Are you ready for cats who are management, and dolphins who want to unionize? I love John Scalzi’s imagination, and Starter Villain is a joy from start to finish.

Most people would look at Charlie Fitzer and see a loser. At thirty-two, he’s divorced, working as a substitute teacher because journalism is a dying profession, and living with his cat, Hera, in a house he doesn’t own. His father left the house in a trust to Charlie and his three successful half-siblings almost a generation older than their younger brother. He hears on the news that his Uncle Jake died, but he hasn’t seen the wealthy businessman since he was five. Uncle Jake and Charlie’s father had an argument at Charlie’s mother’s funeral, and that’s the last time he saw him. But, it seems Uncle Jake had his eye on Charlie.

Mathilda Morrison represents Jake Baldwin when she shows up at Charlie’s. She has some odd requests. Would Charlie stand for his uncle at his funeral in town? In return, Jake left everything to Charlie, and the estate will buy Charlie’s house from the rest of the estate. It’s only at the funeral home that Charlie wonders what Uncle Jake was involved in. He thought he only owned parking garages. But, the floral arrangements have messages saying they’re glad Jake is dead, and the mourners are all males in their late 30s and early 40s. One even tries to stab the corpse to prove Jake is dead. Charlie doesn’t understand at all, and he’s even more confused when he returns home just in time to see his house blow up.

Morrison will handle all Charlie’s difficulties. She sweeps him off to Saint Genevieve in the southern Caribbean. It seems Uncle Jake owned the entire island. He owned more than parking garages. He was a villain who offered countries and other businessmen opportunities to compete against each other. Now, it’s all Charlie’s. He knows nothing about the villain business, and he’s too empathetic and kindhearted. But, he easily learns to listen and be ruthless when he’s invited to a convocation of villains. He needs all the help he can get from Morrison and Charlie’s cat, Hera. It seems Hera is sentient, can type, and owns real estate. She’s been watching over Charlie all this time he thought he provided a home for a stray.

While some readers might find all their conspiracy theories confirmed in Starter Villain, I thought it was funny and slightly believable. I love the cats and the dolphins who are planning to go on strike. And, Charlie. Charlie is a nice guy caught up in an unbelievable world. If you read and enjoyed Scalzi’s The Kaiju Preservation Society, you should enjoy this one.

Oh, and the cats. John Scalzi’s cats are well-known on his blog. This book is dedicated to “Sugar, Spice, and Smudge, my current set of cats. You are a real pain in my ass, and I love your stupid fuzzy faces”.

John Scalzi’s website is whatever.scalzi.com

Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Tor Books, 2023. ISBN 9780765389220 (hardcover), 272p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I bought a Kindle version.