Starter Villain

No cover

Starter Villain (2023, Pan Macmillan)

English language

Published Sept. 28, 2023 by Pan Macmillan.

ISBN:
9781529082951

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4 stars (5 reviews)

3 editions

None

4 stars

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.

Starter Villain

4 stars

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:

  • volcano lair
  • jerk dolphins who want to unionize
  • zoom call power plays