The good guys always win – and Alec Nightshade isn't going to take it anymore. Alec's a fifteen-year-old member of the Norgolian Society of Evil Overlords, which means not having much of a life expectancy. When a hero hunts down and kills his aunt, the Viper, he sets off on the first evil scheme of his life to set things straight.

Starting an evil scheme proves to be harder than it looks. Alec catches a break when a friend tips him off about the Eggbeater of Doom, a device that can summon a kiloton-sized elder god with a grudge against those puny hairless apes. If Alec blabs about the Eggbeater, gets a hero to go after him, then kicks the hero's ass, he can break the cycle of prophecy that dooms his side never to see the age of fifty. He doesn't mean to hurt anybody else. But when another overlord steals the Eggbeater with the intent to actually level a city, Alec knows what he and his gang of minions will have to do: save the day. He will never get to live this down.

"Cannon Fodder is the perfect example of a book which doesn't know exactly what it wants to be - a mystery, a fantasy, or a young adult read - and in normal circles, that would spell trouble. But add more than a healthy dose of unexpected humor, which is relatively rare in any of these genres, and you have a superior read filled with unpredictable moments, ironic observations, and a young protagonist who isn't at all sure that his ultimate goal is to live up to his training as an evil overlord."
-- Diane Donovan, Donovan's Bookshelf