By John Scalzi© 9/19/2023, Tor Books
268 pages
ASIN: B0B9KVXCQ6
This was a fun little romp. I wouldn’t call it a cozy anything, but author John Scalzi created a story about villains that actually has a feel-good energy. Yes, there’s murder. Yes, there’s criminal activity. But there’s also a huge helping of snark that had me grinning at almost every page, a “weakling” main character who wasn’t nearly as weak as the villains expected, and talking cats. Everything you might want from a darkly amusing story about the bad guys.
Charlie, the main character in this tale, starts out at the bottom of the heap, so it was fun to watch him get thrown into the deep end of the dolphin bay, so to speak, and have to learn his way out. He’s a likable sort, and since he’s also the main source of hilarious snark in the tale, I loved him. I don’t want to give anything away, and telling almost anything else about his role in this story would do exactly that. Just … trust me. You need to read it for yourself.
There were some great twists at the end, which I didn’t *exactly* see coming, but which worked out perfectly for the story, and made total sense in hindsight. I will say that there was a chapter just after the denouement where the characters who were in the know, so to speak, caught Charlie up on all the stuff he didn’t know. It was a bit cliche, but it helped me understand too…not everything that happens is clear until that moment when you see the explanation and can say “Oh! THAT’s what that was!” Still, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story overall.
While there is almost nothing serious about this story, it did seem to be a poke at the big players in our world in the current day. Whether that was the author’s intent or not, I can’t say. For me, that made the story more fun. Overall, Starter Villain is a light, darkly humorous read that will keep you turning pages until the end. Definitely recommended.