How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps

by Andrew Rowe

The LitRPG bestseller releasing in a stunning new deluxe hardcover edition, now with a new Afterword.

“How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps is an endlessly inventive and entertaining love letter to all of us underdogs who spent countless hours with a game controller in hand, daydreaming about how we would save the realm.” —Matt Dinniman, New York Times bestselling author of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series

For thousands of years, there has been a 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 twenty-three 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 ten-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.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Humor, Young Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2020

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps was my first foray into LitRPG and so I have nothing to compare it to, but I dunno, you guys. Reading this book is exactly like watching someone play a video game, and I have no idea if that's supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing.

I mean, this book is entertaining in spots, especially toward the end, but the storyline is so, so shallow … kind of like it would be in a video game. There's a lot of “this is what happens because this is the way it has to happen” and “first I leveled this and then I leveled that” and dei ex inventory slot (“inventory slot” may or may not be the correct Latin phrasing here, I'm not a Catholic priest so 🤷🏻‍♀️), and I'm not sure if LitRPG books normally have a bit more depth to them or not. I felt like I was watching my husband play a knockoff Legend of Zelda game, except that I couldn't dink around on my computer and watch cat videos at the same time.

I did enjoy the humor, though, and the author does a great job of satirizing RPGs. Vex (the Faerie Who Failed) and Nameless Kage (who is definitely, positively not a princess) are both fantastic characters and have some of the best lines in the book. And Yui is a resourceful non-Hero, even if most of her issues are solved by taking things in and out of her inventory slots. I fear that many of the video game references went straight over my head since I'm not much of a gamer (unless Pokemon Go counts and I'm pretty sure it doesn't), but I did have fun trying to recognize various bits from the Zelda games — Yui's green tunic was a particularly obvious one, as was the harmonica-in-place-of-an-ocarina.

So, yeah, there are definitely things to love about this book, but I do wish that the story were less superficial. I need backstory and character development that's not tied to gaining levels and explanations that go beyond “because the goddesses said so.” It's likely that LitRPG just isn't for me (provided this is the norm, of course), but if you're a fan of the genre, definitely don't let my review dissuade you from giving this book a read — there are parts of it that are really fun.

3.14 stars, rounded down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for providing me with a copy of this book to review. Its expected re-release date is September 30, 2025.

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. So much fun! If you like Zelda, Skyrim, and other RPGs, this book is for you. While I felt like this was kid friendly, it was also a riot for adults who will understand the satire and tongue-in-cheek humor regarding the odd, understood in-game quirks. The writing also pokes fun at the tropes in fantasy and good vs. evil.

Now, when I say this is like traveling through an RPG through the eyes of the playable character, please take that literally, which adds to the hilarious capers. Yui, our non-hero hero, will literally hear a voice coming from game-makers-know-where telling her she's learned new skills, leveled up, and acquired new quest items. Add a stodgy paladin type character who takes every opportunity to point out that they're breaking The Rules- you just have delightful FUN. Be prepared for nostalgia, whimsy, and all the feel-good emotions.

I'd rate this a PG-13 for mild peril and action/adventure violence.

-------------------
Relistened on a car ride with the little brother- 8/24/25

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Father always told me that true heroism was when someone fought for what was right, regardless of the risk to themselves.
But Father was wrong.
True Heroism was a passive skill only available to the Hero class, unlocked forty-second level.”

Reading this book is like being inside an old-school fantasy adventure video game and it reminded me of the blissful days when I was naught but a carefree little shrimp.



I look despicably joyously happy and light-hearted here, don’t I? *shudders* A good thing I am now ancient, black-hearted, and cantankerous as fish.

What’s really fun about this story is that the people in it literally live in a video game-like world. It’s the first time I read a LitRPG type thingie and I’m not sure how other books in this genre are usually structured but I thought this one was pretty cleverly written indeed. In typical role-playing game fashion, the characters gain levels by practicing skills and earn experience points by doing, you know, stuff, so you’d think this would be tricky as fish in terms of storytelling but Rowe handled it pretty well.

