What would you do if you found out your long lost estranged uncle had passed away and left you as his sole beneficiary and upon receiving his will discovered that he was in fact a supervillain? Not a doom to the world or universe kind of supervillain like Darkseid or Thanos, I’m talking real super villains. Ultra rich tech-bros.
In Starter Villain, Charlie Fitzer is thrust into the inheritance of his uncle, a part of a secret cabal of super villains that feel like a cross between James Bond villains and Elon Musk inspired nepo babies. He has to run the gamut of dealing with weapons of mass destruction, unionized dolphins, Silicon Valley get away “pitch” retreats and genetically enhanced talking cats. Will his skills as a substitute teacher transfer over well enough to manage? Or will the others grift him for everything he’s worth?
I originally read Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain while looking for books my father would enjoy for a Birthday present. He really likes the wacky and offbeat sort of stories like Michael Chabon’s Yiddish Policeman’s Union or Patrick Dewitt’s French Exit and after I finished the books I knew that he’d love the stories immediately. They exude so much fun and adventure, blending multiple genres and tropes with parody and humour and offbeat wacky casts that they are just impossible to put down. Starter Villain has been my favourite so far, as someone who grew up with James Bond, Pink Panther, Austin Powers, and Spy Kids type movies it just felt like it was written by someone who understood those stories and what made them work so well, while also knowing how to modernize them in the perfect way to keep them relevant with current societal trends.
If you want a fun breezy and hilarious read full of plenty of plot twists and weird off beat characters then this is a book you really should check out. If you aren’t sure then you should definitely judge this one by the cover.
