“Charlie’s 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 isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re 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.

It’s 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 world…be a cat.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eGalley of this from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There is a ton of humor in here, some action, some cool sci-fi elements, and some food for thought as well.

Charlie is a divorced former journalist who has been eking out a living working as a substitute teacher while caring for his ailing father. Now his father is dead and Charlie is squatting in his father’s old house; the house that is supposed to be sold with proceeds split up between Charlie’s step-siblings. Then Charlie’s uncle Jake dies and Charlie inherits a whole boatload of crazy.

I loved this book completely. It is fast paced and fun from the beginning to the end. You never knew what sort of crazy was going to pop up. From super intelligent spy cats to angry dolphins pushing for unionization; this was a wild and crazy ride. I loved watching Charlie (and his cat Hera) navigate this villainous world and loved even more when Charlie’s fairly nice guy decisions put an absolute wrench in everyone’s plans.

Scalzi is a consistently excellent writer who has fun concepts with easy to engage with characters and a writing style that is easy to read. I love his stand alone books like this and the intriguing ideas they explore. This is a perfect entertaining summer read.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this book, it’s a hugely entertaining read and perfect for reading on summer vacation. I loved the concepts, the fast-pace, and the craziness here. I also loved that it was all done in a way that is thought-provoking. Highly recommended for those looking for a fun and creative read. I can’t wait to see what Scalzi writes next.

Early Review – Starter Villain by John Scalzi (5/5 stars)

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