And then, with one final twitch on the ground, the dragon vanished.
[Your party has killed a small green dragon. You have earned 3981 experience points.]
[You have gained a level.]

He doesn’t overdo it with these little inserts and they don't get in the way of the story, so yay and stuff. Oh, and by the way, yes, monsters and creatures of this world disappear after you kill them dead. And if you're lucky they'll drop some coins for you to collect, too. And then you can use the coins to buy some potions and restore your mana and yes I want to be Link when I grow up.



But I ever so slightly digress.

The story itself is fast-paced and quite very entertaining, thank you very much. It's full of video game tropes, yes, but it also happens to completely obliterate the Chosen One trope so yay for that. Oh and also, there is plenty of HAHAHAHAHA to be had.

There's a pretty great cast of characters, too.

Yui, the female heroine, is as despicably young as she is stupendously resourceful and delightfully clever. She's the Queen of Loophole Exploitation, too (yes, that is an official title, in case you were wondering). And also quite the open-minded young lady. She couldn't get the Hero class she wanted and couldn't convince her parents to throw her out in order to make it to Orphan class, so she settled for the, um, illustrious Bag Mage Class instead (a sort of glorified mule, if you will, but one complete with magical inventory).

Yui's sort-of-reluctant sidekick, Ken (Sword Saint class and Fashionista class—don't ask) is wonderfully stuck-up and an involuntarily hilarious stickler for the rules. There's also a slightly temperamental fairy called Vex and a music-playing ninja who is definitely not a princess. And failed heroes and slimes and dragons and gigantic fish monsters and stuff. A lovely bunch all around.

➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): This book is the video game parody you didn't know you needed. It's revoltingly cute and light and funny. It's super short and super cheap, too. So read it and stuff.

P.S. I hear that the Audible version of the book is pretty good so if audio is your thing methinks you should give it a try and stuff 😬.



[Pre-review nonsense]

This was unexpectedly funny and entertaining and refreshing and stuff. And now I wish I could play Zelda again. The original game. Because I'm ancient like that 😬.



➽ Review to come and stuff.

[Anna lost in stories *A* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an unexpected little gem :) I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook full of fantasy adventures :) write like a love letter to dungeons and dragons type of entertainment, I had the best time listening to Yui and her journey to defeat the demon king… the writing style was really good, the surprising twists and turns were awesome and I really liked how it ended :) the book doesn't take itself too seriously, and you should read it like that as well :) I only wish it was longer… cause I would love to read more and more about Yui and certain interesting characters she met along the way :) highly recommend :)

disclaimer
until further notice, I will be adding this little disclaimer at the end of all my reviews… without boring you with unnecessary details I will say this… I’ve been in a writing slump for a while now… it’s happened before, but usually didn’t last very long… it’s connected to a lot of different things in my life, but all those details are personal so I won’t get into them right now… this time unfortunately it’s been already six weeks and it doesn't look like it’s gonna change anytime soon… in all this time I was unable to sit down and write reviews for the books I’ve been reading… and I don’t want to wait any longer, cause I already accumulated quite a few to do… so going forward I will be just writing a very short ones… with maybe an exception here and there if I feel like it ;) I don't want to put pressure on myself to write long and detailed reviews that I used to do for the longest time… instead I will try and add some links to other reviews here on Goodreads if I see ones that I feel share my thoughts and opinions on the stories I read… in the meantime I wish you all happy reading :)

XOXO

A

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yui, like all the humans of her world, has lived in the shadow of a recurring cycle of battle between the forces of the Demon King, and The Hero, who, once a century, defeats the king to start the cycle anew. Early in the present century, the king's forces are making unusually fast headway in their conquest of the world, and Yui decides to take matters into her own hands and take on the role of The Hero, even though she doesn't have the character class that has historically accompanied it.

