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Starter Villain
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
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Publisher's Summary
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.
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What listeners say about Starter Villain
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Maggie Taylor
- 2024-01-01
A fun read
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this story was so much fun! Loved the absolute belief that our hero had for ‘typing cats’. It’s a ridiculous and delightful story worth a listen!
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2 people found this helpful
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- AthleteTO
- 2023-11-10
Hits the Mark - Fun Read
I really enjoyed this book, and was sad when this fun romp came to an end. It could easily roll into a sequel!
What I thought was most wonderful was that, despite several silly and ridiculous elements, the author made them just believable enough to keep the story together, while just unbelievable enough to make the story playful and surprising. The villainous elements were things you might make up with your friends as a child or in an outrageous improv class.
To weave a coherent story with that intact is actual mastery. And it’s only augmented by the wonderful narration from Wil Wheaton.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Michelle Bekkering
- 2023-10-03
A light hearted and fun story
Once again, John Scalzi gave me exactly what I didn't know I needed. The book went to so many unexpected places. I was gobsmacked when we learned Hara's secret, and I snort-laughed aloud when we met the dolphins. Wil Wheaton does a great job drawing you into the story. Honestly, I will buy any book that JS writes and WW narrates. I would write more but I don't want to accidentally spoil any surprises. It's best if you don't see them coming :-)
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- eb
- 2023-09-25
So much fun!
A wonderful story and fabulous narrating by Wil Wheaton. Just plain entertaining. Go for it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- KP
- 2023-10-24
Fun as always
Always enjoy the humour that Scalzi brings to his stories. Very entertaining. Wil’s narration is a perfect fit with the storie’s wit.
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2 people found this helpful
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- BookMason
- 2023-11-19
Good fun
Thoroughly enjoyed this light and fun book, Will's reading made it a joy to listen to. Scalzi continues to delight with his diverse stories.
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- Leslie M.
- 2023-12-10
Great Read
Another awesome book by John Scalzi. Totally loved the story. As usual Wil Wheaton brings it to life in such a great way. Could not imagine this story without him.
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- Harvey
- 2024-01-10
Fun Story Slightly Cringy Narration
Love the story and Scalzi’s style. Bravo!
Wheaton performs well 90% of the time, but the high pitched whiney rebuttals and cursing are ear piercing at times.
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- Aling Lala
- 2024-03-14
So delightful!
I was half expecting something along the lines of the movie, Despicable Me, but I’m not sad that I was wrong. The book was light and fun, but well thought out. The narration added life to the already wonderful book. Two thumbs up!
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- Jake Bezaire
- 2024-04-07
hill...arious
i found both the story and performance excellent. Funny, and great. CAA #1 all the way.
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