Rating: 4/5
Page Count: 272 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: 19th September 2023
It’s my day on the Book Tour for Starter Villain by John Scalzi! Thank you to Black Crow PR, Tor Books and John Scalzi for the opportunity to be a part of the tour!
Warning: supervillain in training. Risk of world domination.
Inheriting his late uncle’s business proves complicated. It’s also way more dangerous than Charlie could ever have imagined. Because his uncle had kept his supervillain status a secret – until now.
Divorced and emotionally dependent on his cat, Charlie wasn’t loving life. Although they weren’t close, news of his Uncle Jake’s death didn’t help. And that was before Jake’s rivals (seriously vengeful ones) ambushed his funeral. Now Charlie must decide if he should stay stuck in his rut, or step up to take on the business, the enemies, the minions, the hidden volcano lair . . .
Even harder to get used to are the sentient, language-using, computer-savvy cats – and the fact that in the organization’s hierarchy, they’re management. If Charlie does say yes, this lifeline could become a death wish. Because there’s much more to being an Evil Mastermind than he suspected. Yet could this also, finally, be his chance to shine?
This is the part of the movie where people get ax-murdered.
Have you ever had a plan for your life and your career, yet finds yourself in a career path you never knew existed or expected to have to learn? Add to this sentient cats, trash-talking dolphins, volcano lairs and funerals where people stand in line to stab the body to make sure they are dead. This and more is awaiting you if you decide to read Starter Villain. Starter Villain is a book filled with murder, chaos, (corporate) villainy and l that will have you laughing aloud to yourself.
Charlie, a down on his luck substitute teacher with less than $100 to his name, loses the uncle he never knew, his house and his property in the space of a couple of days. But through this, he learns of his Uncle’s “villainous” enterprise and quickly has to navigate the world of villainy, with sentient cat bodyguards who can type and dolphin security that want to unionise and are far too fond of swear words, whilst standing up against a James Bond-esque style group of villains, that want his inheritance and his business.
This book was absolutely bizarre and completely unbelievable. Yet I couldn’t help being swept away, laughing at the cats who had business portfolios, and the dolphins who need to learn that negotiations don’t involve insults and swearing. I’d liken this to Monty Python style humour in a book, and I could not stop laughing. Especially at the negotiations with Gratas, one of the villains. I was definitely along for the ride, with this easy to read, engaging sci-fi read that I can honestly say is one of the strangest yet most fun reads I have ever read.
“Your audio’s still muted,” I said, mildly.
Gratas slapped his computer without pausing his tirade. “-and you’d better fucking listen good, you little fucking worm-”
I closed the laptop lid again.
…
“He was quite rude,” I said.
I just wished for a slightly different ending! But that’s a personal preference and would loved to have read more!
Think James Bond villainy meeting Despicable Me, with the humour of Monty Python and you are along the right lines of what to expect when picking up this book! Definitely go and check it out!
The Pen Not The Sword 
2 thoughts on “Book Tour: Starter Villain by John Scalzi”