Narrated by Wil Wheaton, Starter Villain by John Scalzi was pure magic, from humor to characters in this standalone science fiction fantasy. A down on his luck man inherits his estranged uncle’s supervillain business, and the world turns upside down. Unputdownable!
by John Scalzi
Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Length: 8 hours and 5 minutes
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.45x
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.
Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.
Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.
But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.
It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.
In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.
I preordered this during an Audible sale and couldn’t wait to listen. I enjoy Scalzi’s stories, whether he is taking us into deep space, a futuristic world or taking us along on a dispatch.
In Starter Villain, we meet Charlie Fitzer. A former journalist who is now a divorced substitute teacher. Living in his childhood home with his cat, Hera. Our story begins over breakfast, where he learns of his estranged billionaire uncle’s death from the television news. The day gets worse when he learns the bank really isn’t interested in helping him purchase the local pub he and his Dad visited. It ends with possibility when he’s offered the chance to keep his childhood home if he’ll speak at his uncle’s funeral.
The tale that unfolds was fantastic and had me laughing from thugs at the funeral to genetically engineered animals, mammals …you’ll see. I adored Charlie from his logic to his mannerisms and how he handles everything thrown at him from dolphin strikes to bombs. We travel across the globe, get accused of murder and hide out in a secret lair.
Hands down, one of my favorite listens of 2023. The book is brilliant and I have no doubt this would be five stars on its own, but you mix in Wil Wheaton as narrator and bam… magic.
Narrated by Wil Wheaton, Starter Villain by John Scalzi was unputdownable #audiobook #scifi #fantasy #humor #supervillain Click To TweetAbout John Scalzi
John Scalzi, having declared his absolute boredom with biographies, disappeared in a puff of glitter and lilac scent. Author of the Human Division series and Old Man's War series. Creative Consultant for the Stargate: Universe television series. Writer for the video game Midnight Star, by Industrial Toys. Former president (7/10 – 6/13) of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Executive Producer and Consultant for the upcoming television series based on my book Redshirts, as well as for the upcoming television series based on my Old Man’s War book series
About Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton loves to tell stories. He’s been doing it his whole life. By age ten, he had already been acting for three years. In 1986, at age 12, he earned critical acclaim as Gordie Lachance in Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me; at 14, he began his four-year turn as Wesley Crusher on the hit TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Since then, Wil has appeared in dozens of films and TV series, with recurring roles on TNT’s Leverage, SyFy’s Eureka, and the hit webseries The Guild. He is the creator, producer, and host of the wildly successful webseries Tabletop, credited with reigniting national interest in tabletop gaming. Most recently, he played a fictionalized version of himself on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, one of the most highly rated and watched sitcoms of the last decade. An accomplished voice actor, Wil has lent his talents to animated series including Family Guy, Teen Titans, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. His video game credits include four installments each of the Grand Theft Auto and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon series, as well as Fallout: New Vegas, DC Universe Online, and Broken Age. His audiobook narration of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and was one of Goodreads’ 10 Best Narrator and Audiobook Pairings of All Time. He has also lent his voice to titles by John Scalzi, Randall Monroe, and Joe Hill. When he isn’t acting, narrating, or podcasting, Wil Wheaton is writing.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Lisa R. Howeler
Oh my gosh. This one sounds so much fun. I’m going to have to look it up.
Kimberly
Love this author. It is readily available at your local library 🙂
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
I don’t know why there aren’t more books narrated by Wil Wheaton, he does such a great job on every one I’ve listened to. This will probably be my next credit from Audible. I love the other Scalzi books I’ve listened to. Great review!
Kimberly
I agree 100%. Love his narrations
Mary Kirkland
Talking spy cats. I was starting to wonder about the cat on the cover while reading your review but now it makes sense.
Kimberly
Hehe….it was all rather clever.
Ethan
I keep seeing this cover, but hadn’t yet read through a synopsis. It sounds like a real joy!
Kimberly
A must listen 🙂
Anne - Books of My Heart
Robin reviewed this one but it is one I would enjoy too.
Kimberly
It was wonderful.