Mid-Lich Crisis

By: Steve Thomas

Narrated by: C.J. McAllister

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

An evil wizard has a midlife crisis.

Is trying to sacrifice your estranged wife to a bloodthirsty demon an irredeemable act of evil? This is the sort of question the Dread Wizard Darruk Darkbringer struggles with. After being called evil one too many times, Darruk sets off to find a new purpose in his life and become a beloved celebrity. Can a dark wizard come to terms with himself and prove to the world that a few atrocities don’t define who he is? You’ll feel guilty for laughing at his twisted tale of self-discovery.

©2019 Steve Thomas (P)2020 Steve Thomas

Hilariously Funny

The title grabbed my attention, I was determined to buy this book after reading the first two sentences of its description, moved it to the top of my listening list, and have listened to it all weekend. Wow, I kept laughing so hard throughout this book that I wish the second book was out because I’d get it immediately.

The story is about a misunderstood Lich (dead mage) trying to better himself in order to save the world, while being foiled and often killed by his nemesis. The satirical elements are so accurate and well done that you have to laugh at them. This definitely a credit worth spending!

Great Comedy!

Darruk isn't evil. He's misunderstood. Er, maybe. I already enjoyed this in book form. C.J. McAllister brought a good deal to the telling with a great performance. Great timing. Everything you want in a comedic fantasy romp!

Different and funny

This is a look at life from the POV of the villain. Our protagonist believes he is saving the world, but everyone else disagrees. The narrator was good and made it easy to distinguish who is speaking. Definitely worth a listen.

Mid-Book Crisis

love evil main characters/anti-heroes!

It's a cool concept, and pretty well written:
the dialog feels natural,
most characters have a well-differentiated voice,
and there's enough exposition to flesh out the world without taking away from the action.

However, this book was a bit too satirical for me, and the plot a bit too whimsical - I couldn't take it seriously and found the journey lacked tension.

Is it fair for me to mark a book that's tagged with 'Humorous' down for being too funny? Maybe not, but I was in the mood for something a bit more serious. If you were too, here are a couple of books with a similar feeling but a more gripping plot:

Overlord - The Protagonist is a normal person who gets reincarnated as the Overlord Lich, with loyal, adoring minions he has to hide his incompetence from.
Demons of Astlan - A kid smoking weed has an out-of-body experience and gets summoned into another world as a demon.
Waldo Rabbit - An e-word mage has to go on a coming of age journey, committing evil deeds to bring honor to his family, but he turns out to not be very good at being the e-word.

3 words describes this book

Those 3 words. are "What the *** ?" Very strange , disturbed and warped book

Drop dead and regroup!

To describe this book I'll use TWO 'E words.' Eminently Enjoyable! I know Darruk Darkbringer and his gang would, most likely, beat me to death and sell my pancreas on Ye Olde Ebay, but hooray for the anti-hero! Also, the turning point (no hints) in this book is laughable and such-a-guy thing. You know who you are 😈 Thoroughly recommended.

I hope we'll hear more from Steve Thomas

I enjoyed this book a lot and I hope we'll get to hear more of Darruk Darkbringer's adventures.

Funny and interesting

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a pretty good book. I liked the dark humor in it and I love the fact that it was about a "dead" person who was misunderstood trying to find his way in life. Talk about a different type of book and a strange idea for a plot!

Fun Story To Listen To

Great narrator for a wild and unpredictable story. Nice departures from standard fantasy stereotypes and makes evil look good, if not just a little misguided!

not as funny as I hoped

the description suggested funny satire with cruelty in misunderstanding I found very little of that in this book it tried to hit on some but fell short

A fun listen

I recieved a review copy of this book. I'd been listening to a lot of heavy books recently and was looking for something a little more light-hearted, the title of this one stood out and I was not disappointed.

The story was clever but didn't take itself too seriously. The plot and characters are silly but I was still interested in them and where the story would go. The narrator was also a good choice for the book. My only criticism is that it ended a little abruptly.