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books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Dark Lord Davi 1) by Django Wexler

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Stars: 4 out of 5

I must admit that I wasn’t particularly enamoured with this novel in the beginning, because I couldn’t figure out the direction the author was taking it. Was it supposed to be satire or humor like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series? It had too many dark vibes for that. It was creating a weird dissonance in my brain. But once I got past the first few chapters and decided to go with the flow and see where the story took me, I enjoyed the journey quite a lot.

I think the biggest reason why it took me a while to warm up towards this book is Davi herself. She has a rather cavalier attitude towards life and death, especially her own. But she is also very quick to kill and maim others because she believes that once she dies and resets to the beginning, everyone will reset with her, so none of this is real.

I understand where this attitude is coming from. If you spent a thousand years dying horribly over and over again, and watching people you get attached to die no matter what you do, you either go insane or stop taking anything seriously. And I think that Davi is a bit insane by this point. Thinking that this is all just like a video game, where she can just reset to the beginning if it doesn’t work out, is her way of coping with the horrors of the situation.

And I love the fact that the further she progresses in her attempt to become the Dark Lord, the more she gets invested in the lives and well-being of her companions. And that when a certain event happens that causes a reset, she comes to the realization that her actions have consequences. That everyone who died until now will stay dead, and it’s her fault. The sheer moment of panic she had after that was very relatable.

I also loved most of the supporting characters, and even some of the villains are pretty interesting and multidimensional. The world is also fascinating. I really want to know who built the ruins where the Convocation takes place. They look a lot more advanced than anything either the humans or the wilders of this world would be capable of now.

I am not a fan of cliffhanger endings, but I can accept it in this case. After all, Davi accomplished the objective she set for herself at the beginning of the book. I am willing to wait until the next book to find out where the story takes her afterwards.

PS: My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy.

books, Dark fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews, YA

City of Stone and Silence (The Wells of Sorcery 2) by Django Wexler

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 Stars 5 out of 5.

If anything, book 2 is even better than book 1. Since the backstory and worldbuilding had already been established in book 1, we can jump right into the story here. And what story it is! We thought that just reaching the garden and surviving the Rot had been a challenge. Well it’s nothing compared to what awaits our friends from Soliton when it reaches its destination.

I love the fact that Isoka underwent tremendous character growth in the last book, and it continues here. She went from being this ruthless, unfeeling person who was only out for herself and and her sister to becoming a reluctant leader who actually cares about the people she ended up in charge of.  This change makes her a lot more relatable and, while I’m sure she had that compassion hidden deep down inside her anyway, it is slowly coming out thanks to Meroe. Meroe loves Isoka, but she also constantly challenges her and makes her take a long and harsh look at her actions. And she leads by example. My only complaint about this book is that we don’t get quite enough Meroe awesomeness. 

We also get to really meet Isoka’s sister Tori in this book. In book one, we only got a glimpse of her through Isoka’s eyes, and she seemed exactly what Isoka wanted her to be: a beautiful and innocent upper-class girl far detached from all the filth and violence of the streets. In this book, we get to live in her head as well. And we find out that she is far from innocent and definitely far from detached. The innocence is a façade that she is putting up for her sister and the retainers she’d hired, but underneath is a thoughtful and determined young lady. There is no malice in that act, mind you. Tori knows that seeing her happy and pure off the filth Isoka has to wade through every day makes her sister happy. So she gives her that happiness. Because she remembers the cold and the hunger and the brutality of the streets, and she remembers everything her big sister had to sacrifice to keep her safe.  And she loves her for it. 

I admit that Tori was the biggest surprise in this book for me. From the glimpse we had of her in book 1, she’d appeared very shallow and young. But we get to follow a young woman with a heart of gold and spine of steel in this book. I can truly say that both sisters are exceptional. I can’t wait to see them reunited at last and delivering their own brand of justice to those who wronged them.

And I can’t wait to jump into the last book in the trilogy. This is a must read. If you like a thoughtfully created world and wonderfully flawed characters, pick up this series.