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obliquity's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Took a while to get into the story and the conclusion felt a little anti-climactic, but the faster pace helped with the former. Little monologue-y in places, but fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Murder, and Gun violence
Minor: Terminal illness and War
hal00alex's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Perfect for people who liked Kaiju Preservation Society and Assistant to the Villain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Terminal illness
Minor: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
alisonvh's review
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book is every bit as much fun as the rest of Scalzi’s work. He’s one of the few writers who can make me LOL while reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Bullying, Abandonment, and Gun violence
Minor: Suicide, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Cursing
hobbithopeful's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 stars
Why was I bored reading a book about sentient cats and dolphins?
Strong beginning, but overall it lost momentum as the story went on. The cover had me hooked, as did the blurb. Super villains, talking dolphins, Starter Villain sounded like the perfect humorous book to read, plus it has cats! But at times it was a slog to get through, and the ending overall left me feeling "meh".
For most of the book I did chuckle and enjoy myself immensely. I was pulled into this fantasy world that John Scalzi had masterfully weaved for most of the story. But my issue isn't with "most" of the story. My issue is with the times the pacing dragged, and the dialogue had me rereading sentences because it was so dull. Let me say this. If I wanted to learn about stocks, liquid assets, or other topics in that same vein, I would go read a book about the economy or stock markets. The irony of the book trying to comment on how cis and male dominated the villain sector is and yet the book in itself is very much the same way was not lost on me. The only prominent lady character is Morrison, unless you're counting the fact that all the cat servant/spies/intelligence gatherers are also female. At that point it's like why are we pointing this out? Why even comment on the fact that the villain industry is sexist and old fashioned if your book is written the very same way?
There were definitely some plot holes, pertaining to Charlie and his Uncle. (Though it definitely felt in character!) Quite frankly Charlie the main character could have easily not been a part of this story whatsoever and it would have been all the better for it. (Indeed, was he even really needed at all?) In that same vein Morrison could have easily had someone take his place and act in his stead. (Don't tell me that isn't possible, there were LITERALLY talking dolphins!) Charlie seemed almost too perfect, and lacked character flaws. He easily deduced so many plans, and was able to navigate a situation based on random experiences and jobs he has had. A lot of times it just didn't make sense and felt like he was too perfect. A substitute teacher all of a sudden able to masterfully navigate nearly every aspect of "villain" life? It almost reads as self-insert.
If the book had focused more on what it seemed to be about according to the book jacket, and less about exposition and stocks and the men being shitty, I might have enjoyed it more. I wanted to see more about the experiments and dolphins, and cats. More about how shitty the villains are and the negative consequences they have on regular people. Charlie came out of the story seemingly untraumatized and remarkably unphased. As it stands I find myself shaking my head in disappointment at another male dominated science fiction story.
The ending was...a choice. For a book that seemed to hinge so much on Charlie taking over the business, and even marketing it as that, I expected that to happen. Maybe Charlie would grow a conscious and dissolve the business and be a better person. Instead he just opens a pub and goes on with his life. A more realistic ending I would have liked better, is if he failed at the pub. Or ended up hating it. Food service is not for the weak of heart and Charlie seems to have romanticized it greatly. If he had come crawling back to Morrison and co. at the end and started working for a villain in some capacity, or doing something like that, it would have made more sense. Again, are we forgetting that Charlie saw so many people murdered! And again he has no trouble adjusting to normal society?
Why such a harsh review? I was so excited to read this. This is also nearly a $30 book that is only about 250 pages hardcover. So you can see why I'm a bit salty. If you like primarily science fiction books by male authors, this is for you. If not, skip it, I wouldn't recommend it.
Why was I bored reading a book about sentient cats and dolphins?
Strong beginning, but overall it lost momentum as the story went on. The cover had me hooked, as did the blurb. Super villains, talking dolphins, Starter Villain sounded like the perfect humorous book to read, plus it has cats! But at times it was a slog to get through, and the ending overall left me feeling "meh".
