nasamuffin, book enjoyer reviewed Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Is it possible for a book to be smug?
4 stars
This book is definitely smug.
272 pages
English language
Published Jan. 5, 2023 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.
Inheriting your mysterious uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.
Sure, there are the things you'd expect. The undersea volcano lairs. The minions. The plots to take over the world. The international networks of rivals who want you dead.
Much harder to get used to...are the the sentient, language-using, computer-savvy cats.
And the fact that in the overall organization, they're management...
This book is definitely smug.
Cats! Good writing. I really enjoyed this one.
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!
It's sort of what I think of as a typical Scalzi book, with the down-on-their-luck protagonist suddenly being thrust into a much more sci-fi life than expected, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. Hera may be one of my all-time favourite characters. The whole thing is just funny, with a serious of ridiculous situations and a man who is too shell-shocked to do anything other than accept that it's happening and joke about it a bit.
If the end wasn't so deflating, where it all just sort of wraps up nicely with a cute bow and everyone's chill, it would probably be a 5-stars from me, but it sort of felt like the default expected ending. Enjoyable enough, but not really interesting.
Still, if you want something light and goofy this is a lot of fun. Highly recommend.
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:
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.
As I listened to this on my morning walks, I was caught cackling with laughter several times by my fellow neighborhood walkers. I’m pretty sure they wonder about me now. My sister and I also exchanged texts with some of the funniest lines.
Chapter four is the funniest funeral ever. Anyone receiving flowers and a vase with “Suck MFer,” can’t be all bad… right?!?!
Then there are the dolphins. Totally hard core, and death by “mass dolphin gender identification,” sounds pretty horrible.
The Pitch and Pitch, was also super fun. “Tetsticles as a service.” Bwahahaha!
The book didn’t end the way I expected. I kind of wanted an ending with a “to be continued…” motif, but one-shot books are great too. No worries about setting up another plot, so the ending is clean.
Charlie and Matti are great. I was pleased with how that relationship went. I was worried for …
As I listened to this on my morning walks, I was caught cackling with laughter several times by my fellow neighborhood walkers. I’m pretty sure they wonder about me now. My sister and I also exchanged texts with some of the funniest lines.
Chapter four is the funniest funeral ever. Anyone receiving flowers and a vase with “Suck MFer,” can’t be all bad… right?!?!
Then there are the dolphins. Totally hard core, and death by “mass dolphin gender identification,” sounds pretty horrible.
The Pitch and Pitch, was also super fun. “Tetsticles as a service.” Bwahahaha!
The book didn’t end the way I expected. I kind of wanted an ending with a “to be continued…” motif, but one-shot books are great too. No worries about setting up another plot, so the ending is clean.
Charlie and Matti are great. I was pleased with how that relationship went. I was worried for a while that it would become a cliche. I also like that as a former business reporter, Charlie has some chops in dealing with the other villains. Then there is Hera. She might be my favorite: “Dogs are the worst. They’ll sell you out for a treat and a head pat.” She is not wrong.
Purchasable
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765389220/startervillain
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