It will be very hard to write this review without trying to be funny, because Steve Thomas’ witty style is very catchy and Darruk’s inner voice is exactly the kind of snark I like. 

Mid-Lich Crisis is the story of Darruk Darkbringer, hero of legend, evil undead necromancer despot, lich and entrepreneur, prophesied  to save the world by sacrificing to the blood moon. When his nemesis, Brynn Brightstorm the barbarian, foils his attempts to save the world yet again, he’s forced to try a different approach. If people keep calling him the e-word he’s gonna do his damnedest to prove that he’s not. 

I  loved Darruk. He’s the embodiment of the “every villain think he’s the hero” trope and his journey of self discovery  is exciting. Questioning his values, making friends, being a productive member of society and then coming to terms with himself, it’s all heartwarming. That might not have been strictly speaking the intended message of the book. He has a cute little fuzzy minion. 

I really enjoyed the humor, I highlighted so many passages adding eloquent notes such as “lol”, “oh you” and “ I see what you did there”, there’s also many kinds of it, from playing with expectations and twisting them around, to pokes at well known fantasy moments. I giggled at the narrator’s tone, things like saying this character was doing something very important that shouldn’t be interrupted, so of course that’s what happened. And the goat facts, there are goat facts, I wasn’t 100% sold on the idea of footnotes in the beginning, but lost it when the goat facts started. There’s also a poignant political commentary,  I had to google the book’s made up system of government to make sure it wasn’t in fact a real political theory.