Starter Villain
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $37.53
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Wil Wheaton
-
Written by:
-
John Scalzi
About this listen
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.
©2023 John Scalzi (P)2023 Audible, Inc.You may also enjoy...
-
Let's Pretend This Will Work
- A Novel
- Written by: Maddie Dawson
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After too many dates, thirtysomething Mimi Perkins is still single, unmoored, and longing for love. So when Ren Yardley—a handsome, divorced fellow drama teacher and single father—falls in love with her and proposes, she’s sure this is at last the good news her psychic predicted. Soon after proposing, Ren receives the devastating news that his ex-wife has been in a debilitating car accident, prompting him to temporarily move back into his former home to care for her and his daughters.
Written by: Maddie Dawson
-
Dreadful
- Written by: Caitlin Rozakis
- Narrated by: Keval Shah
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gav isn't really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed. But as he realizes that nothing—from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess—is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he'll have to answer the hardest question of all—who does he want to be?
-
-
Forgetful Evil Wizard, What’s not to like!
- By DarthGerardius on 2024-09-29
Written by: Caitlin Rozakis
-
Point Nemo
- Written by: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the heart of the South Pacific lies Point Nemo, the most desolate and remote place on Earth. At its core is a dead zone, devoid of life, where government agencies crash their obsolete satellites and space stations, confident they won't harm a soul. When the International Space Station suffers a catastrophic failure and plummets through the atmosphere, it's here that Mission Specialist Julie Rohr, an astrobiologist studying living space dust called xylem, finds herself marooned. Julie's only hope for rescue lies in the hands of her estranged father, Dr. Finn Maddern, a renowned mycologist.
-
-
Author has great ideas
- By Meredith on 2024-06-08
Written by: Jeremy Robinson
-
The Witchstone
- Written by: Henry H. Neff
- Narrated by: Ramiz Monsef
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Laszlo, eight-hundred-year-old demon and Hell’s least productive Curse Keeper. From his office beneath Midtown, he oversees the Drakeford Curse, which involves a pathetic family upstate and a mysterious black monolith. It’s a sexy enough assignment—colonial origins, mutating victims, et cetera—but Laszlo has no interest in maximizing the curse’s potential; he’d rather sunbathe in Ibiza, quaff martinis, and hustle the hustlers on Manhattan’s subway.
-
-
Complicated anti-heroes you hate to love!
- By Bethany on 2024-07-20
Written by: Henry H. Neff
-
A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure
- Written by: Angela Bell
- Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane. London, England, 1860: When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.
-
-
TW: excessive religiosity
- By Devonius on 2024-10-22
Written by: Angela Bell
-
The Kaiju Preservation Society
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
-
-
Strong Sunday School energy.
- By Andrew on 2022-05-16
Written by: John Scalzi
-
Let's Pretend This Will Work
- A Novel
- Written by: Maddie Dawson
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After too many dates, thirtysomething Mimi Perkins is still single, unmoored, and longing for love. So when Ren Yardley—a handsome, divorced fellow drama teacher and single father—falls in love with her and proposes, she’s sure this is at last the good news her psychic predicted. Soon after proposing, Ren receives the devastating news that his ex-wife has been in a debilitating car accident, prompting him to temporarily move back into his former home to care for her and his daughters.
Written by: Maddie Dawson
-
Dreadful
- Written by: Caitlin Rozakis
- Narrated by: Keval Shah
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gav isn't really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed. But as he realizes that nothing—from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess—is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he'll have to answer the hardest question of all—who does he want to be?
-
-
Forgetful Evil Wizard, What’s not to like!
- By DarthGerardius on 2024-09-29
Written by: Caitlin Rozakis
-
Point Nemo
- Written by: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the heart of the South Pacific lies Point Nemo, the most desolate and remote place on Earth. At its core is a dead zone, devoid of life, where government agencies crash their obsolete satellites and space stations, confident they won't harm a soul. When the International Space Station suffers a catastrophic failure and plummets through the atmosphere, it's here that Mission Specialist Julie Rohr, an astrobiologist studying living space dust called xylem, finds herself marooned. Julie's only hope for rescue lies in the hands of her estranged father, Dr. Finn Maddern, a renowned mycologist.
-
-
Author has great ideas
- By Meredith on 2024-06-08
Written by: Jeremy Robinson
-
The Witchstone
- Written by: Henry H. Neff
- Narrated by: Ramiz Monsef
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Laszlo, eight-hundred-year-old demon and Hell’s least productive Curse Keeper. From his office beneath Midtown, he oversees the Drakeford Curse, which involves a pathetic family upstate and a mysterious black monolith. It’s a sexy enough assignment—colonial origins, mutating victims, et cetera—but Laszlo has no interest in maximizing the curse’s potential; he’d rather sunbathe in Ibiza, quaff martinis, and hustle the hustlers on Manhattan’s subway.
