Welcome to Litsy!

I'm sure there are people out there who can resist a book with a business-attired cat on the cover, but I am not one of those people. Luckily, the inside turns out to be just as fun and ridiculous.

What if a wealthy, obscure relative died and unexpectedly left you everything? And what if said “everything“ included a super-villain empire complete with volcanic island lair, a spy network comprised of sentient, typing cats (cont'd in comments)

This was delightful from beginning to end. I don‘t dare say much more as I don‘t want to spoil any of the entertaining reveals. It‘s well-written, has good pacing, and made me laugh out loud many times. Any book that makes me laugh so hard that I startle my dogs is a good book.

This was so much fun! My first book by Scalzi… maybe I should try others? In any event, this nobody guy inherits his estranged uncle‘s villainous empire- including his enemies. Bond-esque action and Austin Powers-like humor follow.

Love a good book dedication. This one made me smile 😃

I *may* have snort-laughed so loudly that my chihuahua was startled awake and ran out of the room to hide.

The December selection for the #LSFBC #LitsySciFiBookClub is Starter Villian by John Scalzi. Hope you enjoy!

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I was beginning to wonder if anything was really going to happen in this book besides Charlie learning about his uncle‘s business, and then suddenly things started happening and it was just great! The ending was satisfying as well. My husband and I both loved this book. Went to the beach. I wasn‘t in the mood for nonfiction, so I started The Spy Coast for my #audiowalk.

Enjoying the view from my new house today while reading this book - it‘s just starting to get weird 😁

A fun but fluffy work by Scalzi - I found I didn't care as much about the protagonist as I did in several of his other books. Pictured with my own "management", Watney.

Book 190📚 4.6⭐️

Welp. I‘m a fan!

I freaking loved this one!

The cats were amazing but I think the dolphins 🐬 were my favourite😂😂

I‘ve added pretty much every other Scalzi novel to my TBR!

We drove down to Dauphin Island just to get out of the house and because it was such a lovely day. Starter Villain (narrated by Wil Wheaton) is our current road trip book; we both are enjoying it. While I was walking, I continued with Murder Your Employer, which I‘ve decided I like. I‘ve got a bit over 3 hours left, so it‘s probably time to pick a new #audiowalk book, just so I‘ll have one ready to go when I finish this one.

👻 Its a toss up between The Combat Codes and Starter Villain, but I'll give the edge to Scalzi because it made me laugh and smile a lot.
👺 Originally I was supposed to be off today, but now I'm working, so no cool Halloween plans.
Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView
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#two4tuesday

1. Starter Villain by John Scalzi 🎃

2. Nope. It‘s a school night. 👻

110/150 I really enjoyed this, I think it's one of Scalzi's best books, much better than Kaiju Preservation Society, which was just too jokey for me. There's plenty of humor in this too, but it's a different tone, not so sarcastic and cutting.
I like the HEA ending too. 5 🌟 read
35th book finished for #RushathonExtended @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65
15th book finished for #Spookoween and #Falling4Books @TheSpineView @Read4life

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was wickedly fun to read about a regular person being thrust into the amusingly corporate world of supervillains. The spy cats and unionizing dolphins were amazing! Read this if you want something with humor and heart - you‘re in for a rollicking good time! #Aardvark #AardvarkBookClub

The origin story of cat names is the only small talk we like

#aardvarkbookclub #aardvarkbooks #startervillain #johnscalzi #scifi #sciencefiction #catsandbooks

Just about to start this....no idea what to make of it from the synopsis 🤔🤔

My mom and I became very religious when she was diagnosed and cured of colon cancer. So for the past 2 years I have only been reading religious books- which is why I am not on here much. My mom has been cancer free about 2 years or so, but I with my own health problems have only had the energy to read daily devotionals and such. I‘m feeling a little better now. I decided my first non- religious book would be with a cat helping a supervillain.

I‘m on a sales call at Solid State with my friend who is a publisher‘s rep so I bought this for one of my boys for Christmas. Since I have to wait for her appointment to be over, I‘m going to start pre-reading it. (Also, this is not all I bought by a long shot. 😉

This was exactly the fast, fun read I was hoping it would be. A creative exploration of Bond villain tropes, Starter Villain follows Charlie, a down on his luck substitute teacher who discovers his late estranged uncle was not just a rich businessman, but also a supervillain. When Charlie becomes embroiled in the family business, he has to think on his feet and put a lot of faith in his cat, Hera--who is actually a sentient secret agent. Good fun.

Well done #aardvark! 👏🏻 Another winner! I had not read Scalzi since picking up Old Man‘s War years ago, and while this is also firmly in SciFi, it falls equally in humor, too.

Charlie has just inherited his uncle‘s supervillain business. And even when you‘re a sudden trillionaire with a secret volcano lair, things aren‘t easy, especially when you have to deal with a striking sentient dolphin pod and villain conference you don‘t want to attend!

What a fun laugh out loud romp. John Scalzi is one of my favorite authors and this book is one of the reasons why. Turning the villain trope on its head, you will want to spend as much time as possible with Charlie, Hera, and Persephone as they navigate the world of "supervillainy".

