S.B. West

https://open.spotify.com/episode/483bJtKBuKRWOcr28zJHO2?si=o0PPbiCSQdCqv3q12_AYuw

About Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed

Abandoning his days of beheading to live out an undercover retirement as a goat farmer, Morfran finds himself accidentally leading a rebellion against the kingdom’s Dark Lord, who, inconveniently, is him.

Morfran the Beheader is done being the Dark Lord of the kingdom of Ruthven. He’s tired of managing minions, and his wife, Queen Ravana, has officially exceeded his personal comfort level of evil. Yet when he books it for the hills with the hopes to live out his days disguised as a goat farmer, his aspirations are tragically cut short when Morfran’s former soldiers catch up with plans to behead him.

Morfran’s only chance at safety is to seek refuge within a tiny forest dwelling where no one recognizes him. But he quickly learns the village is the base for a brewing rebellion against his rule. And after he reluctantly saves said village from an attack, he’s voted the one to lead the charge. Against himself.

Morfran helps the rebels while planning to desert them at the soonest moment. But as he fights by their side, he discovers that they’re actually quite pleasant—especially the lovely assassin who has been out for his blood for a decade. Too bad Ravana has sent Morfran’s best men to nip the revolt in the bud, and too bad his unlikely allies would burn him alive if they learned he’s no hero, but actually their Dark Lord in disguise. Because even Morfran knows that only a hero would stand up to Ravana and fight for friends, and he’s certainly no hero.

Right?

Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed

It seems like there have been a lot of villain stories coming out lately. This isn’t a bad thing. I like the somewhat repentant villain story as much as the next person. They are usually pretty tongue in cheek funny and kind of dark.

Morfran, Dark Lord Reformed is no exception. We get a quasi epistolary story where Morfran is trying (and failing) to run away from the tedium of being a dark lord. His ex-wife doesn’t want him to walk away from the life that he brought her into.

The story is funny, but when you dive a little further into the book you see that the story is grappling with some hard questions. Namely, can you ever really repent for a life of misdeeds? What do you do if people won’t (or can’t) forgive you? How do you come up with the perfect name for a couple of goats in the middle of a war against…well, yourself?

This is one of those books that I will think about again and again. I cannot wait for the sequel!