Book Review: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

John Scalzi. Starter Villain. TOR Publishing Group, 2023.

I did not know what to expect when I picked this book up. The image of a cat in a business suit combined with the word "villain" in the title made me wonder if this book was an allegory about the secret life of animal criminals. 

Criminals and animals are indeed a major part of the book's characters and plot, but it is not allegory. It is fantasy fiction. Some cats and dolphins are modified to have human-like intelligence, and via technology, communicate in English to the humans that they work with and for. 

The main character is Charlie, recently divorced and downsized newspaper journalist who now substitute teaches in Barrington, IL. He is living in his deceased father's house. He unsuccessfully tries to secure a loan to purchase a neighborhood pub and restaurant in order to have a more interesting life as well as keep memories alive of his father. Charlie and his Dad often went to McDougal's for meals and drinks. 

A mystery woman appears on his doorstep to announce that his uncle John, who he has not seen since he was five years old, has died. Uncle John requested that Charlie, as his only living relative, receive guests at his funeral, and then become involved in his legal and illegal businesses. Subsequently, Charlie is introduced to a Mafia-like organization, and a wide range of technologies that he did not know existed. He was almost killed several times. The story is quite an imaginative adventure and I did not know how it was going to end. But, I am pleased to report that Charlie lived and is headed to a happily-ever-after life as the owner-operator of McDougals. 

This book is quite a page-turning adventure. I regret that there are cuss words used by some of the characters. The rough language serves to accent the rough characters.