It's a year for Dr. Evil stories and minions! Starter Villain, an unsuspecting nephew inherits his late uncle's supervillain company and all his nefarious duties. However, his hench dolphins are mutinizing, his minions are hapless, and he has to contend with a competing conglomerate of other supervillains. At least he has cats! What's a potential evil lord to do? Find out in this hilarious satire of the spy espionage genre.

I particularly recommend this book if you like Sci Fi and love cats, but my favorite parts were of the pissy, striking, foul- mouthed labor dolphins. It's funny and snarky and very John Scalzi.

“Scalzi‘s latest is a light-hearted story with a likeable fish-out-of-water protagonist and a lot of very smart cats. There‘s also a dolphin labor dispute, some truly awful techbros, and a volcano island lair… Who could resist?”
– Rebecca Roanhorse, author of Black Sun

#🐈 #aardvarkbookclub #aardvark #startervillain #scifi #sciencefiction #johnscalzi

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

#aardvarkbookclub #aardvarkbooks #startervillain #scifi #sciencefiction

#RecentAcquisitions Just a few from the library and my @AardvarkBookClub box arrived! I‘ve already finished Death Valley, and I love puzzling with Broder‘s meanings. #aardvark

I have never read Proulx before, and these short stories sound really interesting. I‘m excited to read more McCarthy, too.

I have quite a few library print and audiobooks that release 10/10. Should be a busy week! 🤩

#trappedinaspookyhouse book 1: Starter Villain

Love it! I laughed out loud and couldn‘t put it down. A one day read. The cats were the best, even more so than the foul-mouthed dolphins. This is why Scalzi is an auto-buy author for me.

“I‘m a cat, I can handle risk. Worst-case scenario is I lose everything and I still get fed and have a place to nap. . . . Sometimes it‘s better not to be a human, Charlie.” - Hera

“I learned about the death of my uncle Jake in a deeply unexpected way, which was from the CNBC Squawk Box morning show.”

Plus, the dedication cracked me up.

Scalzi and Wheaton can do no wrong! Laughed so much😂The Dolphins and cats all hilarious 😂🐬🐈🐈‍⬛ ❤️ #hhc #HalloweenHexesCoven @dabbe #OutstandingOctober @Texreader #scarathlonatoz
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Okay, I love John Scalzi, and this might be my new favorite of his! 💕📚 It's absolutely fantastic! It's witty and funny and there are super smart spy cats in it! 😹 What's not to love?

October #Aardvark picks are live and I got all 5 predictions correct 💪🏽 - AND they added a surprise 6th pick (Black Sheep) in honor of their one year anniversary! The Burnout was already on my radar (the parallels with my current work situation are too on point) and I DEFINITELY let myself fall for the cover of Starter Villain. Happy fall, y'all! 🤣🎃

I have never been so happy to have been influenced by a cute cover! This was so much fun! Narration by Will Wheaton was perfection! Just what I was looking for.

This is a lot of fun. The dolphin unionizers were so delightfully tired of human bs. Also I kind of love that truest relationship in this book was between a man and his cat.

Typical Scalzi, which is always a good time. Also: cats, a pub, guns, unions, foul-mouthed dolphins and a volcano - what‘s not to like?
I like the way Scalzi centers the Average Person and deals with the way larger forces directly impact their lives, and then tosses in some humor, because isn‘t that the way most of us deal with it? Fun read. With Unions! Power to the people, y‘all.

Excited to be reading this. Last Scalzi book I read was The Kaiju Preservation Society and this does not disappoint. Love his quick witted style of writing with the way it makes for a fast paced reading experience. Give this a read.

#StarterVillain #JohnScalzi #book #ebook #kindle

Like all of Scalzi‘s books, this one is laugh out loud funny and a joy to read! It‘s also another parody in the vein of another one of his books, “Redshirts.” Great read! Give it a read!

All Charlie wants is a loan to buy the pub down the road. When his estranged rich uncle dies, Charlie hopes for an inheritance that could help him achieve his goal. Instead he leaves his supervillain business to Charlie, including the war with a cabal of other supervillains.

Great fun. I loved the tech-savvy cats, the rude dolphins, the villainous assistant, and Charlie learning to be a villain himself.

#weekendplans

It‘s finally hereeee! It was released on the 19th & I‘ve been waiting to read this.

But while I love supporting bookshop.org, I wish they‘d stop using UPS mail innovations because it always takes extra time to get new releases.

The first couple of September #Aardvark clues were posted on Instagram, and these are a few of my early guesses 🐾

Note: updated pic to include Amazing Grace Adams

The cover is what peaked my interest it was the writing that drew me in. Love Scalzi's humor in this satire of modern-day capitalism. Read my full review on my blog at www.TheSpineView.com

4⭐️

I have been following this so intensely. AND of course it reminds me of a book recommendation. The tagged book is bananas but one of my favorite subplots is that the dolphins are trying to start a union. And I am 100% sure they would support these orcas. (The latest articles have dolphins and other whales joining in orcas - orca-nizing if you will 😂)

Is it wrong to want “Starter Villain” just because of the cover? 😂 😊 😸
(Liberty Hardy Instagram preview)

I mean, once you see the cover for Scalzi‘s new book, how can you not want to read it?!? It‘s brilliant!

On sale 9/19/23 in the US.