John Scalzi

Starter Villain

Full disclosure: I read this because of the cover, didn't read anything else before diving into the book. The book started off so good. The characters are lovable, the plot moved forward quickly, but the plot and the overall story really fell flat. Disappointment was the denouement featured in this story, it just didn't hit, what a boring storing. It reminds me a crappy Hollywood film like Love Hurts. Would've made a better movie. It had some Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-esque elements in the form of talking cat, dolphins, whales, and the quirky interactions between them all. 

BC Hark

Steve C

Not excellent writing, but extremely creative and fun. Easy read and honestly stayed up late to find out what was going to happen! 

Shohini Gupta

Vicky  Nuñez 

Scalzi does it again, this time by writing about the nephew of a villain who gets thrown into the world of evil and most do all he can to survive while been extremely amused by it. I loved it

Hyperintelligent cats and a volcano lair - this book has it all. Super fun read.

Michelle Hruby

This book has everything: Spy Cats, Volcano Lairs, a Cabal of Evil Men trying to rule the World from the shadows, foul mouthed blue collar dolphins. And thrown into the deep end of all this hilarious mayhem- Charlie, a former finance journalist now part time teacher, who just wants to buy the local pub and live a quiet life. However, when his rich uncle ( who he barely knew growing up) dies and an associate of his shows up with a request for him to stand up for the man at his funeral, Charlie figures , what could possibly go wrong? What follows is a wild ride that hits all the right buttons for anyone looking for a laugh with a bit of treachery and Villainy thrown into the mix! 

Cindy McKee

This book has everything: Spy Cats, Volcano Lairs, a Cabal of Evil Men trying to rule the World from the shadows, foul mouthed blue collar dolphins. And thrown into the deep end of all this hilarious mayhem- Charlie, a former finance journalist now part time teacher, who just wants to buy the local pub and live a quiet life. However, when his rich uncle ( who he barely knew growing up) dies and an associate of his shows up with a request for him to stand up for the man at his funeral, Charlie figures , what could possibly go wrong? What follows is a wild ride that hits all the right buttons for anyone looking for a laugh with a bit of treachery and Villainy thrown into the mix! 



Gracie Marsden

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I was worried in the final quarter that there would be a few loose ends but everything tied up beautifully, even better than I predicted.

diya

Scalzi knows how to build a world with very little words, peppering details in between his plot similar to what he did with Kaiju Preservation Society, not requiring a 600+ page book to do it (don't get me wrong, some of my favorite books are 600 pages and over). Not to mention a great sense of humor and touching some deep subjects in the lightest way possible. Super quick read with extreme fun. 

Kash B

Is it super serious? No. Is it well written even though it isn’t super serious? Yes. I love when someone brings their whole toolkit to something for no reason other than joy. And that was what this was. And after a particularly bleak year and a lot of very serious books by serious people who take themselves and their work very seriously, this was like stepping out into the sun and realising that you don’t need to make my cry in order to make me love your book and that was worth every minute of this. 

I am not even going to mention any of the plot because I don’t want to spoil any of it. I will say I genuinely laughed my ass off reading this. I am glad i bought it instead of library borrowed it because I will read it again anytime I am bummed out. Honestly, set down your burdens for a few hours and go be happy and entertained and enjoy someone’s writing a great story for the sake of writing a great story. I love this.

Apiecalypse Jen

Is it super serious? No. Is it well written even though it isn’t super serious? Yes. I love when someone brings their whole toolkit to something for no reason other than joy. And that was what this was. And after a particularly bleak year and a lot of very serious books by serious people who take themselves and their work very seriously, this was like stepping out into the sun and realising that you don’t need to make my cry in order to make me love your book and that was worth every minute of this. 

Recommend it with my entire chest. 

I am not even going to mention any of the plot because I don’t want to spoil any of it. I will say I genuinely laughed my ass off reading this. I am glad i bought it instead of library borrowed it because I will read it again anytime I am bummed out. Honestly, set down your burdens for a few hours and go be happy and entertained and enjoy someone’s writing a great story for the sake of writing a great story. I love this.



Starter Villain

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