How To Become The Dark Lord And Die Trying By Django Wexler – A Book Review

I will admit that fantasy is my least favorite genre. I know that’s a sin, given the type of writing I tend to do. However, I always feel the need to challenge myself to find that one book or series that will stick with me. While there are series here and there that I like, something just doesn’t hit like it should. Which is why, when I came across Django Wexler’s How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, I had hope. I am drawn to fantasy stories that skewer and have a sense of humor about the genre. Yet, this book left me scratching my head in a few places.

Davi has been stuck in a time loop for a long while. Unsure how she met this fate, Davi wakes up in the same place when she dies: a pond where she meets an old man who is supposed to guide her. She has done everything imaginable in her previous lives except one thing—go bad.

Finally, in her two hundred and thirty-seventh life, she breaks from the norm. She kills the old man by smashing his head onto a rock and decides to start building an army to become the dark lord. She starts with a camp of orcs. Davi meets other species in her quest, including Wilders. Which are this world’s name for anthropomorphic animals who can walk and talk. Can Davi make it through her quest without dying and starting over?

How to Become The Dark Lord and Die Trying is like a Geek’s Wet Dream

Wexler’s book plays like a geek’s wet dream in more ways than one. With its time-loop story device, there’s this element of respawning and trying again and again like a videogame. However, Davi’s character herself feels a little off to me. Davi is a foul mouthed, sexually charged, bad girl in training. Who also happens to be pansexual and breaks the fourth wall like Deadpool in many situations. Which she finds herself frequently. It turns out running an army isn’t as easy as Davi thought. Making alliances and keeping enemies at bay is hard. Especially when trying to keep secret that you are human and are seen as the main enemy of the orcs and the Wilders.

Check out another Nerd Initiative Book Club Book Review, Star Wars: Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston.

Some of the choices Davi makes don’t always seem to make sense. While Wexler’s writing itself is fine, the turns the story takes don’t always seem to line up. In one instance, she remembers something from the Star Wars prequel but has trouble remembering what life was like on Earth before she left.

You can tell Davi’s inner monologue and line of reasoning are very much written by a male author. I suppose it could be justified that, after centuries of living the same life, no matter how many different paths she chooses, her perspective and mind could change. Clearly, something broke in her head if Davi decides she wants to be the bad guy. Yet, I do feel sometimes Wexler makes Davi say weird or shocking things just to do it, rather than give them substance.

Django Wexler’s book pulls from many influences, but only takes elements here and there. A damsel in distress who decides to break bad after living through a Groundhog Day-like time loop seems like an interesting concept on paper. However, this book falls a little short. This would almost be a better TV show than a book the way the chapters are broken up. Each chapter felt like serialized episodes rather than scenes broken up.

Overall Grade: 7/10

How To Become The Dark Lord and Die Trying is the first half of a duology planned by the author. The way the chapters are broken up is almost like TV episodes. While I was lukewarm on this book, this would be a fun TV show. Given that this is the first part of a duology, I feel I should reserve judgment on the story as a whole before I can fully judge it. While this was a bit of a wobbly start for me, its cliffhanger does have me interested to see how or if Davi’s journey will end.

How To Become The Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler, can be found at many different book retailers including Barnes & Noble. E book purchases are available too.

Did you read How To Become The Dark Lord And Die Trying? What did you think? Got a book you want us to review, let us know in the comments.