Dreadful
The New York Times-bestselling sharp-witted, debut high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, evil wizards and a garlic festival - all at once. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, K. J. Parker and Travis Baldree.
It’s bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard’s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something.
It’s a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is… you.
Gav isn’t really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed.
But as he realizes that nothing – from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess – is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he’ll have to answer the hardest question of all – who does he want to be?
A high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, an evil wizard convocation, and a garlic festival. All at once. All in all, Dread Lord Gavrax has had better weeks.
It’s bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard’s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something.
It’s a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is… you.
Gav isn’t really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed.
But as he realizes that nothing – from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess – is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he’ll have to answer the hardest question of all – who does he want to be?
A high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, an evil wizard convocation, and a garlic festival. All at once. All in all, Dread Lord Gavrax has had better weeks.
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
Dreadful is yet another cozy fantasy, layered to the brim with heart and humor, as it follows Gav trying to navigate who he is versus who he wants to be.
Storytelling
I absolutely adored this book. From the beginning, we are ensconced in humor and wit as Gav wakes up with absolutely no memory of who he was, only to discover that he is the castle’s dark lord.
And he has no idea how to be one anymore.
I love Gav’s journey into discovering who he is and who he wants to be. He wants to be the hero, or at the very least, a better person, but he has no idea how.
He has a princess locked in his dungeon and no memory of how to help her other than to take her on as an apprentice to help him out of his mess.
He’s got other dark wizards breathing down his neck, goblins who really aren’t so bad fumbling at his feet, and a town he’s responsible for with a garlic festival to oversee.
It’s hilarious how clueless he is at everything, but the heartwarming part of his journey.
Gav terribly wants to get the girl and be the hero, but more importantly, he just wants to be better for himself. He’s on this journey of self-discovery for himself because when he thinks about who he is, he wants nothing to do with that person.
I love this journey of making oneself happy above all else. And, no, he doesn’t get the girl, but he gets a friend, many friends, in the process.
The dry wit that drives the narrative makes the eyebrow raises, eye rolls, and general scoffing of the characters more relatable, visual, and captivating.
Final Thoughts
Dreadful is dreadfully hilarious. It will make you smirk, facepalm, and laugh from beginning to end.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
A laugh-out-loud cozy fantasy, Dreadful has a charming (if not idiotic) wizard with amnesia and a princess who puts him to shame.
Dreadful is yet another cozy fantasy, layered to the brim with heart and humor, as it follows Gav trying to navigate who he is versus who he wants to be.
Storytelling
I absolutely adored this book. From the beginning, we are ensconced in humor and wit as Gav wakes up with absolutely no memory of who he was, only to discover that he is the castle’s dark lord.
And he has no idea how to be one anymore.
I love Gav’s journey into discovering who he is and who he wants to be. He wants to be the hero, or at the very least, a better person, but he has no idea how.
He has a princess locked in his dungeon and no memory of how to help her other than to take her on as an apprentice to help him out of his mess.
He’s got other dark wizards breathing down his neck, goblins who really aren’t so bad fumbling at his feet, and a town he’s responsible for with a garlic festival to oversee.
It’s hilarious how clueless he is at everything, but the heartwarming part of his journey.
Gav terribly wants to get the girl and be the hero, but more importantly, he just wants to be better for himself. He’s on this journey of self-discovery for himself because when he thinks about who he is, he wants nothing to do with that person.
I love this journey of making oneself happy above all else. And, no, he doesn’t get the girl, but he gets a friend, many friends, in the process.
The dry wit that drives the narrative makes the eyebrow raises, eye rolls, and general scoffing of the characters more relatable, visual, and captivating.
Final Thoughts
Dreadful is dreadfully hilarious. It will make you smirk, facepalm, and laugh from beginning to end.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
I liked this book. This is more what I was expecting Assistant to the Villain to be.
I love a good redemption arc! Was it ridiculous? Yes. Was it fluffy? Yes. But it was cute and cozy and I find I like that genre from time to time.
Super repetitive and I just couldn’t care about the characters. Such a great premise that just wasn’t well executed. DNF
4.5
Rating based on how much this book made me audibly laugh. I had hoped this would be fun and maybe similar to T. Kingfisher's twisty takes on fantasy, and I think it delivered on both fronts. Predictable elements and tropes are played with and commented on without losing the sense of being an actual story with characters living in it. The stakes are high, the characters are nuanced and charming, and the humor worked well for me. I enjoyed the audiobook, but if you don't like male narrators doing female voices then you're in for a bit of a rough one.
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Death
Rating based on how much this book made me audibly laugh. I had hoped this would be fun and maybe similar to T. Kingfisher's twisty takes on fantasy, and I think it delivered on both fronts. Predictable elements and tropes are played with and commented on without losing the sense of being an actual story with characters living in it. The stakes are high, the characters are nuanced and charming, and the humor worked well for me. I enjoyed the audiobook, but if you don't like male narrators doing female voices then you're in for a bit of a rough one.
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Death
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