Joerg reviewed Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Expository dialogue - the novel
3 stars
Expository dialogue for most of the book. Some truly funny bits though.
English language
Published Jan. 6, 2023 by Pan Macmillan.
Starter Villain
by John Scalzi
John Scalzi: Starter Villain (2023, Pan Macmillan)
- ISBN:
- 978-1-5290-8295-1
Copied ISBN!
4 stars
(4 reviews)
Inheriting your mysterious uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.
Sure, there are the things you'd expect. The undersea volcano lairs. The minions. The plots to take over the world. The international networks of rivals who want you dead.
Much harder to get used to...are the the sentient, language-using, computer-savvy cats.
And the fact that in the overall organization, they're management...
matthewmincher@bookwyrm.social reviewed Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Enjoyable Scalzi short
4 stars
I enjoyed this more than Redshirts. A fun read that doesn't take itself too seriously. I really felt like I was reading a movie.
A nice self contained plot with plenty of foreshadowing, but I did want a little bit more in the payoff at the end. Plenty of contemporary references and stabs at corporate America. The cat thing was juuuust about on the line and didn't go overboard.
I liked the premise of random guy inserted into villainous empire but i did feel like Charlie's handling of it felt a bit "chosen one". I'd have liked to see a few more disasters along the way.
Narrated by Wil Wheaton, who was perfect and complemented the book's humour perfectly. If you've listened to Ready Player One, he brought a similar nerdy enthusiasm to it.
Dah DJM reviewed Starter Villain by John Scalzi
If you love cats...
4 stars
I discoved Scalzi with this book. Liked the humor and many fun ideas...
