How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

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.