Davi’s been alive for probably around a thousand years at this point. She woke up one morning in a different world, and was found by a wizard that told her she has a destiny to save it. And she’s definitely tried. But she’s more than 200 lives in at this point, and the Dark Lord keeps winning.
So, on life #238, she’s had enough. And she decides she’ll become the Dark Lord.
She’s been around enough to know that the Dark Lord needs to be selected in a convocation to the north, so after a few more lives to get a feeling for the roving bands of Orcs nearby, she’s in with a band, has convinced them that she’s the Dark Lord in Waiting, and to the north they go. Naturally, there are hi-jinks.
I did enjoy this story – it’s got a surprising amount of heart amongst the dark lordy gory bits. But I think I’m having a get off my lawn moment with Davi’s voice. The story is in the first person, and Davi’s extremely stream of conscious. To a certain degree, it fits, considering everything she’s gone through, but I needed breaks. I read Books & Broadswords in one break, and started a different book of short stories in another. I’ve never been the world’s biggest fan of first person voice anyway, but this one really ran into my tolerance levels, which is admittedly very much a me problem.