I DNF-ed this Audible Original a few months ago. A story with a single instance of breaking the fourth wall will make me roll my eyes and hope the author will move on to something else. This story was entirely that. There's a certain line where "satire" becomes "the exact same thing that is supposedly being satirized," and Ten Steps absolutely crosses it.

At heart it's an alt-universe fanfiction of the Legend of Zelda video games, featuring recurring motifs from that series such as: elemental temples; a disguised princess (named Fitzgerald here, har har); references to Link's iconic bow, boomerang, hookshot, hero's sword, etc.; not to mention the recurrent rise and fall of Ganon. Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy IV--and, I'm sure, other Japanese video games that I'm less familiar with--get winking references as well.

In any case, I'm going through some stuff right now, and fun, undemanding, predictable material like this seems to be the perfect thing to keep my mind off it for a little while. (there's only so much YouTube or twitch.tv I can gorge on.) Yui's rules-bending on her journey to the Demon King's lair is inventive and amusing, and the pacing is brisk and engaging, a couple of level-grinding sessions aside. Worth a few hours, if you're in a mood to pick up what it's putting down.

[seak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a total blast. I randomly downloaded it as a freebie from Audible membership since I pretty much automatically download all the kid-focused ones to use on roadtrips and whatnot with my kiddos and this was better than I could have dreamed.

Now, don't get too caught up in the premise. It's essentially minecraft, Zelda, and Skyrim all bundled into a world that works like a video game and that's completely normal for the people in it. You can level up not only yourself, but your weapons, skills, etc. You can buy potions, you have mana to power your skills and spells.

Don't ask why there's a voice that tells you when you've leveled up. It works, just don't think too hard about it.

Because otherwise, somehow Andrew Rowe was able to distill the essence of what makes these video games great into book form and it's so much fun.

My 9 year old son and I had a blast. We randomly started listening on our last road trip and then stayed up late every night (until Mom caught us!) to finish it. It was such a fun time to spend with my son, even my girls started joining us after a while.

I can't say enough about this. The only real problem I had was when the narrator mispronounced "mana" as "mahna" yet the level up voice called it "mana." I'm just glad someone was aware of how to pronounce it!

TL;DR Don't think, just listen.

If you like those video games, this is the perfect book.

5 out of 5 Stars (do it)

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a fine line between "homage" and "fan fiction."

"How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps" walks that line a little too closely. It's a cute minor parody of fantasy video game worlds and their various tropes (classes, inventory screens, leveling up, grinding for experience, etc) all in pursuit of an overarching goal of "The Hero" returning and defeating said Demon King.

In theory, a fertile ground for humorous exploitation. In practice? The author spends several thousand words actually DESCRIBING AN INVENTORY SCREEN. And does so complete with describing how the protagonist accesses items from said inventory. What starts as cute quickly becomes tedious.

Also, while the book is ostensibly a parody of fantasy video games generally, its really a parody of Zelda games specifically. We have the hero in the green tunic, the (master) sword stuck in a pedestal, the magic instrument (harmonica instead of ocarina), and even talkative fairy helpers. And this is where it falls into the "fan fiction" realm. It even goes so far as to lift whole sections from Zelda games (water temple and Shadow Link) and simply tweaks them a little to service the plot.

Overall, it's a cute, harmless little piece of fluff that could have done more with a broader/ more diverse collection of the video game tropes it was seeking to skewer.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much fun!

It’s got some litRPG mixed into it, but I feel that it was well balanced and not overwhelming like many of the books in that genre seem to be.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)]

I've never read a Lit RPG novel before so I wasn't sure what to expect, but this was a lot of fun. I kind of get it - a story told using RPG video game mechanics as characters move through the world. For instance, the absurdity of repeating a basic action a whole bunch of times in order to level up a somewhat related skill. This was funny and tongue-in-cheek in a self-aware sort of way. It follows a young woman who isn't actually a hero, but is going to find her own way through the challenges of a heroes quest to defeat the legendary demon king. But things don't quite go as expected...

