Preview
  • How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

  • By: Django Wexler
  • Narrated by: Jeanette Illidge
  • Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (141 ratings)

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How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

By: Django Wexler
Narrated by: Jeanette Illidge
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Publisher's summary

Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler’s laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

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.

Burningblade & Silvereye

Ashes of the Sun

Blood of the Chosen

Emperor of Ruin

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Django Wexler (P)2024 Orbit

Critic reviews

“All hail Dark Lord Davi! How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is outrageously fun, filled with campy humor, action and unexpected warm-heartedness. I grinned from the first page to the last.”—Fonda Lee, author of Jade City

"Wickedly sharp, funny, and raunchy. Wexler delights in punching holes in the beloved cliches of fantasy, and I adore this. If you ever thought: if I was the villain, I'd actually be smart about things, then this is the book for you."—Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings

"All-afterburners Isekai adventure—twisty, pacey, and full of reverent irreverence for fantasy. I can't get enough."—Max Gladstone, New York Times Bestselling Author

What listeners say about How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

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Excellent work all around

Never have I ever enjoyed a book so much. Get your ears; eyes, brain to this now..

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loved it

An entertaining story from start to finish, it takes classic fantasy tropes and plays them straight, upside down, and inside out in an irreverent perspective from the most jaded protagonist you've ever heard from.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Isekai in book form

if you've watched any isekai anime, then nothing here is going to suprise you.
I enjoyed the funny inner dialogue of the protagonist at first but it got tedious by the end.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Well Written LitRPG

I'll admit I was a bit disappointed with the book. Overall, it's a better than average LitRPG-type story. The main character Davi can be rather annoying--and the one thing that didn't make sense to me is Davi estimates that she's 1000 years old after all the re-boots, but she continues to speak in modern colloquialisms/references even though she certainly knows no one will understand them.

Parts of it were a little slow, but the last third of the book redeems the story.

I was excited for this book based on reviews on Booktok, but it's not my favorite work by this author (Well of Sorcery holds that spot).

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humor

It was ridiculously funny, the writing, the delivery, *chef's kiss*If you like dark sarcastic humor then this is for you.

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So Good

to be bad! This is a snark, action-packed adventure with an awesome female MC! She's dying to be the the Dark Lord and it's so much FUN! The reader was PERFECT and I hope this is only the first book about our "hero"! Will definitely re-read this new classic.

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Very fun and exciting

The narrator performance was one of the best I’ve ever heard. She brings a new level of life to both the characters and story that is rarely seen. The story itself is a magnificent blend of an interesting new world, fun and full characters, humor, dark trauma, and interesting hooks and plot twists. One of my new favorite books.

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Great story, fun characters, entertaining narration

Great narrator. Very entertaining and funny, while still having great world building, plot, characters, and dialogue.

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I just liked the story

Like I said, just liked the story. I listened to it every chance I had. Want book two.

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Ridiculous in the best possible way!

First this book was not as gory as I feared it would be. yes there is a lot of blood and death but it didn't feel gratuitous. and there is a lot of discussion about sex but all of the sex scenes fade to black before anything beyond kissing happens. mostly it's funny and about how ridiculous life can be. there are still a lot of questions that haven't been answered but it ends in a satisfying place. can't wait for the next book!

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2 people found this helpful