Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me

, #2

Paperback, 384 pages

English language

Published May 27, 2025 by Orbit.

ISBN:
978-0-316-39240-2
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
1455105202
ASIN:
0316392405
Goodreads:
218372383
(1 review)

Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously bloody conclusion to the Dark Lord Davi duology.

After countless failures (let’s not dwell on it), Davi has finally saved the kingdom from evil–by becoming the Dark Lord herself. But now, the hordes of wilders are at her command, and they still want blood. Human blood. And Davi’s not sure she can commit to the total extermination of humanity.

With restless armies at her doorstep, a treasonous duke scheming for power, and the legend of an ancient magician looming over her shoulder, Davi must find a way towards peace and uncover the truth behind her time loop if she is to bring harmony to the kingdom. Also, her girlfriend is mad at her. So, there’s that too.

5 editions

Fun take on "Chosen One" fantasy

After Davi becomes Dark Lord, she leaves her horde in the hands of Mari and heads to the Kingdom to see if she can broker a peace between the wilders and humans. Humans in power don't really want peace though. And neither do most of the wilders Davi has left behind. And behind all of it is the question as to why she kept being reborn whenever she died, with the same mission to save humans every time.

A fun plot and the characters are still fun. Wexler intersperses the story with lots of bawdy, footnoted asides. But not as good as the first book, sadly. I think that's because the first book didn't need to answer the questions. The final book kind of needs to, and those answers are too convoluted, and only hold together if I didn't think too hard about them. Still fun, so it gets a …