Tag: Fantasy

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Book: “The Witchstone” by Henry H. Neff

Publishing Info: Blackstone Publishing Inc, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Meet Laszlo, eight-hundred-year-old demon and Hell’s least productive Curse Keeper. From his office beneath Midtown, he oversees the Drakeford Curse, which involves a pathetic family upstate and a mysterious black stone. It’s a sexy enough assignment—colonial origins, mutating victims, et cetera—but Laszlo has no interest in maximizing the curse’s potential; he’d rather sunbathe in Ibiza, quaff martinis, and hustle the hustlers on Manhattan’s subway. Unfortunately, his division has new management, and Laszlo’s ratings are so abysmal that he’s given six days to shape up or he’ll be melted down and returned to the Primordial Ooze.

Meet Maggie Drakeford, nineteen-year-old Curse Bearer. All she’s ever known is the dreary corner of the Catskills where the Drakeford Curse has devoured her father’s humanity and is rapidly laying claim to her own. The future looks hopeless, until Laszlo appears at the Drakeford farmhouse one October night and informs them that they have six days—and six days only—to break the spell before it becomes permanent. Can Maggie trust the glib and handsome Laszlo? Of course not. But she also can’t pass up an opportunity to save her family, even if it means having a demon as a guide …

Thus begins a breakneck international adventure that takes our unlikely duo from a hot dog stand in Central Park to the mountains of Liechtenstein, a five-star hotel in Zurich, and even the time-traveling vault of a demonic crime boss. As the clock ticks down, tough-as-nails Maggie and conniving Laszlo will uncover a secret so profound that what began as a farcical quest to break a curse will eventually threaten the very Lords of Hell.

Review: So, I was feeling fairly positive about this book when I first requested it, as it was one of two, similar-sounding books that I had slotted for review this spring. Unfortunately, the other one was “How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying” which…I didn’t love. Even worse, that was the one I had more confidence in simply because I’d read other books by the author that I’d enjoyed. On the other hand, this one was largely an unknown. But I’m happy to report that this one came through in every way I wanted!

There’s so much to love about this book, it’s hard to know where to start! But let’s first touch on the world-building and overall tone of the story. I don’t want this review to turn into a 1:1 comparison between this and “Dark Lord,” but this was one aspect of the storytelling that was starkly different between the two. Where the latter was banging the reader over the head with “jokes,” this one had a much better balance between its humor and the other notes the story was hitting. And, notably, when it was funny, it was actually, you know, funny. There were numerous points where I was laughing out loud, even in the middle of otherwise horrifying scenes. Much of this comes down to Lazlo himself, who was an enigma of narcissism, snobbery, and secretly, a being who cared about those around him, despite himself, almost. He is the kind of character that is just a riot to travel through a story alongside.

But, importantly, while the comedic aspects were on point, the laughs, and Lazlo himself, were counterbalanced by the much more serious “straight man” character, Maggie. It is her story where the heart of the plot really lies, the curse that her family has suffered through, and her determination to finally bring it to an end. She was the perfect foil to Lazlo, as well as an avatar to the reader, seeing this world of demons and magic for the first time as well (curse itself aside).

There were also notable side characters, including a work colleague of Lazlo’s, a demon with a shark’s head, who was frankly hilarious. As well as Maggie’s younger brother, Lump, the sort of encyclopedic “smart kid” character who could have quickly fallen into clichés and not much else. Indeed, when we were first introduced to this character and his gimmick, I pretty much dismissed him. But as the story continued, the author included several very heart-felt scenes between brother and sister that solidified Lump as a fully-realized character in his own right. Even down to the simple, child-like fact that he didn’t like Maggie swearing.

The pacing and plotting were also tight throughout. The story drew me in immediately and we were quickly off to the races, travelling through New York and into Europe to track down the curse-breaking components. However, the action never overwhelmed the character arcs at the heart of the story, and the author always managed to neatly transition from focus to the other. And things ultimately came to a head with a true “final battle” type climax at the end of the book where the fantastical elements became larger-than-life.

I loved this book, and it was such a surprise! This is exactly what I was looking for in the realm of fantasy and comedy combined. Notably, while it was funny, it was also heartfelt, tragic, and touched on the twisted nature of different family dynamics. I definitely recommend this one to pretty much all fantasy fans, especially those who are looking for a good dose of humor in their story.