-
-
Complicated anti-heroes you hate to love!
- By Bethany on 2024-07-20
Written by: Henry H. Neff
-
A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure
- Written by: Angela Bell
- Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane. London, England, 1860: When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.
-
-
TW: excessive religiosity
- By Devonius on 2024-10-22
Written by: Angela Bell
-
The Kaiju Preservation Society
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
-
-
Strong Sunday School energy.
- By Andrew on 2022-05-16
Written by: John Scalzi
-
Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire
- Complete Collection: Missions 1-16
- Written by: J.S. Morin
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 92 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy’s worst bounty hunter just might be its most relentless hero. Esper Richelieu is a wizard with a mission: To make the galaxy a better place one lost soul at a time. Donning the trappings of an interstellar bounty hunter, she delves into the galaxy’s underworld to search out those most in need of help. Whether it’s a teenage runaway or an actor kidnapped by cultists, the victim comes first. Money is an afterthought. That confuses a lot of clients. But sometimes the best way to get someone to accept the help they need is to convince them to pay for it.
-
-
Very nice magician stories.
- By Felix B. on 2022-05-05
Written by: J.S. Morin
-
The Book of Doors
- A Novel
- Written by: Gareth Brown
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop, shelving books, making coffee for customers, and living an unassuming, ordinary life. Until the day one of her favorite customers—a lonely yet charming old man—dies right in front of her. Cassie is devastated. She always loved his stories, and now she has nothing to remember him by. Nothing but the last book he was reading. But this is no ordinary book… It is the Book of Doors. Inscribed with enigmatic words and mysterious drawings, it promises Cassie that any door is every door. You just need to know how to open them.
-
-
Absolutely LOVED it
- By TiMiMo on 2024-04-23
Written by: Gareth Brown
-
Echoes from the Moon
- The Token, Book 1
- Written by: Nathan Hystad
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Silas visits his estranged grandfather's lakehouse in the aftermath of the deadly home invasion. What he discovers hidden below the floorboards triggers a mystery buried since the final trip to the Moon over fifty years earlier. Rory returns to her family home in Vermont to write her second novel, but fate has a different story in mind. Special Agent Waylen Brooks exposes a covert operation linked to the death of a retired astronaut. He soon finds out he's not the only one searching for answers and willing to kill for the truth.
-
-
poor story and laughable characters
- By mike on 2024-09-09
Written by: Nathan Hystad
-
The Stepford Wives
- Written by: Ira Levin
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Grover Gardner
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joanna Eberhart is a creative, self-possessed wife and mother, newly arrived in seemingly idyllic Stepford, Connecticut. But as she and her family begin settling in, she’s jarred by the unaccountable sameness of the local wives: all flawlessly attractive, with perfectly maintained homes—and little seeming interest in anything else. As curiosity turns to concern, Joanna finds herself unraveling a web of malice that threatens her very existence.
-
-
Elegantly Read and Perfectly Unsettling
- By Mara H on 2024-05-10
Written by: Ira Levin
-
Ascendant
- A Dragon Rider Fantasy (Songs of Chaos, Book 1)
- Written by: Michael R. Miller
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. He has always served the Order Hall of the Crag dutifully, keeping their kitchen pots clean. Until he discovers a dark secret: dragons do not tolerate weakness among their kin, killing the young they deem flawed. Moved by pity, Holt defies the Order, rescues a doomed egg and vows to protect the blind dragon within.
-
-
no real emotion
- By Anonymous User on 2021-03-19
Written by: Michael R. Miller
-
Rookie Privateer
- Privateer Tales, Book 1
- Written by: Jamie McFarlane
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you are old enough to finally become an Earth Mars citizen, everything should be perfect. Right? Not for Liam Hoffen. He's stuck on a mining asteroid called Colony 40, helping his father work a claim that is never going to pay out. His best friend, Nick James is set for life in James' Rental business and Liam just discovered that the girl he's known forever thinks he's pretty great and now she's leaving for the Mars Naval Academy.
-
-
More of a young adult novel
- By Mike Reiter on 2024-12-11
Written by: Jamie McFarlane
-
I Cheerfully Refuse
- Written by: Leif Enger
- Narrated by: David Aaron Baker
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in a not-too-distant America, I Cheerfully Refuse is the tale of a bereaved and pursued musician embarking under sail on a sentient Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife. Rainy, an endearing bear of an Orphean narrator, seeks refuge in the harbors, fogs, and remote islands of the inland sea. Encountering lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths, Rainy finds on land an increasingly desperate and illiterate people, a malignant billionaire ruling class, crumbled infrastructure, and a lawless society.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Budb on 2024-09-17
Written by: Leif Enger
-
Under the Paper Moon
- Written by: Shaina Steinberg
- Narrated by: Carrie Coello
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1942, and as far as her father knows, Evelyn Bishop, heiress to an aeronautics fortune, is working as a translator in London. In truth, Evelyn—daring, beautiful, and as adept with a rifle as she is in five languages—has joined the Office of Strategic Services as a spy. Her goal is personal: to find her brother, who is being held as a POW in a Nazi labor camp. Through one high-risk mission after another, she is paired with the reckless and rebellious Nick Gallagher, growing ever close to him until the war's end brings with it an act of deep betrayal.
