Starter Villian is my “starter” book for long-time science fiction author John Scalzi. I was definitely amused. Although this book is categorized as science fiction and published by Tor, it is less science fiction and more a humorous James Bond from an alternate viewpoint. The voice and the dialogue are outstanding and brilliant; there is a dry, understated humor running throughout the entire novel which is so on-point. Charlie, the protagonist, is thrust into a surreal situation as the heir to a supervillain empire, and he does admirably well in spite of not receiving a lot of help and guidance.
This is one of those rare books that makes one read irresponsible (i.e. sit down and read when you really, really should be doing other things). All-in-all this is a tidy, enjoyable, funny, and satisfying book, whose plot hangs together well amidst many moving pieces. The bonus is the ode and love-letter to cats embedded in this novel. (Nicely done on the cover!)
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 5 religious exclamations; 24 mild obscenities; 5 religious profanities; 6 derogatory names; 45 scatological words; 30 anatomical terms; 140 F-word derivatives.
Violence/Gore: Report of death(s); charact attempts to stab a corpse; explosion with destruction of property and discovery of a body; discussions about weapon systems; discussion about whether to kill someone and how; examples of inventions used for nefarious purposes that are often violent; reference to a scientist who was doing genital inspecting on animals and implied death of scientist; report of bomb attempt; report someone was killed from a great height; verbal threats of harm; reference to assassination attempts; multiple assassination attempts; sniper shoots some (no death); extended scene involving missiles, fire, explosion, implied death, injury, mention of blood; animal attacks human, resulting in injury; individual killed by gunshot; report of the murder of a family member; explosions resulting in property death, possible injuries; murder by gun at point blank range in execution style; character attempts to kick animal; character killed by animals, no details but some innuendo; report of euthanasia by terminally ill individual.
Sex/Nudity: A few of instances of innuendo; use of the word “sexual”; mention of pitch for “testicles as a service”; man kisses a woman;
Mature Subject Matter:
Villainy, blackmail, theft, crime, crime syndicates, murder, death, death of a family member, unemployment, ethics, euthanasia, sexist attitudes.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Memories of grabbing a drink at a bar; discussion about purchasing a bar; drinking of beer, wine, cocktails by adults; reference to weed.
