Morale continues to ebb the next day, and the orcs are visibly sagging on the march, muttering to one another and spreading out in spite of the admonitions of the sergeants. They need cheering up, I decide, and what better way to spread cheer than a good marching song? I go from company to company, letting each one take the lead for a few verses as I teach them the songs of my people. If I’m being honest, they probably do the best job on “Stairway to Heaven,” but “Achy Breaky Heart” is a solid effort, and you haven’t lived until you’ve heard six hundred orcs belting out If you wanna be my lover at the quickstep. I’m feeling very pleased with myself when there’s a sudden skirling of horns not at all on the beat and abruptly the sky is black with arrows.
I decided to open this review by quoting a passage of the book because this is either a book that you are going to love or hate, with no in between. The above passage is a good indicator, I think. It gives a good preview of the vibe of the entire novel.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is an Isekai-type story. Davi is an ordinary twenty-something from 21st century America, who found herself transported into a fantasy world, told she’s the chosen one, and sets to the task of saving the Kingdom from the Dark Lord.
It doesn’t go well.
After a horrible death, she wakes up back at the instant she first appeared in the Kingdom, with all her memories intact in a Groundhog Day scenario. So she tries again.
It doesn’t go well.
Repeat hundreds, maybe thousands of times, and Davi is so over it. So this time, she is going to try something different and save-scum her way to becoming the Dark Lord instead.
It starts out purely as a lark on Davi’s part - trying something new because she’s sick of failing (and being tortured to death isn’t fun either). But the story has more heart than I initially expected. If Davi’s going to be the Dark Lord, she’s going to be good at it, and that means no one gets to fuck with her minions. Particularly the lady orc with the nice abs that was the leader of the first group of followers she picked up.
As I said at the top, you’ll love this or you’ll hate it. Davi is snarky, sarcastic, horny, and filled with pop culture references (comparisons to Gideon Nav are not inappropriate). That does not change. If you find it annoying from the beginning, it’s not going to get better and this isn’t the book for you. But if you find it entertaining, good news! It just keeps coming.
It’s also pure, unapologetic wish fulfillment. It’s almost like Django decided to write a book based on the prompt, “What if you were transported to a fantasy world and were also cool as shit?” Davi is very competent as an aspiring Dark Lord (which makes sense, in that she’s had a thousand years to practice hero-ing and the skills transfer). She gets laid frequently. She’s having a grand old time. And I am completely here for it.
The ending is something of a cliff hanger, but not too bad a one as these things go. And there are some very tantalizing hints that have me very curious for book 2.
Strongly recommended. Or strongly not recommended, depending on taste. One or the other.