I’ve usually stated that writing humour (sorry, American readers: ‘humor’) is HARD. The problem is, as I perceive it, that writing humour signifies that it doesn’t come throughout in the identical method as a spoken one-liner.
Maybe extra problematical is that an individual’s sense of humour shouldn’t be the identical as one other’s. What can appear hilarious to at least one particular person might depart one other stone-cold. This additionally adjustments, relying upon age, probably gender and life-experience – what I discovered humorous on the age of 15 is probably not fairly so humorous at the moment, practically 50 years on. (Or it may be.)
It’s a motive why I strategy most books involving HUMOUR with warning. Is there anyone else who, seeing phrases like “Hilariously humorous!”, will rapidly put the guide down and transfer onto one thing else, little question much less hilarious.
There are few ‘humorous’ books that work for me, I’ve realised. Terry Pratchett’s Discworld usually works. Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Information to the Galaxy labored for me, about 45 years in the past.
Which brings me to this one by John Scalzi. I’ll be trustworthy and say that this one has been watching me from the TBR for some time now. Not as a result of John is (IMO) a nasty author, however as a result of it’s meant to be ‘humorous’. So while I beloved The Shattering Peace, reviewed final yr, this one has been sat for some time within the pile. Even John’s erm… humorous… books have been a bit variable for me: I beloved When The Moon Hits Your Eye (overview right here) however Redshirts much less so (overview right here) – though it was nominated for a Hugo by followers who clearly confirmed that Star Trek followers can have a way of humour. (See – I’m doing it on goal now…)
So anyway, after two positives (Shattering Peace and Moon Hits Your Eye) and an OK just lately on Scalzi’s books, (Kaiju Preservation Society was OK for me), I believed that I’d (ultimately!) do this one.
The story’s a reasonably simple one – Charlie, an intermittently employed provide trainer and up to date divorcee, finds himself receiving a present from a distant uncle – the keys to his multi-million and extremely secret enterprise.
The snag to that is that Uncle Jake, and due to this fact the enterprise, might not have been doing issues totally legally. Smuggled to the enterprise’s headquarters on a volcanic island, Charlie finds himself having to turn into the CEO in a short time so as to keep away from the corporate’s rivals taking up. In different phrases, he should turn into a villain.
Warning: entails cats who can sort and sweary strike-threatening dolphins.
So, what’s it that makes this work? Nicely, for me in this kind of guide the humour needs to be foolish, however not too foolish. Issues must be credible and have an inside logic, that is smart within the setting of the story. So, cats that may sort could also be odd, however might be defined in a timey-wimey method by genetic manipulation. (Experimenting on cats to do that does look like an evil factor to do, doesn’t it?)
The truth that the guide is barely 270-ish pages lengthy signifies that Scalzi doesn’t over-egg the pudding. The plot stays so long as it must do to make its level after which leaves, earlier than it over-extends itself. (I did really feel that Redshirts was a good suggestion that stayed too lengthy.)
It additionally helps in the event you can go together with the joke; on this case, have a normal concept of ‘villains’, whether or not that be from the Bond books, and films themselves, the Minions movies and even the Austin Powers films, themselves a parody of the Bond movies. This makes the characters very relatable inside the world they stay in. With a secret lair close to a volcano, cats who’ve been genetically modified to sort, sweary dolphins who’ve been intelligently enhanced (and now are on strike), lasers, missiles, and satellites, to not point out all the opposite baddies who wish to kill him, Charlie is on a steep studying curve.
There’s additionally the truth that that is VERY just like Episode 2 of Season 8 from The Simpsons (You Solely Transfer Twice)….
However that’s all a part of the enjoyable. What Scalzi additionally brings to the desk is an excessive amount of snappy banter:
““So we’re like Spotify, however for evil.” “We’re a lot much less evil than Spotify. We truly pay a dwelling wage to the individuals whose work we’re promoting.””
…and a normal feeling that he’s having plenty of enjoyable with this while writing. The humour works for me.
The ending ties issues up a bit too rapidly maybe, however typically I beloved the experience so far as it goes. This even goes all the way down to the US cowl, which I like a lot greater than the tasteless generic ‘paint by numbers’ UK version. I mustn’t have left this one on the shelf so long as I did. Nice enjoyable.
© 2026 Mark Yon
Hardback | TOR Books
STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi
September 2023 | 272 pages
ISBN: 978-152 9082 951
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