Rating 9: Fantastic! Fast-paced, hilarious, but full of heart!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Witchstone” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet but it should be on Humorous Fantasy Novels.

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Book: “The God and the Gumiho” by Sophie Kim

Publishing Info: Del Rey, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Kim Hani has retired from a life of devouring souls. She is, simply put, too full. Once known as the infamous Scarlet Fox, she now spends her days working in a coffee shop and annoying a particularly irritating, if unfairly handsome, trickster god as often as she can.

That god is Seokga the Fallen. Exiled from the heavenly kingdom of Okhwang, he now begrudgingly resides in the mortal realm, working toward his redemption and suffering through his interactions with the particularly infuriating, if sneakily charming, gumiho barista at his favorite café.

But when a powerful demon escapes from the underworld and threatens to end all of humanity, Okhwang’s emperor offers Seokga an enticing bargain: Kill this rogue creature, as well as the legendary and elusive Scarlet Fox, and he will be reinstated as a god. Hani, however, has no intention of being caught. Seokga might be a trickster god, but she has a trick of her own that he’ll never see coming: teaming up. As Seokga’s assistant, Hani will undermine and sabotage his investigation right under his overly pointy nose. Sure, she’ll help him kill the demon, but she certainly won’t allow him to uncover her secret identity while they’re at it.

As the bickering partners track their case down a path of mayhem and violence, the god and the gumiho find themselves inescapably drawn to each other. But will the unlikely couple stand together to prevent the apocalypse, or will they let their secrets tear them—and the world—apart?

Review: I was very excited when I received an ARC from the publisher for this book! Right off the bat, it has a lot of things going for it: combining urban fantasy and South Korean mythology, and then setting the story in the early 90s. Looking at all of that, it was easy to see that this book was going to be lots of vibes all mashed together. Add in an enemies-to-lovers romance, and yeah, easy to see why I was excited. Let’s get into the full review!

While I had a lot of hopes for this book, it didn’t all come together quite like I wished. But there was still a lot to like about it, and I do think there are many readers out there who will enjoy it. Let’s start with some of the good stuff! I’ve had some exposure to South Korean mythology in other fantasy books, but I’m by no means an expert. In that regard, some of the fantasy elements were just familiar enough that I felt like I understood this world easily, but were still exploring new dynamics and aspects of the mythology that felt completely fresh. Even the familiar elements were twisted into new forms that were intriguing.

I also thought the writing was approachable and easy to read. While I think it was a tad simplistic at times, especially with regards to characterization, it shone as far as pacing and fast-paced storytelling. The reader will be quickly drawn into this world, and the story will catch them up for the ride from there. As a reader who often focuses on characterization above most other elements, it speaks to the readability of the style of writing that I finished this one up fairly quickly even though I wasn’t connecting to the main characters.

Now, as I’ve mentioned, I did struggle with the characters themselves, both separately and as a couple. From the romance angle, I was left wanting right away when I realized that the “enemies” portion of their relationship came from a mess up in a coffee order. Now, I get that this is played for humorous effect, but it just didn’t work for me. We’re talking about centuries-old beings here with untold powers; the fact that they are equally ridiculous about this minor altercation doesn’t speak well of either of them. And it simply wasn’t as funny as it was clearly meant to be.

Things didn’t really improve from there. On one hand, we have a trickster god, and yet I barely ever felt this aspect of his personality. Instead, he was very much the “grumpy” side of the relationship, and the chaos aspect of what I imagine from trickster gods was nowhere to be found. As for Hani, we learn early in the story that she has been in hiding for decades now after committing a mass murder for which she is still being hunted today. We’re told that she is incredibly clever to have avoided capture for so long. But again, right from the beginning, we see her making choices that clearly give away her past. In one notable example, when choosing a weapon, she immediately picks the type of weapon that her wanted identity was most known for using. And, predictably, this is what begins to alert the hero to her past. It’s just…kind of silly. And there were multiple instances of things like this for both characters, where we are told they have certain traits, but the actual choices and behaviors we see on the page directly contradict this. And, again, I could never get past some of the ridiculousness and immaturity of characters are are hundreds of years old.

