How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Dark Lord Davi, #1)

by Django Wexler

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

• ISBN10: 0356518981
• ISBN13: 9780356518985
• Publish Date: 23 May 2024 (first published 21 May 2024)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is the first book in a new fantasy series by Django Wexler. Released 21st May 2024 by Hachette on their Orbit imprint, it's 432 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. 

This is a funny fantasy full of completely bonkers over the top tropes and silliness. There's a "groundhog day" element where MC Davi keeps getting resurrected to save the universe, only to fail spectacularly (fatally), over and over and over for 1000+ years. She decides to turn the tables and -become- the dark lord instead of trying to fight him. So far so good. 

It's funny, and cleverly written, with whiplash prose and it's full of wry and sarcastic humor. However... it really reads like a female MC *clearly* written by a guy who honestly doesn't have much of a clue what women think, how women think, and doesn't give a crap about trying to find out. She's oversexed, and the book is *full* of sexual sadomasochistic torture, graphic death and violence. For some readers, this will be a feature, not a bug, and honestly, it's written for them.

It's deeply misogynistic (unintentionally?), easily the most violent read of 2024, and unevenly paced. The language and humor are roughly Deadpool-level (not the plot, just the humor and language), and this one is juvenile, raunchy, and intentionally vulgar. 

Three and a half stars. It will find its audience, and will either delight or disgust (or both). It will certainly be picked up for most public library collections, but probably won't be a good fit for school library acquisitions. It would potentially make a good choice for a buddy read (with the right reading buddy). 

There are flashes of homage to John Norman's hysterically awful Gor books scattered throughout, and for those who remember them fondly, this is a worthy torch bearer. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

[Metaphorosis Reviews]

4 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Davi, prophesied savior of humans, is being tortured by the Dark Lord - again. For the 237th time, in fact. And she's tired of it. So when her life winds back to the start of the quest again, she decides to switch sides and become the Dark Lord. How hard can it be?

Review
I feel like I’m late to the Django Wexler party. He has a host of books out, but I only ran across him in the least year or so. He’s writing some of the best stories I’ve read recently, but I don’t hear his name much. I’m a little befuddled.

In any case, I was happy to pick up this book, partly because I had some confidence in Wexler’s skill, partly just for the title: How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying. That ‘and’ is perfect!

The book has a bit of a rocky start, but once it and we settle in, it’s smooth sailing and quick reading until the end. The humor is good, the character engaging. Aside from one brutal act at the start, she’s not really Dark Lord-y, but it works. All in all, a fun book.

I do mark it down for a few things (in addition to the rocky start). First, endnotes just don’t work in ebooks. Actually, they don’t work in any book – fiction or nonfiction, electronic or print. Footnotes can work, but ebooks haven’t yet figured out how to deliver those (not sure why). So, I read the endnotes, but only at the end of each chapter, which a) defeats the purpose, and b) renders most of them unfunny or incomprehensible. I bet they’d be funny as footnotes, but that’s not this case. Second, the book is very obviously a big book cut in half. That may make more money, but it makes for an unsatisfying read and a very abrupt ending. It’s still fun, but if you like resolution, wait for the second book or the inevitable omnibus (which will make much more sense to buy).

I had confidence that Wexler could pull off fantasy humor, and he does. During the first 50 pages or so, I had some doubts, but the rest of the book brought me back to the fold. I did feel there was a whole lot too much profanity. I have no problem with profanity, but it seemed like every paragraph had a ‘fucking this ‘or ‘fucking that’, and I wished Wexler would dial it back a bit just to avoid monotony. Still good despite that. Enjoy this!

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[nora]

DNFed audiobook at 20 minutes (~2.5%)
The main character is insufferable