A Practical Guide to Evil I

A Practical Guide to Evil, Book 1

By: David Verburg

Narrated by: Amber Dekkers

The Empire stands triumphant.

For twenty years, the Dread Empress has ruled over the lands that were once the Kingdom of Callow, but behind the scenes of this golden age, threats to the empire are rising.

The nobles of the Wasteland weave their plots behind pleasant smiles while rebellion stirs beyond Peren Woods, for dreams of crowns were buried in shallow graves. The greatest danger of all lies to the west, where the First Prince of Procer restored order at last: her people sundered, she ponders if a crusade might not be the way to secure her reign.

Yet none of this matters, for in the heart of the conquered lands, the most dangerous man alive sat across an orphan girl and offered her a knife.

Her name is Catherine Foundling, and she has a plan.

©2025 David Verburg (P)2025 Dreamscape Lore

Doing wrong, right

I’ve loved this series since I first encountered it several years ago as a web serial and I’m excited to be able to experience it again.

My sole dislike with this performance has to be the narrator. She’s not unpleasant to listen to, but doesn’t offer much in the way of differentiation between characters. Also, repeatedly hearing “legionnaire” pronounced as “legion airy” unlocked a new pet peeve.

amazong start to the series

great fun book. fun and full of action. love the meta narrative elemets, consistent world, and magical system. a great base book and start of one of the best series ever.

found family
meta elements
brain over brawn
villain as protagonist

So happy this finally got published!

I absolutely LOVE this series. Book 1 starts with a bang and it just gets better and better. The audiobook is incredible too, well done to the voice actor.

I recommend PGTE to everyone that likes books regardless of genre. It’s fun, creative, deep, funny and edge-of-your-seat exciting.

Very good

I liked the premise after reading about how popular the web serial this is. The audiobook didn't disappoint, as it's a good introduction to some interesting worldbuilding and solid story arc for this first book; especially with the internal struggles Catherine must face about her goals, the means she's taking to achieve it, and the ways it can make her a traitor to her own people.

Still one of my favorite books

I'm so excited that this is finally an audiobook. The new plot and edits work really well and the narrator did a good job. Can't wait for the next book!

Pretty good

I usually don't like Villen MC stories, but this one was pretty good, but I did have to be in the right mood to enjoy it.

There were some mispronounced words, bit over all I enjoyed the narration.

This book is both story and a commentary

A practical guide to evil does a good job of cutting the line in having a story about stories and still having its own plot if that confuses you read it it’s worth it

What if the characters knew they were in a story?

Plays with story tropes in a really fun way, allowing the characters to manipulate events by leaning into or avoiding common narrative elements. Good world-building, quick-witted humor, and characters you’ll love (and love to hate).

The debut of the best fantasy writer of the age

Practical guide to evil is obviously a first work, and falls into a lot of common beginner errors.

It is also obviously the work of an unparalleled genius at storytelling, one who knows how to express the core of human experience in its full breadth and diversity.

This will be the start of the best fantasy series you have ever read. Make sure to savor it.