Overall, this was just an ok read for me. The readability of the style of writing and some of the more fun aspects of the world-building were enough to pull me through this read fairly quickly. But throughout it all, I struggled to connect to these characters or become invested in their love story. If you’re looking for a fresh-feeling urban fantasy, this might be one worth checking out, however!

Rating 7: A fun concept and world were dampened a bit by characters who I found more ridiculous than not most of the time.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The God and the Gumiho” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Asian SSF and Adult SFF by BIPOC Authors.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Mirrored Heavens” by Rebecca Roanhorse

Publishing Info: Saga Press, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.

And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.

Previously Reviewed: “Black Sun” and “Fevered Star”

Review: This was on my list back in January for most highly anticipated books of the year, and we’re finally here. So many massive events that have been slowly building up over the course of this series will be resolved! Prophesies will be either fulfilled or thrown off! And, most importantly for my romance-loving-heart, Serapio and Xiala will finally reunite (unless something goes wildly off track!). And while I do think there were a few weakness to the overall book here and there, in the ways that truly counted, this was a successful conclusion to an excellent trilogy!

I’ll say right now that, as a whole, I think this series is excellent. However, it did take an interesting trajectory as far as my experience reading each individual book. Looking back at my reviews, I gave a “10” to the first book, a “9” to the second, and this one is an “8.” Luckily, since it started out as the very top, even if each book dropped a bit in my estimation, that still left plenty of room to be solidly good reads. The main reason for the drop for this one had to do with the balancing of the various characters (their arcs and POVs) as well as the pacing towards the end of the book. Because of this former point, I think that readers’ reception of this book will largely come down to which characters are their favorite.

From the beginning, I’ve been here mostly for Xiala and Serapio’s stories, both individually and as a couple. And luckily for me, both of these two were done best by in this last book. Xiala, especially, was really given some of the best elements of this story. Not only do we finally make it back to her homeland, but we learn more about her connection to the ocean and her abilities (something that we barely touched on in the second book, really). Not only must she learn to wield these powers (game-changingly powerful abilities, as it turns out!), but she also travels an interesting arc of coming into her own as a princess and leader of her people, something she’s been fleeing from for most of her adult life. There was some real tragedy in this portion of the story, but we also get some of the best action sequences, as well.

I also loved seeing her and Serapio finally (FINALLY!) reunited. Both of these characters are excellent in their own right, but even some of the other side characters comment on the fact that they both seem to become fuller versions of themselves together. Theirs is a relationship built on radical acceptance, and it’s especially gratifying seeing it play out for Serapio, a person who is held at a distance by literally everyone else around him for his godly persona. For his part, Serapio’s story is once again wrapped up in a prophesy, one that he must fulfill in order to win the coming war. Some of this began to feel a bit like filler, but because Serapio’s personal story and arc is so compelling, the character himself brought a sense of gravitas to a plot line that could have felt superficial at times.

Unfortunately, the book begins to fall apart a bit when it comes to the many other POV characters. Most unexpectedly, this carries over to Naranpa, the third main character who has shared equal billing with Xiala and Serapio up to this point. By the time I finished up this book, I was frankly left a bit baffled by this character and her story here (both in this book, and, by extension, the entire trilogy). She’s off on a side quest throughout most of the book, and by the time it wraps up, I’m not sure what the point even was? It’s honestly a bit hard to describe just how little there was for this character to do, especially without getting into spoilers. It seems like it may be building up in one direction, but then just…doesn’t. And then it’s over and the reader is left wondering whether they would have even noticed had Naranpa’s storyline been excluded altogether? Pretty shocking stuff for a character who had been equally as important as Serapio and Xiala in the first two books.

While this was the most egregious example, primarily because of Naranpa’s positioning as a main character from the first two books, the unnecessary POVs carried over to other characters as well. For example, we get numerous chapters told from the villain’s perspective. Now, some of these take place in the past and thus serve to flesh out the history behind Serapio’s birth/creation. But, at the same time, again, much of what we got here felt rather unnecessary. Especially any of the chapters set in the modern time period. I simply didn’t need as much exposure to this character, and, given the way the story builds and concludes, there were no twists or swerves that would retroactively make these inclusions worth while.

