Starter Villain

A fun, fast read, parodying the James Bond Villain archetype. The main character is dropped into the deep end of supervillain society, complete with double-crosses, triple-crosses, assassination attempts, blackmail, framing...and of course the secret volcanic lair, superlasers, talking dolphins (who are really unpleasant and cranky) and a management layer of typing cats (who are much less so, depending on how well you feed and pet them).

Everyone knows he's way out of his depth and wants to take advantage of him. But he knows it too -- and between a background in business journalism and a willingness to listen to people with expertise (always considering that they have an agenda that might not be his own), he's able to manage better than anyone expects.

Of course, the skills that get you to the top of the backstabbing, chaotic world of villainy...aren't necessarily the best for financial stability. Or stability of any kind.

Cross-posted at my website.

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.

Like most Scalzi books this is a great story and a lot of fun. If you want some escapism then you've come to the right place. If you're looking for something deeper, this will not be satisfying at all.

A humorous and interesting story involving the usual clueless main character who discovers that he has been given a massive inheritance from a deceased relative. Only here, the relative is an uncle who turns out to have been a villain (complete with evil volcanic lair) who now wants him to run his evil empire.

As the story develops, it turns out the empire he inherits is not quite so evil after all. It does work for various governments and agencies. But it then quietly reuses the technology developed for other purposes. For example, a laser technology used to make rain gets repurposed (and boosted) to take down satellites (yes, it does get used in the story).

The main story involves the character interacting with other villains in the world who, while not plotting to take over the world, do want to accumulate vast wealth. And the death of his uncle opens up an opportunity for them to take over his business; and possibly get rid of him too.

The writing is fun and fast moving, with witty dialogue and explanations for why his uncle's evil empire does what it does. Perhaps, in the end, he doesn't turn out to be the villain he is expected to be, and the world might end up becoming a better place, if he survives the takeover attempts.

Hot on the heels of Kaiju Preservation Society, Scalzi has written this fun romp through the world of global oligarchs. I'd call it light reading, as light as a story about the evils of late stage capitalism can be.

It also has sentient animals, so that's pretty great.

If you love Scalzi's humor, you'll love Starter Villain.

with entitled billionaires and tech bros getting their due, As well as spy cats and labor dispute dolphins, there is allot to sink your teeth into.