-
-
anachronistic almost to the point of ridulous
- By Tiffany on 2024-11-15
Written by: Shaina Steinberg
-
Floating Hotel
- Written by: Grace Curtis
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the Grand Abeona Hotel: home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such as: Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently—who is driving the ship?
-
-
Prose is nice but rambling weak storyline
- By SoulFood Wanderer on 2024-05-20
Written by: Grace Curtis
-
Sipsworth
- Written by: Simon Van Booy
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.
-
-
Absolutely loved this novel
- By Mer on 2024-12-11
Written by: Simon Van Booy
-
The Cemetery of Untold Stories
- Written by: Julia Alvarez
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories, doesn’t want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories—literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and revisions, and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her.
-
-
Creative and fresh
- By Joan M on 2024-08-16
Written by: Julia Alvarez
-
Time-Marked Warlock
- The Chronos Chronicles, Book 1
- Written by: Shami Stovall
- Narrated by: Annie Ellicott, Jeff Hays, Justin Thomas James
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adair Finch is the most powerful warlock in the world, and one of the best private investigators for hire. He has dealt with corporate vampires, murderous werewolves, and even fae royalty. Everything was perfect until he lost one case—the case where he also lost his brother. So Finch retired. From magic. From PI work. From everything. Bree Blackstone, a twelve-year-old witch, doesn’t know or care about any of that except Finch’s reputation. In the middle of the night, she bangs on Finch’s door. Her mother has been murdered, and now the assassin is after Bree as well.
-
-
Booorin
- By girorv on 2024-12-20
Written by: Shami Stovall
What listeners say about Starter Villain
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Shopper
- 2023-09-22
so much fun!
An engaging story that I wish had been longer. I'm getting my cat a keyboard.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ana Paterson
- 2023-10-02
Scalzi and Wheaton do it again!
thank goodness for this team. love the premise. love the delivery. Fun and somehow light hearted and just a little but dark all at the same time.
beware of cats
and dolphins!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- TC
- 2023-10-28
Funny and silly
This book is absolutely ridiculous and I’m so glad I read it. 10/10, I laughed all the way through.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dirk van Houten
- 2023-11-21
Great book. Wish it was a series.
The story was great but the ending was a bit of a let down. Would have loved to see more of Charlie and TIL and the others.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-11-14
Over the top fun
Scalzi has created an other fun romp, and Wil Wheaton's voicework is the perfect compliment. The perfect palate cleanser from the news of the day.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dan G
- 2024-01-04
Meh
I did very much enjoy it. Nice character and narrator was awesome. Scalzi and Wheaton are a fantastic team as usual.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 2024-03-26
Fun & Fresh Take on Villians
Being immersed in this story felt like diving into a professional-grade daydream. The hilarious host of supporting characters guiding a bewildered thirty-something through a fantastical series of events was reminiscent of Douglas Adams -- but the plot was easier to follow and slightly less unhinged than Adams', making this an ideal casual read. Scalzi's wry humour and laugh-out-loud quotes make this infinitely re-readable (despite knowing how it all ends).
Wheaton has a great voice for this book, although the performance was unpredictable. His timing and intonations were spot-on -- especially when impersonating AI translators -- but his slipping in and out of accents sometimes made it hard to discern which character was speaking and took me out of the action. I'd like to read this again in print and see how the experience changes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JT Small
- 2023-10-22
Wheaton’s improvements bolster masterful comedy book
Scalzi is again terrific. His ability to write comedy is tremendous, while also being incredibly inventive. As for the narration, I want to note that I recently listened to Scalzi’s and was disappointed by Wil Wheaton’s decision to read the text without differentiating voices. As a listener, this made the experience more difficult and less enjoyable. This time, he made sure to create consistent, separate voices for key characters. This made for a much more enjoyable listening experience. I loved it. Plus, the periodic moments when a silly or adorable section of the book made Wheaton sound giddy just added to the wonderful narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lori
- 2023-09-29
Truly a joy
I like Scalzi's style of first person storytelling, and this may be the best of it. This book was laugh out loud funny at times and simply fun to listen to at others. On top of the story itself was my glee on realizing it is read by Wil Wheaton a man I grew up watching on ST:TNG and have only grown more fond of and gained more respect for in the following years. Between the fun and occasionally silly story telling and Wheaton's performance this book is quickly going on my re-listen list!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cheryl
- 2023-10-20
Great storey!
Truly enjoyed this book and hated to see it end!! Wil Wheaton was great too!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful