Ridiculous and hilarious Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis is one of the funnest books I’ve read in a long time. It takes the well known tropes and elements of the fantasy genre and turns them farcical. From a rather incompetent evil wizard, to a princess in a dungeon, and a critically important garlic festival during the summoning of a demon, Dreadful has it all.
BLURB:
It’s bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard’s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something.
It’s a lot worse when you realise that Dread Lord Whomever is…you.
Gav isn’t really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed. But as he realizes that nothing – from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess – is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he’ll have to answer the hardest question of all – who does he want to be?
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REVIEW:
This was such a fun read, a book that is genuinely funny and comedic as promised with its dry wit and humour. It was so fun to read a lead character in their 40’s, questioning their life and figuring out a new fresh start. Orla was a fun character as well. Caitlin is very deft at writing supporting characters in a way that really makes the novel and fleshes out the world without spending excessive time on their characterisation.
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Gav was such an hopeless and daft character in the best way. Watching him try to figure out who he was and navigate the reputation he had built verse the person he was now choosing to be lead to some interesting situations and revelations. The supporting cast however really makes the book. The way certain people and goblins perform their roles in the Dread Lord’s castle and village create absurd moments and conversations that really shine in displaying the comedy of this book.
As a standalone fantasy novel, this felt very complete, well written and solidly fun from start to finish. No small feat. Having picked this up on the recommendation of an old colleague last year it did not disappoint. And now I recommend it to you. Super fun, super easy read that will make you gawk and laugh at its craziness.
Until next time,
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy – Comedic
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