For most of the book I did chuckle and enjoy myself immensely. I was pulled into this fantasy world that John Scalzi had masterfully weaved for most of the story. But my issue isn't with "most" of the story. My issue is with the times the pacing dragged, and the dialogue had me rereading sentences because it was so dull. Let me say this. If I wanted to learn about stocks, liquid assets, or other topics in that same vein, I would go read a book about the economy or stock markets. The irony of the book trying to comment on how cis and male dominated the villain sector is and yet the book in itself is very much the same way was not lost on me. The only prominent lady character is Morrison, unless you're counting the fact that all the cat servant/spies/intelligence gatherers are also female. At that point it's like why are we pointing this out? Why even comment on the fact that the villain industry is sexist and old fashioned if your book is written the very same way?
There were definitely some plot holes, pertaining to Charlie and his Uncle. (Though it definitely felt in character!) Quite frankly Charlie the main character could have easily not been a part of this story whatsoever and it would have been all the better for it. (Indeed, was he even really needed at all?) In that same vein Morrison could have easily had someone take his place and act in his stead. (Don't tell me that isn't possible, there were LITERALLY talking dolphins!) Charlie seemed almost too perfect, and lacked character flaws. He easily deduced so many plans, and was able to navigate a situation based on random experiences and jobs he has had. A lot of times it just didn't make sense and felt like he was too perfect. A substitute teacher all of a sudden able to masterfully navigate nearly every aspect of "villain" life? It almost reads as self-insert.
If the book had focused more on what it seemed to be about according to the book jacket, and less about exposition and stocks and the men being shitty, I might have enjoyed it more. I wanted to see more about the experiments and dolphins, and cats. More about how shitty the villains are and the negative consequences they have on regular people. Charlie came out of the story seemingly untraumatized and remarkably unphased. As it stands I find myself shaking my head in disappointment at another male dominated science fiction story.
The ending was...a choice.
Why such a harsh review? I was so excited to read this. This is also nearly a $30 book that is only about 250 pages hardcover. So you can see why I'm a bit salty. If you like primarily science fiction books by male authors, this is for you. If not, skip it, I wouldn't recommend it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Death of parent, Death, and Blood
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
OMG, I *loved* this book! It’s laugh out loud funny, especially the funeral scene. The characters of the good guys are pretty fleshed out, though most of the bad guys are sort of generic. That’s okay because they’re interchangeable background characters.
The spy cats were of course my favorites and I grew to love the angry, vulgar dolphins. After all, they had a point and I strongly support their successful unionization effort.
I’m never one to know what’s going on in mysteries - I don’t even try to figure it out - and I never would have guessed this very satisfying ending. The whole story felt fresh even as it riffed off James Bond - after all, Charlie inherits a volcano lair!
I just found it all vastly entertaining. And I bought the book for its cover. I *love* that cover!
The spy cats were of course my favorites and I grew to love the angry, vulgar dolphins. After all, they had a point and I strongly support their successful unionization effort.
I’m never one to know what’s going on in mysteries - I don’t even try to figure it out - and I never would have guessed this very satisfying ending. The whole story felt fresh even as it riffed off James Bond - after all, Charlie inherits a volcano lair!
I just found it all vastly entertaining. And I bought the book for its cover. I *love* that cover!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Gun violence, Violence, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Bullying, and Murder
caseythereader's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thanks to Tor Book for the free copy of this book.
- Bless a sci-fi book that doesn't take itself too seriously. STARTER VILLAIN is silly and over the top, but at the same time it's making real points about who the real villains are in the modern world.
- Truly, this is a book you'll fly through, cackling the whole time. Space lasers! Foul-mouthed dolphins! Double, triple, quadruple crossing each other!
- And personally, I couldn't disagree with the notion that cats - specifically a pair of orange and white ones - are secretly running the world.
- Bless a sci-fi book that doesn't take itself too seriously. STARTER VILLAIN is silly and over the top, but at the same time it's making real points about who the real villains are in the modern world.
- Truly, this is a book you'll fly through, cackling the whole time. Space lasers! Foul-mouthed dolphins! Double, triple, quadruple crossing each other!
- And personally, I couldn't disagree with the notion that cats - specifically a pair of orange and white ones - are secretly running the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Alcohol, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
devynreadsnovels's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Murder, Terminal illness, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Sexism, and Suicide
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