Starter Villain
by John Scalzi
Science Fiction
* * * * * Stars (Amazing!)
Charlie moved back home to Barrington, IL to take care of his sick father who passed away not too long ago, leaving his home/estate to be split amongst his children. Charlie’s siblings would like him to vacate the house so they can collect their share. And they get their wish when it suddenly explodes. But that’s getting ahead of things. Just prior to that, Charlie learns that his estranged uncle (his mom’s brother) has passed away and Charlie’s been asked to stand up for him. He agrees because he’s a decent guy, and the executor promises to improve upon Charlie’s current circumstances. The viewing is completely whack, however. His uncle did NOT have any friends or family to mourn his passing, and the guys who show up look like mobsters. Even more so when one of them attempts to stab the body. Charlie intervenes and with this action sets into motion a series of events that his uncle carefully orchestrated to take place in the event of his death. It involves Charlie taking on his uncle’s business interests and running his empire from a private island in the Caribbean. Oh, and also his uncle was a notorious supervillain who used his power to thwart less competent villains who mostly hate him and want him dead and now will do whatever they can to either bend Charlie to their will or make him dead. Lovely. Charlie is a pretty smart cookie (despite his lowly circumstances), and he’s willing to see what villainy is all about. Plus, he just found out that his cats are genetically engineered super spies – monitoring his every move and protecting him from attempted assassinations (3 so far). This is such a fun (and funny) and snappy tale. Scalzi does enjoy pitting the underdog against Improbable Circumstances (compare with “The Kaiju Preservation Society”) and then having them wipe the floor with them. It’s very satisfying to watch it all play out. This was published for adults and there’s a fair amount of explosions and murder (but not terribly graphic). The language can be quite colorful at times – these are not gentlemen – but lots of witty repartee. Extremely entertaining. I very much looked forward to reading this when I learned it was being released and I was not disappointed. For high school teens/adults.
Reviewed by YA Librarian
