Locus and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi brings us a turbo-charged tale of a family business with a difference - as Charlie discovers when he inherits it. This one comes with a hidden headquarters,minions,talking cats and James Bond-like supervillain rivals.'Starter Villain establishes Scalzi as SF's leading humourist'- SFXWarning: supervillain in training. Risk of world domination.Inheriting his late uncle's business proves complicated. It's also way more dangerous than Charlie could ever have imagined. Because his uncle had kept his supervillain status a secret - until now.Divorced and emotionally dependent on his cat,Charlie wasn't loving life. Although they weren't close,news of his Uncle Jake's death didn't help. And that was before Jake's rivals (seriously vengeful ones) ambushed his funeral. Now Charlie must decide if he should stay stuck in his rut,or step up to take on the business,the enemies,the minions,the hidden volcano lair . . .Even harder to get used to are the sentient,language-using,computer-savvy cats - and the fact that in the organization's hierarchy,they're management. If Charlie does say yes,this lifeline could become a death wish. Because there's much more to being an Evil Mastermind than he suspected. Yet could this also,finally,be his chance to shinePraise for John Scalzi:'Hugely enjoyable,intelligent and good-humoured fun'- The Guardian'Sheer geeky pleasure from start to finish'- Financial Times'An escapist delight'- The Times
Publisher: Pan MacmillanISBN: 9781529082951Number of pages: 272Weight: 468 gDimensions: 241 x 162 x 30 mm
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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 resistLaugh-out-loud funny,intricately plotted and big-hearted enough to touch even the grumpiest cynic,Starter Villain establishes Scalzi as SF's leading humouristPrepare to be delighted and surprisedSatire aplenty... Charlie has to handle the lethal machinations of rival villains and also a pod of talking dolphins with militant trade union tendencies in a novel that gleefully skewers the vanity and inanity of a certain kind of plutocratIn this clever,fast-paced thriller,Hugo Award winner subverts classic supervillain tropes with equal measures of tongue-in-cheek humor and common sense...The result is a breezy and highly entertaining genre send-upScalzi again examines tropes in a tale of an ordinary individual being cast into an extraordinary situation with his trademark quick pacing,clever banter,and ability to find humor in desperate situations...With a large print run and a clever premise,Scalzi's latest will appeal to his legion of fans and draw in new onesThis story of snark with a heart reminds readers that the logical conclusion of "dogs have owners,cats have staff"is that cats are management and never let anyone forget it...Readers of humorous fantasy are sure to love Scalzi's latest as much as those cats; it's also for those who enjoy seeing superhero stories folded,twisted,and mutilated and anyone wishing for a righteous villain lair surrounded by intelligent sharks. Highly recommendedFun,short and tightly plotted
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