Only Villains Do That: An Isekai Adventure

Only Villains Do That, Book 1

By: D. D. Webb

Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn

From the author of the Gods Are Bastards series comes a new isekai adventure, in which a man is granted sinister powers he doesn't even want.

On a typical day, on an average train platform, two warring sister goddesses found their avatars. One avatar, the young Yoshi, was swept away to the world of Ephemera to be a great hero of honor, courage, and light. The other, the not-so-young Seiji, was swept away to become a dark lord out to kill or conquer all in his path.

But Seiji is in absolutely no mood for that nonsense. It's bad enough that on Earth he was a closed-off, misanthropic grouch with zero patience for other people. Now he's supposed to muster enough of a give-a-damn to lead vile hordes, crush Yoshi, and take all of Ephemera as his own? No thanks. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a choice.

Seiji's patron goddess wants results, and if he doesn't deliver, she's going to take a serious interest in discovering his pain, suffering, and overall misery threshold. But just because he doesn't care about people, doesn't mean he doesn't care whether they suffer by his own hand. After all, just because you're the embodiment of ultimate evil doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it.

The first volume of the hit fantasy adventure series—with more than five million views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

©2024 D. D. Webb (P)2024 Podium Audio

much better than I thought it would be

First the bad

a tendency towards repetitiveness and kinda cringy at times. a little preachy too at times with his rants about society.

now the good

surprising excellent world building that didn't feel bogged down. Interesting and developed side characters.

lastly

narrator did a descent job, a little too much emotion at times and a few parts where he lost track of the accents he was trying to do but overall good.

A Pleasant Surprise

Between the narrator whose voice was perfect for these characters, the wonderfully detailed world-building, and the satisfying story that stays true to the plot premise while also giving the sense of steady (but not break-neck) progression, I have nothing to complain about whatsoever.

I had concerns because I read reviews mentioning the MC getting preachy about society and what it, but the Dark Lord is expected to monologue, and I honestly thought it was all acceptably on-brand and justified.

10/10, would listen again. Already purchased books 2 & 3.

she actually portrayed a male character pretty good.

I think it's intentional but he's such a scatter brain. no spoilers. it was a great book. I am curious what happened to the annoying girl in the beginning though.

Shockingly good

The beginning was a bit awkward for me personally, but the story really picked up steam in a way I wasn't expecting. I honestly can't imagine a different narrator for this, his voice fits certain parts perfectly.

Came for the narrator, stayed for the protagonist

In the first chapter, one of my first thoughts was that the protagonist was a self-important jerk who judged everyone around him and was rude and foul-mouthed. He was also sardonic and sarcastic in how rude he was. I was elated knowing that I'd enjoy seeing this character's character arc and development as he became slightly less of a jerk and learned to be considerate of those around him and stepped into his role as the dark lord.