Review: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Introduction: An Original Idea of Supervillainous Lifestyle

”Starter Villain” by John Scalzi is a novel that has its focuses on the world of supervillains and is represented with sarcasm, humor, and irony. As always, Scalzi writes an excellent funny with excellent pacing and engaging storytelling and the action and science fictional elements serve as the appropriate backdrop. It tells of Charlie Fitzer, an average man who finds himself in a world of ultra and preposterous villainy, enormous villain basements, genetically modified creatures, and villainous board meetings. Full of humor, bright characters, and fresh ideas, Starter Villain is one more great story in Scalzi’s universe, and it is worth checking it.

Click here to read Starter Villain for free with a 30-day free trial

Plot Overview: It pervades the culture and goes from the ordinary to the outlandish, from pink shirts and dresses to tutus, wigs, and hats.

The series starts with Charlie Fitzer; a middle-aged ex-journalist, jobless and working as a substitute teacher, an irresponsible man, living a minor life. Charley Lambert is a small-town man who is just coming to terms with his financial problems and then finds out that he has an uncle – dead. Not being able to be close, during the funeral, Charlie learns that his uncle is very far from being an ordinary man; he is a highly powerful supervillain who has a secret empire.

Charlie soon finds out that he is to inherit a crime syndicate, with hidden island bases, henchmen, and a freeman of genetically enhanced, highly perceptive cats to act as guards. Charlie finds himself an accidental ‘side villain’, but he must fight back, make alliances with other villains, deal with spies, and be more ambiguous from a moral point of view.

While he gets accustomed to the new life he finds that becoming a supervillain is not all fun and game. Rules have to be bent, otherwise, allies have to be made and a lot of politics within the criminal world has to be navigated. Therefore, his funny and half-hearted turn to the dark side spells oddballs, wacky inventions, and simple, comedic mishaps in his adventure, transforming into a typical villain, into epic proportions.

All along Charlie is trying to discover if he possesses the qualities that would keep him alive in this world of evil, or if his opponents will always be smarter and stronger than him. But he must also fight with his conscience and choose what type of villain he is, or he wants to be. However, Scalzi makes the reader stay tuned through an element of surprise, the element of comedy, and the high rate of events that are not very serious.

Character Development: Auto-Generated Title: Lovable Antiheroes and Eccentric Villains

I particularly enjoy the aspects of character development in John Scalzi’s work as they are fully developed and yet simultaneously larger than life. This makes Charlie Fitzer, the protagonist of the piece, an ideal average man who soon gets into a world that he never knew existed. One can’t help but follow or rather just sit back and watch this charming, witty, and realistic hero in so many absurdities. The degree of his hesitation to take up the path of the villain also allows the reader to learn more about his character and not just consider him as a loony sidekick to a silly story.

Interestingly, what makes Charlie unique and fascinating is that he has a rather ambiguous sense of ethics. He is not an ordinary hero and yet it could be argued he is not an ordinary villain. He is logical and clever, and although, not afraid to break the law in certain circumstances, he has a good sense of morality and desire to act according to the right thing, such is often problematic due to our society being more shadowy and built in shades of grey. This inner battle makes the character more nuanced and thus while making unadmirable choices readers will still stay on his side.

Click here to read Starter Villain for free with a 30-day free trial

For the supporting cast, one can only add that it is no less interesting and fantastic. We have Zinnia, a clever, extremely efficient, yet enigmatic character who becomes Charlie’s guide to the world of evil masterminds. Zinnia is used as a character to contrast Charlie’s lack of decision and to contribute humor and confidence as they guide him through his new position.

This is particularly demonstrated by the genetically modified cats, one of the most creative aspects of the novel, which brings humor and otherworldliness to the story in equal measure. These are not your ordinary cute and lovable cats; instead, these are rather sleek and smart and possess sly tendencies of their own and contribute to the events that transpire in the plots. I believe Scalzi did a marvelous job with cats being funny and at the same time, not only adding characters with their personalities to the book but being plot milestones as well.

The other villains that Charlie faces in his performances are equally wonderful characters, all of whom, besides being evil, have little peculiarities, motives, and plans of their own. These are some of the corporate overlords to mad scientists which give the comic a great mix of rogues that add real depth to the story and keep the reader engaging themselves. This can be observed in marginal characters created by Scalzi where each of them got an enlarged personality adding humor and an element of surprise to the whole series.

Themes: Lasting Power, Values, and the Franco-American Perception of the Absurdity of the Contemporary World

Essentially, Starter Villain is a satirical play that tries to expose aspects like power, ethical baseline struggle, and absurdity of contemporary society. Scalzi employs the gimmick of a supervillain to explore the issues of power relations in the majority of aspects of life. Thus, asking the readers what true power means, it also examines how people can remain moral in an immoral world as seen throughout the main character of the novel, Charlie.