Lastly, the pacing of the major conflict felt a bit off. Xiala’s storyline is the main point of action for the first two thirds of the books. All of the other characters are following much more passive arcs, mostly spending time looking ahead to and positioning various pieces for the the great battle that is coming. I can’t emphasize enough just how much time is spent discussing and preparing for this conflict, how great the scale is meant to be, how insurmountable the odds our heroes face. And yet, when it actually comes, everything sort of falls flat. Again, I don’t want to spoil how it resolves, but given how much time is spent building to this moment, by the time it arrives, the reader would be excused for getting through it all all before realizing that it is, in fact, now already over.

So, a bit of a dour note to end on, but I don’t want that to tint the rest of the positives of this book and this trilogy as a whole. While there were definitely flaws in this last book, it also concluded in an extremely satisfactory way, especially if you’re fans of Serapio and Xiala. The world-building remained excellent throughout, and the author’s sheer skill as a writer is not to be underestimated. I definitely recommend this trilogy to any fantasy fans out there looking for a high quality, unique story!

Rating 8: Not without some flaws with regards to pacing and certain character POVs, but an excellent resolution to the trilogy as a whole.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Mirrored Heavens” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Ancient Mesoamerica Books and Polynesian and Native American Fantasy.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Daughter of the Merciful Deep” by Leslye Penelope

Publishing Info: Redhook, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: “Our home began, as all things do, with a wish.”

Jane Edwards hasn’t spoken since she was eleven years old, when armed riders expelled her family from their hometown along with every other Black resident. Now, twelve years later, she’s found a haven in the all-Black town of Awenasa. But the construction of a dam promises to wash her home under the waters of the new lake.

Jane will do anything to save the community that sheltered her. So, when a man with uncanny abilities arrives in town asking strange questions, she wonders if he’s might be the key. But as the stranger hints at gods and ancestral magic, Jane is captivated by a bigger mystery. She knows this man. Only the last time she saw him, he was dead. His body laid to rest in a rushing river.

Who is the stranger and what is he really doing in Awenasa? To find those answers, Jane will journey into a sunken world, a land of capricious gods and unsung myths, of salvation and dreams made real. But the flood waters are rising. To gain the miracle she desires, Jane will have to find her voice again and finally face the trauma of the past.

Review: I’ve read several books by this author in the past. I started out with her original world, high fantasy trilogy, and very much liked that. But I have also enjoyed the swerve towards historical fiction that she’s now taken, incorporating fantasy and magical elements alongside stories that very much tackle the cultures and issues of specific points in history. Her last one, “The Monsters We Defy,” was set in the 1920s, and while the story was made up of many elements (including a heist!) the jazz movement and its place in Black history was very central to the story. All of this to say, that I was very excited when I saw that in this book she was going to tackle an even lesser known point in history: that of the drowned towns of the South.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. It manages to fit a lot of excellent historical information into a narrative that is still very character-focused, all told through the eyes of our leading lady. For her part, Jane is a sympathetic character, a young woman who has suffered greatly, but throughout the course of this book, rediscovers her own power and sets a course not only for herself but for her entire community. There’s also a very sweet romance included, something that this author often incorporates in her stories, much to my appreciation!

I will say that the book did struggle a bit with pacing, however. The start to this story is fairly slow, with very little actually happening for much of the first half of the book. For readers of historical fiction, however, this may be less of an issue. The story is definitely following more genre conventions for historical fiction in this half, with its detailed focus on the details of this time and place. Readers who were more intrigued by the fantasy elements, however, have a while to wait for these to truly show up. And then when they did, I feel like a little more could have been done to blend these fantasy elements into the previously established historical setting. The reader is left to take much of them magical stuff at face value and just go with it.

I also appreciated the author’s note that was included at the end. For whatever reason, I’ve gotten into the habit of flipping to the back of books to read the author’s note before I even start, and yet again, I feel like this method has paid off. I had vague knowledge of the sunken towns, already. I grew up in a town next to a large, dammed reservoir; though no towns were destroyed in its making, the concept of drowned towns was always a morbid point of curiosity to a population that went about its day in the shadow of a huge dam like this. But I appreciated the greater detail I received in this author’s note, which went on to further enrich my reading experience as the characters confront this looming danger. Perhaps some of the plotting was a bit predictable, here, but at the same time, the characters were compelling enough that this wasn’t a problem for me. Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a lighter focus on fantasy should definitely give this one a go!

