Recent Reads: How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe 
Narrated by Suzy Jackson & Steve West 
Publisher: Audible Original
Publication Date:  April 30, 2020

 

Format: Audible Audiobook
Source: From Audible Monthly Freebies before they changed the system.

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

For thousands of years, there has been a cycle: a Demon King rises and conquers, and a Hero is reborn a hundred years later to defeat him. Each time, civilizations are ground to dust beneath the Demon King's hordes, but humanity has remained secure in the belief that a Hero of legend will always save them. There's just one slight problem. It's only been 23 years since the Demon King's latest rise, and this time, he's already conquered more than half the world. If humanity simply waits for the Hero's return, there may be no world left for him to save.

And so, Yui Shaw sets out with an ambitious plan. A 10-step plan.

She'll find a way to obtain the Hero's legendary sword. She'll earn obscure classes, gain levels, and increase her skills. She'll travel to the meticulously-crafted dungeons that seem designed for one specific Hero to complete. And, if she's truly (un)fortunate, she might even find a fairy.

She might not be a Hero—but if she can fake it long enough, she might still be able to save the world.

***

This book is an affectionate parody of classic Japanese games like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest. It's also a work in the LitRPG/GameLit subgenres. Game mechanics exist in the world of the story and characters are aware of their existence. 

Review: 

This was such a weird and fun book and I liked it a lot. It is, as the synopsis notes, a parody of classing role playing games (RPG), so instead of just characters fighting to get to the boss or villain of a story, they have to level up in order to do so and they have abilities they can level up. 

A few reasons I liked this - I play video games (ahem World of Warcraft) and this is a hilarious rendition of that process and the need to go through the steps required to get to the boss... levels, skills, achievements... it is a grind and this book very entertainingly encompassed that grind. 

The story follows Yui who is off to find her place in this RPG world by defeating the legendary Demon King. She must level up her skills and build a team through adventure and trial and error to get to that point. 

This is such a creative and fun story, it is like traveling through a story with your character in a video game, the best of two worlds. If you like RPGs and reading/ listening this is a fun one to pick up.