Delight is difficult to describe but easily identified. Starter Villain by John Scalzi is a delight. It is a perfectly architected entertainment from the get-go, as we meet a heretofore unlucky hero, Charlie, scraping to get by in post-pandemic America. He’s the youngest of three siblings who, having lost his job as a journalist, returned home to take care of his ailing father. Now that his father has passed, he’s hoping to remain in the family home, barely staying afloat with the pay of a substitute teacher. Scalzi’s superb prose voice is a pleasure to read, and he masterfully introduces a long-lost, very rich uncle who leaves everything to Charlie, the parking lot billions and the super-villain estate, with the volcano lair and giant lasers. Wait, what?
It’s one hell of a ride. Starter Villain deploys smart prose, silly humor and astonishing imagination to bring comic-book fantasies into the realm of believable reality. Charlie’s journey from Everyman Nebbish to Starter Villain is every bit as convincing as the news headlines you’ll hear tonight. Given how far we have to travel, Scalzi’s ability to make that character arc with the relaxed economy he achieves is remarkable. And while the primary aim here is to entertain, the author is able to deftly manage provoke more than a few thoughts about the sorts of economics and politics that might make his premise realistic.
Scalzi is a master at balancing laughs, charm and imagination. Every page, every word serves the purpose of immersion in the story and world being created on the pages. Time spent reading this book is time well-spent. The charm Scalzi deploys here is especially notable. It’s a tough word to live up to, but Scalzi nails the ineffable essence with such ease, it seems as if the writer himself possesses a superpower. That may well be the case. After all, he explains the volcano lair with such panache, one might well wonder if he’s finally gotten round to writing what he knows.
That charm is also apparent in an interview. Just follow this link to the giant laser downloadable mp3, or listen right here, right now….before…..
Narrative Species 