the dark lord moves in mysterious ways

Davi feels like she’s been around the block a time or two. Because she has. She has lived a hundred lives trying to save humanity from the Dark Lord. And each time she failed. She has died a hundred deaths. Some were fast and easy, others were slow and painful. But she always comes back, like a character in a video game respawning. But Davi isn’t in a video game. She’s living her life. And now she’s done with it.

No more trying to fight against the Dark Lord. It’s time for a new plan. It’s time for Davi to become the Dark Lord.

She takes all the wisdom and snark she has acquired while being stuck in her time loop and heads out on her quest. She will need minions to help her in her fight and thaumite, a sort of powerful material that can increase strength or abilities like healing powers, or in humans, it can allow them to do magic. But just waltzing in and becoming Dark Lord is not as easy as it sounds, because Davi can’t let anyone know that she is actually a human. If anyone finds that out in this world, it’s once again game over for Davi.

So Davi has to charm the orcs, and then the wilders, to get together an army that might be able to get her to the Convocation, where she can throw her hat in the ring for Dark Lord. But there are a lot of obstacles in the way, and it will take everything Davi has in her to make it to the end of each day without getting killed again.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is the first in a series starring a smart, sarcastic, bisexual, raunchy, ambitious human trying to take over the world she’s accidentally woken up in. The book is written in her perspective, so you get to see how a potential Dark Lord thinks, and how she expresses herself sexually, as there is a certain amount of graphic information throughout her story. There are also some descriptions of battles and of torture (hello, chapter one), so if you’re not up to taking that on, then this probably won’t be a good fit for you.

I will admit that I don’t read a lot of fantasy or sci fi. I dabble, especially if the story is billed as humorous. This book is said to be funny, and it truly is. Davi is smart and funny, and she uses that humor through the entire book to tell her story, to express her motivations, and to make her plans for becoming the Dark Lord. There are even footnotes throughout, which are also pretty snarky, but can also get a little tiresome to flip to. But as a dabbler, I could easily figure out what was going on, so if you’re only a dabbler too, then you don’t need to worry about struggling to follow the story. Davi does a good job of explaining what she’s thinking and doing, and a lot can be understood by context. So if you’re up for it, How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is a heck of a ride. I may even have to buy a ticket for the next one in the series.

Egalleys for How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying were provided by Orbit Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.