2023/066: Starter Villain — John Scalzi

WE HAVE TOO MANY CATS IN TOO MANY HIGH PLACES.
"So you're not just spying on villains," I said.
IT DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU CONSIDER THE RESIDENTS OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND 10 DOWNING STREET VILLAINS. [loc. 2976]

Charlie Finzer is down on his luck. His job as a newspaper reporter has evaporated; he's been working as a substitute teacher, which doesn't really bring enough money in to do more than survive; his father died recently, and he's living in the family home which his siblings would very much like to sell. Recently divorced, Charlie has little in the way of a social life: his most important relationship is with his cat Hera. But there's more to Hera than meets the eye, as quickly becomes apparent when Charlie's estranged Uncle Jake dies.

Apparently Uncle Jake was not only the reclusive billionaire owner of a large chain of parking structures, but also a successful supervillain with a plethora of ill-wishers. Cue the arrival of Mathilda Morrison, who asks Charlie to represent the family at Jake's memorial service, and who subsequently acts as his sidekick and bodyguard while Charlie, very much a fish out of water, travels to a supervillain HQ in a Caribbean volcano, and tries to hold his own amid the 'professional disruptors' who are expecting him to take over his uncle's business.

Starter Villain is a fast-moving and tightly-plotted tale of interspecies cooperation, international villainy, and the importance of unionisation. There's little in the way of description: instead, the story is driven by dialogue, punctuated by the occasional infodump. Many tropes are interrogated, many cliches mocked, and Charlie's business-reporting background enables him to make some incisive criticisms of the whole supervillain industry. It's an engaging and cheering novel, with some stealth thought-provocation amid the humour and the backstabbing. Worth noting, too, that the female characters (including Hera) are supremely competent, courageous and likeable. And best of all: talking cats! John Scalzi's afterword acknowledges the influence of Mary Robinette Kowal's Elsie), inspiring me to catch up with her recent activities.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this honest review. UK publication date is 21 SEP 2023.

Update 22SEP23: Theme song by Dessa, commissioned by the author!