How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected May 21, 2024
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- $9.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Groundhog Day meets Deadpool in Django Wexler’s no-holds-barred, laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.
"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, author of Dungeon Crawler Carl
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.
Burningblade & Silvereye
Ashes of the Sun
Blood of the Chosen
Emperor of Ruin
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
By turning the themes of chosen-one fantasy on their head, this sardonic romp from Wexler (the Burningblade & Silvereye series) brings out the smiles. Davi, an exile from the human world, has been reborn 238 times over the 10 centuries she's spent trapped in the fantasy land known as the Kingdom. She's tired of trying and failing to stop the Dark Lord from conquering the land—so this time around, she switches teams. ("We have an expression back home concerning what course of action to take if you find yourself under no circumstances able to beat 'em. I intend to follow its advice.") Using her past-lives' knowledge, she convinces her former foes that she is destined to be the next Dark Lord. Events snowball, and soon Davi has her own horde of orcs, stone monsters, and shark-toothed dwarves marching off to the Convocation that anoints the next Dark Lord. ("I don't know exactly how they pick the Dark Lord, but a major factor is personal charisma as measured in armed henchpersons.") Wexler balances the snarky asides with the angst of Davi's repeating existence and evolving awareness that her actions have consequences. Under the flippancy, a truly touching grimdark story lurks, complete with hilarious footnotes. Readers will be wowed.