Rating 7: A bit disjointed in its balancing of genre conventions between fantasy and historical fiction, but the strength of the historical topic and the compelling characters still made it a worth while read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Daughter of the Merciful Deep” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2024 Adult Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative Releases by BIPOC Authors

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Foul Days” by Genoveva Dimova

Publishing Info: Tor, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: As a witch in the walled city of Chernograd, Kosara has plenty of practice taming rusalkas, fighting kikimoras, and brewing lycanthrope repellent. There’s only one monster Kosara can’t defeat: her ex the Zmey, known as the Tsar of Monsters. She’s defied him one too many times, and now he’s hunting her. Betrayed to him by someone close to her, Kosara’s only hope is to trade her shadow―the source of her powers―for illegal passage across the Wall to Belograd, where monsters can’t follow.

Life in Belograd should be sweet, but Kosara soon develops a fast-acting version of the deadly wasting sickness that stalks shadowless witches―and only reclaiming her magic can cure her. To trace her shadow, she’ll have to team up with the suspiciously honorable detective investigating the death of the smuggler who brought her across the Wall.

Even worse than working with the cops is that all the clues point in a single direction: one of the Zmey’s monsters has found a crack in the Wall, and Kosara’s magic is now in the Zmey’s hands.

The clock is ticking, the hunt is on, and Kosara’s priorities should be clear―but is she the hunter or the hunted? And in a city where everyone is out for themselves, who can Kosara trust to assist her in outwitting the man―the Monster―she’s never been able to escape alone?

Review: This one caught my eyes easily with its arresting cover. It’s not quite like anything I’d seen before, which immediately drew me in. Then, when reading the book description, I had two thoughts: 1.) this story sounds all over the place and 2.) it could be really awesome if it all comes together right! And, to spoil my entire review now, it was definitely the latter!

Let’s start with the world-building and fantasy elements. Right from the start, the atmosphere of this world was pervasive as well as intriguing. We feel the fear and dread of Kosara’s city, a place plagued by monsters for a brief window of time every year. It is cold, grey, but her home, and one that she loves and will do anything to protect. As the book description mentions, she then travels to the city beyond the wall, a place vibrant and full of life, having safely locked away its troubles (and seemingly all thoughts of trouble) behind a tidy wall. The contrast is stark and we feel Kosara’s bewilderment at the difference. I enjoyed the complicated nature of her feelings about these people and this place, comparing and contrasting it with her own home, with its very different culture and priorities. At the same time, the hardships of her home are not romanticized.

I also really enjoyed the various monsters we encounter throughout this book. At first, it felt like we weren’t really getting much page time or action with these monsters, instead hearing more about Kosara’s experiences in the past dealing with these beings. But as the pacing ramps up, about a third of the way into the story, we start to get some truly action-packed scenes, full of horror and excitement. Truly, it’s been a while since I’ve read a fantasy story that so effectively pulled me into these sort of scenes; I often found myself on the edge of my seat, wondering how Kosara and Asen were going to escape.

As for Kosara herself, man, she has to be one of my new favorite leading ladies of the year! On her own right, she’s a strong, independent character who is used to going it alone. Her past is rife with trials and mistakes, all of which have lead her to distrust those around her, sometimes to the detriment of her own situation and any burgeoning relationships she’s trying to form. In this way, her relationship with Asen is particularly interesting. Even as she slowly begins to trust and like him more, the habits of a hard life are difficult to fully shed, and we see her continuously struggle against her own worst tendencies and to have to later deal with the repercussions of these choices. I also really enjoyed the slow-burn romance between them. It’s very, very much a backburner part of the story, however, so readers shouldn’t go into it expecting much on this front. For me, however, this is almost the exact level of romance I look for in my preferred fantasy reads: it’s there, it has sweet moments, it has a lot of potential, but it’s not the main point of the story.

