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.
Who doesn’t love a good time loop story?
WHOMST!!!
Happy Death Day. Edge of Tomorrow. And of course, the almighty Groundhog Day.
These are some of the best movies, and ones that really get the viewer asking some questions. Like what would you do if you knew you’d keep coming back again & again after you died? (“I’m A god, I’m not THE God”) Does it even matter what you do if there seem to be no consequences? If you just keep getting sent back to the same starting point, what’s the point of anything?
This shit gets heavy! Which is maybe why most of the time loop stories (at least the ones I know) are usually full of humor, a sort of wacky irreverence.
I’m struggling to think of any time loop novels I’ve read, let alone any in a fantasy setting? HOW TO BECOME THE DARK LORD AND DIE TRYING (round of applause for the most audacious title of the year!) by Django Wexler may well be the first! Wexler has become one of my favorite authors over the last five years or so, and I was so excited to read this! This is the first in his new duology, DARK LORD DAVI.
And it was a fucking blast!
For (roughly, it’s hard to keep track) 1,000 years, Davi has been living in a fantasy world. She lives, she dies, she starts over again in the same spot. She has no idea how or why this is happening to her. All she knows is, it sucks. After so many years of trying to play the hero & losing, Davi finally decides to say fuck it & become the Dark Lord.
Davi is from our world, which can create a slightly anachronistic feeling when you are in a fantasy setting, and your protagonist is referencing everything from Star Wars to Game of Thrones, video games to reality TV.
Davi is also relentlessly snarky, and I realize this will not be for everyone. Personally, I found the style of humor in this book hilarious, but YMMV. It’s shockingly violent at times, raunchy, and absurd. The book is in first-person, and LOADED with footnotes.
Davi slowly amasses an army to march across The Kingdom (it’s literally just called The Kingdom) to The Convocation (where a new Dark Lord will be chosen). There are some side-quests and such, but for the most part, Davi becomes pretty single-minded in her focus: stay alive, become the Dark Lord, and maybe break free of the endless live-die-repeat pattern. Of course there’s no shortage of obstacles, creatures, and villains in her way. She is an outsider in this dangerous world & it’s hard for her to form true alliances (at least in the early going).
I kept waiting for this book to ruin me emotionally and it didn’t quite happen. The sarcasm & the irreverence do occasionally take a back seat in favor of some more serious things, but I expected this book to finally work its way into my heart & then destroy me (the way the other Django Wexler books I’ve read have). I really liked Davi a lot, but I think (by design) her sarcasm keeps you at a distance.
It’s also worth mentioning that Davi is bi & a bit hypersexual. This informs her sense of humor a lot, with a ton of jokes about sex & masturbation. Again, this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found myself snort-laughing at a lot of this.
There are also some content warnings up front from Wexler, so it’s worth mentioning that due to her fantastical situation, Davi is a bit cavalier about suicide. Which, getting back to things like Groundhog Day, is something that’s pretty common in a lot of time loop stories.
I had a ton of fun reading this. I wasn’t as emotionally connected to Davi’s story as I had hoped to be, but this was still a great time. If I had one real gripe with the book it’s that, for an extremely fast-paced book, some of the chapters are super long (40-ish pages in some instances). I’ll forever be a member of the 10-15 page chapter club, so I found myself a bit frustrated with this at times!
HOW TO BECOME THE DARK LORD AND DIE TRYING was such a fun, immersive reading experience. It also is a bit of a send-up of the fantasy genre as a whole, but as written by someone who is both a big fan of the genre & an accomplished writer of fantasy as well. Really enjoyed this one & I’m looking forward to the sequel!
HOW TO BECOME THE DARK LORD AND DIE TRYING releases today, May 21st!! Massive thanks to Orbit for sending a copy my way!!
Grimdark Dad 