Starter Villain
"A stupid villain threatens, Charlie. A smarter villain offers a service."
- John Scalzi, Starter Villain
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Some books challenge you. Others make you think long after you've finished the final chapter. And then there are books whose only goal is to entertain.
Starter Villain falls squarely into that last category, and I mean that as the highest compliment.
The novel follows Charlie Fitzer, a substitute teacher whose life has not exactly gone according to plan. Financial struggles and an uncertain future have become his normal until an unexpected inheritance changes everything. Unfortunately for Charlie, that inheritance is not a fortune in the traditional sense. Instead, he discovers he has inherited his late uncle's international supervillain empire.
From there, the story gleefully embraces every secret agent and supervillain trope imaginable. Hidden island compounds, impossible technology, larger-than-life adversaries, shadowy organizations, and elaborate schemes all make an appearance. Rather than poking fun at these ideas, Starter Villain celebrates them. It knows exactly what kind of story it wants to tell and never apologizes for it.
What surprised me most was how grounded Charlie remains throughout the novel. He reacts much the way most of us probably would if we suddenly found ourselves responsible for an organization built by a comic book supervillain. His practical outlook provides the perfect counterbalance to the wonderfully ridiculous world unfolding around him.
Then there are the cats.
Without giving anything away, they became some of my favorite characters in the book. The same is true of the dolphins, who contribute more than a few memorable moments of their own. Much of the humor comes from the complete sincerity with which everyone accepts the extraordinary as perfectly ordinary. Before long, the reader does the same.
The pacing is brisk, the dialogue is sharp, and the chapters seem to fly by. I found myself looking forward to seeing what absurd situation Charlie would stumble into next. Every time I thought I knew where the story was heading, it found another clever way to surprise me.
Could the novel have spent more time exploring the world it created? Perhaps. There were moments where I would have happily lingered a little longer in its wonderfully bizarre universe. At the same time, slowing the story down might have taken away some of the energy that makes it such an enjoyable read.
In the end, Starter Villain accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It is clever, funny, imaginative, and thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end. I picked it up looking for a fun read, and that's exactly what I found.
I closed the book with a smile on my face, wanting more. That may be the best recommendation I can give it.
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