March discussion - "Starter Villain" by John Scalzi

Our book for March 2026 is Starter Villain, by John Scalzi.

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, hyper-intelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

This month’s discussion will be held at Commaa in Sheung Wan on the 29th of March @ 2:00 pm. Please note: the café asks that for large groups, guests buy at least one beverage per person ($60 minimum). They have a selection of sweet treats, coffees, teas, and other drinks available for purchase.

After the discussion, we will choose the next book by group vote. Please bring your suggestions for future books!