Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Just a pure delight.
Not a Book Report
I enjoy reflecting on the movies, TV, books and other media that I consume. Iām notoriously sentimental. This series documents the books that I read. These arenāt reviews or recommendations. Just a list. For me. Mostly so that I can page through what I read, where I was, and when.
Why did I read it?
I continue to go through the Scalzi catalog. This is another book of his that sits outside of the SciFi genre that first drew me to his work.
What is it?
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Starter Villain |
| Author | John Scalzi |
| Year Published | 2023 |
| Format | Kindle |
| Pages | 268 pages |
| Amazon | Link |
| ASIN | B0B9KVXCQ6 |
Publisher Summary
Now a New York Times bestseller!Inheriting your uncleās supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover whoās running the place.Charlieās life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.
But becoming a supervillain isnāt all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now theyāre coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital. Itās up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.In a dog-eat-dog worldā¦be a cat.
How did I read it?
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Date Started | April 12, 2025 |
| Date Finished | April 14, 2025 |
| Places Read | Lisbon, Bangalore, Abu Dhabi |
Notes - No Spoilers
- I loved it. I loved the whole thing.
- I wish I had read it before I read When the Moon Hits Your Eye because I think I would have understood his tone and voice better.
- I appreciate the quip about a great mission statement vs saying what you actually do.
- The dolphins protesting, especially repeating certain insults in unison, made me laugh out loud on a flight.
- āCats are fucking class traitorsā