Starter Villain – John Scalzi
Expectation: A straight-forward espionage thriller about a man inheriting his uncle’s dirty deeds.
Reality: An outlandish, action-packed sci-fi comedy that won me over with talking animals and some solid social commentary.
My Take:
If you’re a person that enjoys the outlandish villainy in “Despicable Me” and thought “Argylle” was peak popcorn cinema, then “Starter Villain” is the book for you.
I don’t often go for lighter reads — and usually avoid the sci-fi and fantasy genres —but as a full-fledged crazy cat dad, I could not pass up a novel that promised middle-manager, sentient spy cats and foul-mouthed, labor organizing dolphins.
Yes, you read that correctly. These are core characters in this absolutely ridiculous novel about a cabal of super villains who leverage technology and civil unrest to keep their coffers stuffed.
John Scalzi fully recognizes he’s going for pulp and not a Pulitzer, but he still had fun with the construct and providing astute social commentary — and a few well-placed zingers — about the industrial complex, oligarchies and bored billionaires.
The protagonist, Charlie, goes from divorced substitute teacher to unlikely villain heir after inheriting his estranged uncle's "business." This business involves a hidden Caribbean lair, a league of supervillains and a whole lot of murder.
While the setup of an ordinary person being thrown into the world of espionage or organized crime isn’t particularly original, Scalzi regularly elevated this above schlock as long as you keep it at face value. That’s about the highest compliment I can pay to “Villain” as it was not without shortcomings.
What worked:
The talking animals: The real stars of the show are the witty and foul-mouthed cats and dolphins. Animal guardians that love to anthropomorphize will be especially delighted.
Humor: While at times sophomoric, Scalzi's wry humor and creative scenes elevate the story. Some of the fake business pitches were absolutely genius.
Ties up loose ends: While you can clearly see how the seams of the story are coming together, Sclazi delivered a satisfying conclusion — although I hope Charlie gets a lot of therapy.
What could’ve been improved:
Dialogue: The dialogue tries to be too clever and can occasionally veer into immature territory, reminiscent of young adult fiction.
Plot: The plot relies on too many conveniences, and the story unfolds in a scene-to-scene manner until the final third.
Editing: A few grammatical errors and continuity issues were present, which are always distracting.
If you temper expectations, you’re in for some endearing, escapist fun that mostly balances humor, action and heart. Honestly, I wouldn’t write off tackling another Scalzi read in my future.
Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): N/A
Format: eBook (library loan)
Dates read: May 4 – May 12, 2024
Multi-tasking: N/A
