Starter Villain

Starter villain is one of those books where I had to tell every body around me the latest funny or outrageous quote as I encountered it. I read it in record time, have over 27 passages quoted in my reader, and saved it to my favorites list.

The story premise seems preposterous, but John Scalzi managed to produce a story that makes sense... an outrageous, funny, twisted sort of sense. It's also surprisingly insightful and pragmatic, and turns the tropes on end, points out the ridiculousness of comic book villains, but also comes up with a reasonable business plan for a Billionaire Super Villain. I'm not going to say it's entirely plausible, but it is a fun, wild ride that's worth the effort. It definitely put a smile on my face!

An enjoyable and very quick read. I like these one-offs from authors, where they explore ideas and going into a bit more depth than a short story. The book surely wasn't perfect or the best one I read this year. But it kept me entertained for two hours and that's not nothing. Recommended for fans of Scalzi's writing.

Expository dialogue for most of the book. Some truly funny bits though.

I enjoyed this more than Redshirts. A fun read that doesn't take itself too seriously. I really felt like I was reading a movie.

A nice self contained plot with plenty of foreshadowing, but I did want a little bit more in the payoff at the end. Plenty of contemporary references and stabs at corporate America. The cat thing was juuuust about on the line and didn't go overboard.

I liked the premise of random guy inserted into villainous empire but i did feel like Charlie's handling of it felt a bit "chosen one". I'd have liked to see a few more disasters along the way.

Narrated by Wil Wheaton, who was perfect and complemented the book's humour perfectly. If you've listened to Ready Player One, he brought a similar nerdy enthusiasm to it.

It’s funny. It has typing cats and swearing dolphins. What’s not to like?

This was a quick and easy read, with the plot zipping along at a rapid pace and not too many characters or complicated ideas to get straight in your head.

It's a fun parody of James Bond style villains but also quite a good satire of California techbros, VC funding, and mega-billionaires. If any of that group are on your "I don't like these people" list, you'll probably enjoy this book!

A classic Scalzi one-shot novel--a fluffy snack with some good twists.

The basic setup is that down-on-his-luck Charlie Fitzer unexpectedly inherits his estranged billionaire uncle's villainous empire and now has to fend with other villains who were pissed at his uncle.

Key features:

• volcano lair
• jerk dolphins who want to unionize
• zoom call power plays

I discoved Scalzi with this book. Liked the humor and many fun ideas...

Not bad. Definitely has some Hitchhiker's-esque scenes. But the end was a letdown.

Another genre-bending romp from @scalzi@mastodon.social. Fast and fun, this book was a great bit of mental floss to kick off another year of reading. As always Scalzi delivers laugh-out-loud lines with clever dialog and banter. Pick up a copy at your local bookstore or at the nearest public library ASAP.

I had lots of fun reading this. And the audiobook is read by Will Wheaton who brings his wry humor into it.

While I'd read FUZZY NATION (also masterfully read by Will), there was a lot more humor in VILLAIN and KAIJU PRESERVATION SOCIETY. It seems I need to start going through John's other novels like the OLD MAN'S WAR stuff.

It's a really fun book, well-paced, with a lot of entertaining characters, a story full of social commentary, and some dead-pan humour. I'd probably compare it to Prattchet, with jokes that are much less tired, anchored in a soft sci-fi setting instead of fantasy. My minor gripe with how contrived some of the story felt was ultimately addressed by the story itself, which felt nice.

Why not 5 stars? Well, I do wonder how some of the references are going to age - it is likely neither Spotify nor Zoom will be around in 20 years. Also, just like with Prattchet, it's really just a social commentary and not really a critique: the set-up is there just to poke fun at and expose how ridiculous our society is, but unlike in Scalzi's Interdependency books, there's little in-depth discussion of the issues, as almost everyone is on the same page.

Unfolds a novel and intriguing premise with Scalzi’s dependable wit (and identical character voices). There’s a somewhat unsatisfying lack of villainy despite all that goes on, even though the rogues’ network that’s explored instead is filled with delightfully absurd details. For once, I wish this story had finished with a few more loose ends than it did.