Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Starter Villain

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

19 reviews

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The most loveable characters are easily the cats and dolphins, both of which are way more fleshed out than one might expect. This is also a pretty realistic idea of a regular schmegular character being thrown into the world of cartoon villainy. The plot can be hard to follow in a very saturday-evening cartoon special kind of way. If you suspend your disbelief and just go with the flow the experience is fine.
I have some feelings on every non-white character being nepo-babies and generally morally corrupt bad dudes. They are supposed to be characters with more money than brains,

except the money isn't real and they definitely do not have it

. This was my first Scalzi so maybe there isn't a theme and the diversity of the villains was to really point out their gender bias or something?

Content Warnings

almaprincess66's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book hit my funny bone.

Had a rough start but it evolved real fast.

I would watch this if it would be a movie

Content Warnings

mandareads222's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

rwsmith's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

this was such a fun read. i loved the pace and length of this book. its very quippy, but not so much that it gets old or annoying. its predictable enough to be satisfying, but not enough to be boring. i haven't read any other works by john scalzi, but this was so fun i might put some of his other work on my tbr.

Content Warnings

reading_srsly's review

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

* Sudden Inheritance

* Rags to Riches

* Spies & Assassins

* Romance free

When Charlie’s estranged Uncle passes away with the request to have his last normal living relative represent him at the funeral, how is Charlie supposed to say no? Especially with the promise of some sorely needed financial help in return for those few hours of empathy. Unfortunately, he gets a little more than he bargained for as his Uncle’s enemies fixate their sights - and assassination attempts - on him.

Written in a zany tone reminiscent of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, this novel casually blends the ridiculous with a classic spy adventure. Despite the impossibilities of the story the writing style does a good job of making everything seem just within the realm of plausibility. The characters are very charming, if a little over the top. Hera is definitely a stand out favorite, with the dolphins as a close second - there’s no shortage of strong personalities in this story. While the banter is a little clunky at times and had me searching whether this started as a web serial, after the first few chapters it’s easy to look past.

This story doesn’t take itself seriously, so if you’re looking for something with depth and gravity you might want to keep searching. But if you’re in the mood for a light read, filled with sentient cats and cutthroat multi-billion dollar villainy, this is the book for you!

Content Warnings