How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

A fun read! It ends on a cliffhanger that doesn't resolve the main plot-behind-the-plot and I'm not sure if I want to read another 500 page book to find that out. Unnecessarily horny?

Quit at 5%

Entertaining Isekai story that makes good use of the various tropes it pulls from (time loops, fantasy Isekais, MMOs, etc). Very much just half the story (it's noted to be a duology in the author's remarks at the end), but it packs in plenty of action so it's not unsatisfying.

Davi comes across a bit frustratingly obviously as a woman written by a man. I enjoyed her acerbic and flippant personality, but her character (and her sexualisation) commonly comes across as being written by a man for men, specifically. It's kind of a pity.

Will be looking forward to the sequel/conclusion.

This was a lot of Deadpool-style sarcasm and fourth wall leaning fun. I enjoy time loop settings and games with save points so this was amusing - if it was more anime background dependent, it maybe would not have been for me, that's just not something I've gotten into. 

You won't enjoy it if you get upset at any hint that a woman can enjoy sex. You won't enjoy it if you think that a woman who enjoys sex has no morals. Sadly most of the reviews on here for this seem to have that assumption, which says more about them than the book. 

I had high expectations going into this book which I think effected my enjoyment a bit. I did like it but wanted a bit more character development.

What I liked: humor, found family, adventure/game like structure
What I didn't like: reading footnotes on a kindle (it took me out of the story a bit - I prefer footnotes in physical format)

I also didn't realize that it was part one of a duology so was surprised by the “To Be Continued” at the end. All that being said, at this moment, I would read book two.

I won a Goodreads giveaway of this book.

This was really funny, but sometimes the references did go over my head. I love these type of time looping and isekai stories though so this was great fun! I'm looking forward to where this story goes.

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 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.

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.