What’s more, much of the character arch of this story is tied up in Kosara’s relationship with the antagonist of the story, her ex, the monster, the Zmey. This was simply fantastic. For one thing, it’s a nice rebuttal (perhaps too strong of word, maybe “counterbalance” would be better) to the many fantasy romances out there where the male love interest can often come across (or actually be!) quite abusive (usually emotionally or verbally). Here, we see the after effects on a woman who escaped an abusive relationship. What’s more, we see the ongoing challenges of being exposed to this sort of person, the way their power over their victim can remain, despite escape, despite “knowing better.” Kosara can recognize the dangers and abusive tactics of the Zmey, but she can also understand why women keep coming to him, and why she, herself, still feels drawn to him, despite all of this. It was all supremely well done, and not a subject I see covered this well very often. This is the dark side of the “but I can change him” story that we often see go the other way.

As you can tell, I loved this book! I started out this review thinking to give it a “9” on my rating scale, but now after writing about it, I realize I haven’t come up with a single criticism, and indeed, spent a good chunk of time talking about how rarely good it is at covering some its themes. If that’s not a “10” rated book, I don’t know what it! I highly recommend this to all fantasy readers, especially those who enjoy Naomi Novik, Margaret Rogerson, or Emily Lloyd-Jones!

Rating 10: Fantastic in every sense of the word, with a world brimming with magic and peopled with characters you can’t but fall in love with!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Foul Days” can be found on these Goodreads lists: The Most Beautiful Covers of 2024 and Eastern European Fantasy.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying” by Django Wexler

Publishing Info: Orbit, May 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: 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.

Review: This book had a lot of things going for it when I first picked it up. For one thing, I’ve really enjoyed all of the books I’ve read from Django Wexler in the past, including his most recent trilogy which just finished up a year or so ago. So he’s an author I’ve read recently and enjoyed. Secondly, I typically enjoy fantasy novels that take a comedic, tongue-in-cheek approach to storytelling. T. Kingfisher, for example, is one of my current favorite authors, and all of her books have a distinct humorous aspect to them. All of this to say, when I actually started reading this one, I had high hopes. But by the time I’d finished the last page (a feat unto itself, honestly), those hopes had thoroughly crashed and burned.

I can see the bones of a good story here, and I know that Wexler is a capable author, able to create unique worlds and people them with characters with whom readers can become invested. However, this book seemed to fall into one simple problem in almost every arena: excess. Take any single good idea, but then see that thing multiplied by a million. This applies to every area, but the first and most obvious has to do with the humor itself. It simply doesn’t let up! It’s joke after joke after joke in what quickly becomes an exhausting exercise of pure endurance. The reader is never given the necessary moments to really sit with the characters, to take any sort of breath and find a reason to actually care about the people and what they’re going through. Instead, it’s just a barrage of quips and takes.

One clear example is the use of footnotes. Now, I think this technique can be very successful if used well. But one of the key parts, in my opinion, is knowing exactly when and how to use a good footnote. Here, not only did these fall into the same category of used to excess, but the notes themselves were simply the same sorts of jokes found in the narrative. There was no rhyme or reason to why certain quips warranted a foot note and why another would simply be inserted into the body of the story.

Other than the sheer amount of humor that was packed into this book, much of it failed to land on its own merits. I don’t consider myself prudish by any means, but right off the bat, many of the jokes felt overly crude and crass. At many points, it felt like shock value was being prioritized over actual humor, and I found myself cringing more than anything through much of this.

As for the plot mechanics, I liked the overall idea of a “Groundhog’s Day”/video game scenario where whenever the main character dies she “respawns” at the same starting point and must make her way forward from there once again. But this quickly became tiresome, and in the beginning of the book, much of this history is simply presented to the reader, something our main character is already resigned to. Again, the reader has very few opportunities to truly become invested in her situation.

By the time I finished this book, all that remained was sheer exhaustion. I know that Wexler can write good fantasy; I even know that he can write humorously, as most of his novels included good, quippy characters who made me laugh. I’m not sure what went wrong here. It’s almost like he set out with the goal to right a comedic book and got so carried away with this one feature that he left out all of the rest. I honestly can’t recommend this one to most readers. Perhaps if you read the first page or so and the style of humor is working for you? But for most readers, I think this is a severe departure from the quality of Wexler’s previous books.

Rating 5: The jokes didn’t land and there were too many of them; a very disappointing read.

Reader’s Advisory:

“How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best Outside-the-box Speculative Fiction (maybe not “best” though).