as Charlie stands near his Uncle Jake's body to greet the well-wishers, he is shocked when multiple people attempt to "kill" the body. When Charlie stops them and asks them why they're trying to kill someone who is already dead, the response is that his Uncle Jake has faked his own death before.
And so, Charlie is introduced to his uncle's behind the shadows job of being a super-villain. If you're thinking of James Bond and SPECTRE, you're in the right mindset. As Charlie learns more and more about his uncle's past, he also learns what his own present and possible future could be, that is, if he survives the Lombardy Convocation.
A great ride, a quick read, highly recommend!

I think I actually like this book even more than I expected because I didn’t know exactly what it was about, I went in with very low plot expectations.

What I didn’t know was how much I was going to absolutely cry with laughter, especially in the first 35% of the book. There are a couple scenes here that just Had me absolutely hysterically laughing. At one point I had to get up out of bed and stop reading next to Johnny because he was trying to go to sleep.

This book is just so much fun. It’s fresh and different and I had no idea what was going to happen next.

There are some elements of Hench , as well as some elements of what’s that book I read where the woman wakes up with bodies around her and she has no idea how she got there? Like both of those, there are interesting, behind-the-scenes elements of what it’s like to join a global cabal. But as with both of those books, there is a lot of tongue in cheek styling that I absolutely love.

I know there are a couple people who have said that once the true villain work starts they became a little bit less interested but for me, I was interested the entire time in this book absolutely flew by.

It broke me out of my book slump, and was a book that I chose to keep reading even though iron flame came out, smack in the middle of the time I was reading it. I simply didn’t want to give it up. It’s too good.

This is starter villain by John Scalzi.