I did not have a book to read as December came to a close, so I scrolled through Libby to see what my library had available. That’s when I stumbled upon Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis, which features a story about an evil wizard waking up with zero memories and faking it to make it through an evil plan that has already been set into motion. My mediocre reading year in 2024 ended on such a high note with this story, and it brought me a lot of much-needed levity and laughter.
A man wakes up in a forebodingly dark bedroom with no memory of who he is or what has happened, but his henchmen and goblin servants all refer to him as Dread Lord Gavrax. It turns out the man is, or was, a dark wizard. Gavrax quickly learns he is a pawn caught up in an evil plot that somehow involves the princess he has locked up in the dungeon cells. Not wanting to reveal his little memory loss setback, Gavrax bumbles his way through his life to suss out what is happening and who he is.
Dreadful is charming and funny, presenting us with a perspective from a not-so-evil wizard dealing with classic fantasy tropes. Rozakis throws everything at the reader: the rigidity of good vs. evil, the knowledge gap between a mentor and apprentice, unwilling and unlikely heroes, super evil villains with loyally dumb support staff, you name it. Gav encounters the obnoxious manifestations of these tropes and responds in a way that makes light of them and brings the reader in on the joke. I’m hesitant to describe Dreadful as a parody because it’s not obnoxious, and it does a wonderful job of telling Gav’s unique story while encouraging the reader to laugh along at some of the tried and true tropes we know and love.
The story is told from the Dread Lord Gavrax’s perspective, or a version of it. As the wizard bumbles through his situation with no memories, he quickly learns about the type of person Dread Lord Gavrax was, and he doesn’t like it. The wizard wants to distance himself from…himself. He changes his name to “Gav” and goes about his adventure learning, growing, and fumbling into the person he wants to be. I love that Gav doesn’t want to be good; he simply wants to be better. Rozakis had a lot of fun with this by pinning Gav between obnoxiously self-righteous heroes and edgelord evil wizards. These extreme caricatures of good and evil are cringeworthy, and Gav steers clear from the black-and-white thinking to make choices that feel good to him and align with what he cares about. The story unfolds in lots of fun, engaging ways because it’s not about Gav trying to make the best decision, just simply one that could pan out better than expected. Gav’s imperfect choices and the story’s lighthearted approach pair together very well and make it an entertaining adventure.
Gav and his interactions with his goblin servants are by far my favorite parts of the book. Their moments together brought me so much joy and actual laughter. I listened to Dreadful on audiobook, and the voice actor was phenomenal. His portrayal of Gav’s unending patience with the goblins and their insane little quirks (and ridiculous voices) made this book one of my favorite reads at the tail end of last year. The VA’s talented delivery may be the reason I loved these character interactions so much, so I’d love to know if anyone experiences it similarly when reading the story. It was so enjoyable I spent a whole paragraph just to tell you about the little goblins, and oh, please go read this book so you can meet them.
Have a laugh, warm your heart, and get cozy with Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis. It’s endearing and heartfelt without being overly sweet and syrupy. A lot does happen to go wrong, especially when you’re following a protagonist who used to be a bitter, evil, dark wizard. But there’s so much to love in a book that finds silver linings in the good, bad, and everything in between.
Rating: Dreadful – 9.0/10
-Brandee
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