Starter Villain by John Scalzi


Though I haven’t read too many of his books, I’m a fan of Scalzi the person (blog, bluesky, twitter), and his last two books (this and The Kaiju Preservation Society) just overwhelm with charm and fun.

For some time, I guess, Scalzi has done away with physical descriptions of characters. I didn’t notice it in Kaiju — it was pointed out to me after the fact. It’s the same here, and it’s not missed at all (especially after just finishing 1Q84, in which no nipple goes undiscussed).

Anyway — this book is great. A kind of Despicable Me for grownups (with cats and extremely vulgar dolphins for minions). I laughed out loud more than once reading it. Recommend, and it’s something you can read with your teenager.