The problem of ethical relativism is also discussed in the book. This means that, on the one hand, questions of morality that would seem simple to decide in any other setting are far from clear in the world of Watchmen: after all, who would one choose between – and is there a clear division between good guys and bad guys in this case? As for the role of antagonists, Scalzi forces the readers to question whether the so-called ‘villains’ are as bad as they are or whether society has pigeonholed them into being evil.

Another of the more noticeable topics addressed in this novel is the cult of absurdity in today’s big business. Mr Scalzi repeats the corporate model in the criminal sphere, as both spheres are motivated by the ability to make a profit, the power struggle, and legal and moral dubious actions. In the novel, one can point to comedic narrative and satire as tools that the author uses to comment on the rapaciousness and ruthlessness of the business world and people’s willingness to become ruthless to gain success.

Narrative Style: Comedy, More on Pace and Insubordinate

The main narrative style I found myself enjoying in Scalzi’s Starter Villain is humorous and full of sarcasm. It is a very well-written book that is full of intelligent and witty dialogues, sarcastic comments, and quite funny situations, although it all takes place in quite a grim context. However, what is immediately noticeable in the book under analysis is Scalzi’s distinctive sense of humor which can be seen in the context of absurdity, dialogues, and even in the deconstruction of the which is a familiar element in speculative fiction.

The tension builds rapidly, and the chapters are short allowing the readers to know what happens each time at the surface level. As for humor to which Scalzi often resorts, it is rather unobtrusive and does not look like it is being shoved down the reader’s throat at any point, but rather it appears where appropriate and fits into the character progression and story arc. All in all, the comic element alongside the passionate building up of his action and suspense/thriller along with very convincing characters make this a really special kind of literary pleasure.

Scalzi also has a talent for writing settings, that can be considered both fantasy and contemporary. The supervillain world is very well however, it is clearly explained that it has its own set of rules, hierarchies, and cultures like any other society and the society begins to unveil itself as Charlie gets used to it. In the story, the author uses simple and clear descriptions and does not overwhelm the reader with descriptions of the world, which develops quite naturally.

Click here to read Starter Villain for free with a 30-day free trial

Strengths: Comedy, People’s personalities, and Role Reversal

Among the essential advantages that can be mentioned regarding Starter Villain, it is possible to highlight the work’s sense of humor. Due to Scalzi’s skill of writing comedy that has an unusual take to it, this book can be seen as standing to the far side of the traditional superhero or supervillain book. Humor in the novel is used neatly in the plot so that the reader is not asked to forget about the conflict and the stakes while laughing.

The characters can be highlighted as another advantage of the show; Charlie Fitzer is a character that anyone can root for from everyday man to a man who is now the heir to a supervillain’s empire. It can also be seen in how he gains maturity and starts to adopt the position more favorable towards the later part of the novel. Zinnia, the main villainess, and the various intelligent cats which also exist in the story, also give a rich hue to the story each with their individuality supplemented with their respective shades of grey.

It is also worth noting how Scalzi subverts his readers’ expectations which is quite a remarkable achievement. The novel is based on the cliches present in the superhero and supervillain narratives and subverts the reader’s expectations of what a villain is. This brings out a very significant aspect of Realism where by Scalzi decides to explore the realism in supervillainy for instance the issue of how the secret lair is run or how certain legal repercussions of villainous actions would be dealt with.

Weaknesses: Lack of Pop and Some Predictability

Starter Villain is great fun in many ways; however, the book would not suit the readers who prefer the works that provide them with the plots far from simple. Hence, one may note that the novel is primarily comic in intent, and different themes are explored in a more or less serious way. It is important to note that the storyline is fairly predictable, especially so to those who are well-versed in John Scalzi’s work or have read a fair share of this type of literature.

Furthermore, the fast pace of the novel, which otherwise is an advantage, poses disadvantageous effects which include; poor character development particularly in Nick. Although, Charlie is a likable and believable protagonist, some of the other characters, and this mainly applies to the adversary antagonists, could have been developed further. It is different with Asuka and the other characters: their motivations and history are mentioned but not discussed in much detail, so there are some gaps in characterization.

Conclusion: A Leisurely, Innovative and Enjoyable Book

Starter Villain by John Scalzi is a fun, light-hearted, romp into the world of super-villainy for the reader to enjoy. Being packed full of one-liners, the characters remaining engaging throughout the narrative, and the enjoyable deconstruction of cliches for the science fiction setting, this novel is a firmly refreshing addition to Scalzi’s bibliography. In this case, even though the novel does not delve into the depth of his other novels, it is fun, creative, and humorous.

Thus, Starter Villain may be very satisfying for the fans of Scalzi’s previous work and for everyone who eagerly seeks a bright, humorous space adventure with a satirical and comedic twist. It is a book that has humor, but at the same time, it puts the reader into understanding what it means to be a villain and have power or moral values in contemporary society. The first thing that one must understand in regards to this book is that as with any other Scalzi work, this book gets the right balance of comedy combined with the serious business of portraying a work of fiction.

Click here to read Starter Villain for free with a 30-day free trial