Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

30 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? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Cancer, Cursing, and Terminal illness

treetop's review

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death

Minor: Suicide and Death of parent

mandareads222's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Cancer, Car accident, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, and Misogyny

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

rwsmith's review

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury

meladriel's review

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book! Scalzi's style is down-to-earth and his main character, Charlie, read like a realistic person thrust into circumstances beyond his control. The inclusion of animal labor relations and general calling out corporate b.s. was fantastic, humourous, and enjoyable. A quick read and an highly entertaining one for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Death

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.

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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

achay91's review

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Stalking, Suicide, and Car accident

iono's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Car accident, Classism, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, and Cancer

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.

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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

jeedmonds's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

It was cute and fun. It was a bit predictable and wrapped up a little too quickly/easily, but I enjoyed it. It was quirky and engaging. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Violence, and Death