Starter Villain by John Scalzi (book review).

Charlie Fitzer is a substitute teacher living in his dead father’s house in the town he grew up in. His only friend is a cat named Hera who followed him home one day and never left. His only ambition is to buy the local pub where he would at least have people say hello to him as they ordered a beer. He has few prospects. He has little hope.

Then his great uncle Jake dies. Charlie hears about it in the business news because (surprise!) Jake is a billionaire. This long lost relative has one last request for the great-nephew he hasn’t seen in decades, host his funeral. Such a small thing. Charlie can’t say no. He can’t let the stranger stab his uncle’s corpse neither. Even if it’s just to see if he really is dead.  Things get stranger after that.

Thrust into his uncle’s business where everyone seems likely to assassination him, Charlie must find a path between his own morals, striking Cetaceans, genetically altered spies and an international villainous conglomerate.

In my head, there are the ‘serious’ Scalzi novels such as ‘The Last Emperox’ and the ‘light-hearted’ Scalzi novels such as ‘the Kaiju Protection Society’. ‘Starter Villain’ is firmly in the ‘light-hearted’ category. Trope filled and a bit expositional this category isn’t for everyone. Some things are hand waved away and many jokes get overplayed. The beginning might feel a little slow as we learn about Charlie’s life until the turning point of Jake’s funeral. All of these things are true but I still really enjoyed this book. It is pure popcorn ‘just go with it’ that my brain needed this week.

Have you ever wanted all the trappings of a super-villain? My BFF wants a volcano lair while I’m definitely in favour of a moonbase. Not that we want to actually be villains but because the tropes are just kind of cool. Who doesn’t want a giant chair to sit on while you expound upon your plans while stroking a cat? My first villain was probably Dr. Claw from ‘Inspector Gadget’ and where I learnt that while the bad guys never win they also never give up. They are so sure that they’ll get the hood guy the next time. Part of me admires the dedication of Dr. Claw and his fellow villains Dr. Evil from ‘Austin Powers’ and Ernst Stavro Blofeld from the various James Bond films and now Charlie Fitzer has inherited a villainous empire.

Charlie is the everyman thrust into a bizarre situation and expected to make life or death decisions about things he knows nothing about. It’s easy to put yourself into Charlie’s shoes (he is an Everyman after all) and that brings the moral questions Charlie has to struggle with to the fore. What would I do with a villainous corporation that comes with a HR slideshow orientation but no epicly-sized video screen? Are they providing a service or promoting wickedness?

If you know that your cats are probably planning something, are pragmatic enough to eat your corpse while also being benevolent to their human caretakers you will enjoy Scalzi’s take on the iconic super-villain cat and associated tropes. If you’re a fan of tropes you will enjoy this book. A quick, amusing read that will suit commuting or travel. While I wouldn’t buy it in hardcover, ‘Starter Villain’ is a solid addition to Scalzi’s ‘light-hearted’ list and worth a look if you enjoyed any of his others.

LK Richardson

October 2023

(pub: TOR, 2023. 272 page hardback. Price: $28.99 (US). ISBN: 978-0-76538-922-0 

check out website: www.tor.com