This was a delightful little book; I’d call it a spiritual successor to Kaiju Preservation Society in that it’s (to use Scalzi’s description) a “pop song” of a novel. It’s a very entertaining couple hours of fun to read; it’s not more than that, and doesn’t pretend to be. But if what you’re looking for is an enjoyable way to kill time on a plane ride, it’s a great choice.
The protagonist is something of a sad sack, to begin with. He’s divorced. He was laid off from his job as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and is working as a substitute middle school English teacher. He’s living in his childhood home after the death of his father, for as long as he can keep his half-siblings from kicking him out so they can sell the place and split the proceeds. His only friend to speak of is his cat Hera.
Things take a change after his uncle, whom he hasn’t seen since he was 5, dies and names our protagonist as his heir. Only it turns out that his uncle’s wealth didn’t come from owning parking garages, as he believed, but from his career as a very successful villain.
As our protagonist tries to navigate the challenges of his new position, he’ll have to deal with assorted challenges. These include coping with his cat Hera being both sentient, and assigned by his late uncle to keep an eye on him; the sentient dolphins that guard his volcanic island hideout wanting to unionize and threatening to strike; his uncle’s villain rivals looking to take his organization apart; and annoying tech bros/dIsRuPtoRs.
As with Kaiju Preservation Society, this is an exceptionally John Scalzi-ish book. If you find his schtick of “characters always in competition to show they’re the cleverest in the room” annoying, I don’t recommend this. But if you appreciate Scalzi’s schtick and are looking for some entertainment, this is a wonderful book.