How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying
Ratings6
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings6
Average rating3.8
A hilarious fantasy adventure in which a young woman, who is stuck in a time loop, decides the best way to defend the kingdom from the Dark Lord is to become the Dark Lord herself. Davi has done this all before. She's tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she's rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she's killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she's been defeated every time. This time? She's done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that's who she needs to be. It's Davi's turn to play on the winning side. 'A darkly comic delight of a novel' Anthony Ryan 'Twisty, pacey and full of reverent irreverence for fantasy. I can't get enough' Max Gladstone 'A brash swords-and-satire romp that draws you into its rollicking adventure even as it pokes fun at the whole genre. Gamers in particular will appreciate the irreverent upending of classic roleplaying tropes' James L. Sutter Takes the old saying 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em,' to the next level. A sarcastic, action-packed, intrigue-filled (mis)adventure. One of the funniest books I've read in a long time' Matt Dinniman 'Lord of the Rings crossed with Groundhog Day, narrated by a gender-flipped Deadpool' Mike Brooks
Featured Series
1 primary bookDark Lord Davi is a 1-book series first released in 2023 with contributions by Django Wexler.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is a total romp - if you are a Deadpool fan. If Deadpool is not for you then this book will be a real turn-off. It starts with a content warning of depictions of violence, sexual content, and explicit language.
A bonkers mix of the time loop of Groundhog Day, the foul language, sarcastic humor and death recovery of Deadpool, and an Earthling magicked to a world of orcs and furries.
Davi has lived through hundreds of lives, and every time she dies, usually from torture, she awakens in the same pond of freezing water and the same wizard hails her as the one to save them all. Trouble is, she keeps on dying instead of saving. So this time she decides she will become the Dark Lord from whom everyone needs to be saved.
HOW TO BECOME THE DARK LORD AND DIE TRYING is the first half of Django Wexler's Dark Lord Davi duology. That's probably the most important thing to know from the outset, this is the first half of the story and there will be major questions left unanswered after turning the final page. In the acknowledgments Wexler describes the “isekai trend in anime—the ‘ordinary person transported to / reincarnated in a fantasy world'” as a major source of inspiration for this book. For readers such as myself who are not well acquainted with anime, manga, or light novels exploring this theme, I might compare it to Sanderson's The Frugal Wizard's Guide, Scott Meyer's Off to be the Wizard, or even Drew Magary's The Hike - only funnier...and hornier. Basically Davi finds herself transported into a fantasy world and tasked with the quest of saving the Kingdom from the Dark Lord's horde, but in a Groundhog's Day style twist each time she dies she finds herself right back at the beginning of her adventure. After hundreds of lifetimes the unwilling “Happy Death Day”-esque heroine says screw it and resolves to try to become the Dark Lord herself. Will she succeed? Why is this happening? Can she break the cycle? Read the book and maybe you'll find out. Or maybe you won't, as I said, it's a duology. Where Wexler really shines is in character development and the frequent use of comedic footnotes throughout the book (think John Green's An Abundance of Katherines). I'd give the book a B in world building but an A+ in characters. The prose is very easy to read and this was a fantastic book to enjoy over the summer by the pool.
This book exhibited a very particular type of overly clever, self aware - bordering on parody that honestly got a little tedious.
Also, surprise, it ends on a cliffhanger at 93% and there will be a sequel at some point.
