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seekaygee 's review for:
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying
by Django Wexler
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have truly never read a book quite like this one. It’s meta, irreverent, and at times completely mad. And that’s just the protagonist.
Davi is sick of dying. She’s been alive in this strange fantasy world for about a thousand years, and then resetting back to zero each and every excruciating death later. But this time it’s going to be different. She’s not going to be the human savior anymore. Nope, this time, she becomes the Dark Lord. Or is going to try really fuc king hard.
As no doubt all the other reviews will tell you, Davi is a very Deadpool-esque MC. Much of her humor is observational—and she’s seen a lot. Unfortunately, because of her self-aware, meta nature, she doesn’t feel particularly relatable. I’m still very invested in seeing where the journey takes her, don’t get me wrong. But I feel divorced from the narrative in a way I don’t usually experience in a first-person story.
It’s clear Davi is highly intelligent, with pockets of almost encyclopedic knowledge and high-falutin word choices. But these don’t quite mix with the rest of the writing. Davi narrates like she’s orating, sometimes leaving thoughts half-completed. She’s very aware of her audience, but as she’s been constantly killed and reset, it’s easy to take her own word that she’s gone mad. And who could blame anyone for that when they’ve gone through such a hellish existence for so long? Sadly, this still doesn’t give her the depth I want out of my characters.
What jars me the most about Davi, however, is how hypersexual she is. This isn’t exactly voyeuristic or as overtly male-gaze-y as it could be, but it does seem like there is enough justification for her omnisexual endeavors as there should be. I can easily see it being a way she manages to find time to just exist mindlessly in between deaths, but at times it still feels a tad extreme. Or, rather, it’s just mentioned more frequently than it would be if it was just a part of who she was.
One of the biggest things you’ll notice with the book is that there are footnotes galore. My ADD brain loved this, with her little monologue asides. It was easy to read them as an e-book, but if they’re not actually at the bottom of each page in the physical copy, they may get annoying quickly.
All of my issues with Dani’s somewhat inconsistent characterization aside, I am THRILLED to read the next book. Especially after that sudden revelation and abrupt ending. I need answers!!
Davi is sick of dying. She’s been alive in this strange fantasy world for about a thousand years, and then resetting back to zero each and every excruciating death later. But this time it’s going to be different. She’s not going to be the human savior anymore. Nope, this time, she becomes the Dark Lord. Or is going to try really f
As no doubt all the other reviews will tell you, Davi is a very Deadpool-esque MC. Much of her humor is observational—and she’s seen a lot. Unfortunately, because of her self-aware, meta nature, she doesn’t feel particularly relatable. I’m still very invested in seeing where the journey takes her, don’t get me wrong. But I feel divorced from the narrative in a way I don’t usually experience in a first-person story.
It’s clear Davi is highly intelligent, with pockets of almost encyclopedic knowledge and high-falutin word choices. But these don’t quite mix with the rest of the writing. Davi narrates like she’s orating, sometimes leaving thoughts half-completed. She’s very aware of her audience, but as she’s been constantly killed and reset, it’s easy to take her own word that she’s gone mad. And who could blame anyone for that when they’ve gone through such a hellish existence for so long? Sadly, this still doesn’t give her the depth I want out of my characters.
What jars me the most about Davi, however, is how hypersexual she is. This isn’t exactly voyeuristic or as overtly male-gaze-y as it could be, but it does seem like there is enough justification for her omnisexual endeavors as there should be. I can easily see it being a way she manages to find time to just exist mindlessly in between deaths, but at times it still feels a tad extreme. Or, rather, it’s just mentioned more frequently than it would be if it was just a part of who she was.
One of the biggest things you’ll notice with the book is that there are footnotes galore. My ADD brain loved this, with her little monologue asides. It was easy to read them as an e-book, but if they’re not actually at the bottom of each page in the physical copy, they may get annoying quickly.
All of my issues with Dani’s somewhat inconsistent characterization aside, I am THRILLED to read the next book. Especially after that sudden revelation and abrupt ending. I need answers!!