I found this to be a light palate cleanser of a book and I would try something like it again. It's a quick read and entertaining if you have any experience with this sort of video game. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this is a ridiculous amount of fun :-)

If you enjoy the Zelda series of games, this book is for you. It is both a loving homage to the games and a send-up of their absurdity.

This is free in May 2020 on Audible if you have an account and the narration is quite good on it.

Highly recommended.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another Momible (mom+audible) find. I had tried listening to it once before a few months ago (ish?) and it just didn't snag me in the first five minutes, so I ditched it. But then, there it sat, unfinished, staring at me from the Audible widget every time I looked at my phone. So I picked it up again thinking "OK, it's short, I'll give it another try, and if I still don't like it, I'll just remove the book from my device and never think about it again."

Reader: I did not dislike it. In fact, I'm pretty much convinced that whatever mood I was in back then would have been improved by listening to this, because it was DELIGHTFUL.

This book is like a novelized fantasy adventure role-playing game where the characters' real lives are structured around a cyclic hero prophecy, and where character growth and knowledge and abilities are earned by completing tasks and gaining experience and levelling up. Only, our hero, who is definitely not the prophesied Hero(tm), takes things into her own hands and subverts the system a teensy bit.

I love good RPG games, and though I know I haven't played anywhere close to all of the really good ones out there, when I find one I like, I DIG IN. I have put hundreds upon hundreds of hours into Skyrim, and listening to this made me want to play it again. Startsies Oversies style. (Which I have done *cough cough* lots.)

But listening to this book was almost as good as playing directly. The system of the world, and thus of the experience points, levelling up, gaining skills and abilities, and how to use them, their limitations, and such, was explained very well. I LOVE a good, well-thought-out system - whether that's magic, combat, education, etc. This had it all. Every bit felt right, and realistic to the story and well-explained and there was never a deus ex machina that came to save the day. The groundwork was laid, and it was STURDY.

I loved the characters as well. I liked Yui's cleverness and creativity and directness and her desire to want to DO something, instead of sitting idly while the hundred years between Hero(tm) reincarnations crawled by. I liked Ken, and his more conservative, traditionalist mindset, and how he was open to the idea of doing something different if it would make a positive impact for people and the world.

I LOVED the audiobook readers. They were perfect, and did such a wonderful job making all of the characters distinct without being Too Much. Even the Notifications (Task fulfillment, XP earned, Levelling up notifications, etc) were perfectly done. This is fun fantasy audiobooking done right. Take a note, Jim Dale. O_O

My only (small) gripe on this is that this read very much as YA, which isn't a problem, except that some of the characters didn't really seem to fit the teen/YA age-ranges fully. Yui lives with her parents, and definitely seems to be in the teenager range, but Ken, when we're first introduced to him reads as MUCH older. Like, I pictured him as being maybe 60ish at first - a not quite elderly but definitely mature and practiced healer-slash-mystical sword guard guy. But then we learn that he is only a base-level sword priest, and it's only as the story progresses that he begins to feel more Yui's age. Part of this may be due to his training and such, that he very much believes in and follows the traditions of this world and the cycles of it, but it was just a very jarring discovery to realize that he wasn't intended to be an older adult, and was in fact supposed to mirror Yui's age and skill levels.

Anyway, aside from that one thing, this was very enjoyable to read. I will definitely be checking out more of Rowe's work. Hopefully it's all as good as this was. :)

[Billie's Not So Secret Diary · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps
by Andrew Rowe
Science Fiction LitRPG
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: Sept 30, 2025 (republish)
Saga Press
Ages: 13+

A Demon King rises, and his minions destroy the cities. A hundred years later, a Hero will rise and attempt to defeat him.

And this has been going on for thousands of years, thanks to the Goddesses.

But Yui Shaw wants to put an end to it. The present Demon King is conquering faster than normal, so instead of waiting for the Hero, she takes matters into her own hands.


I am not an avid gamer, but I have dabbled over the years, and this reminded me, especially during the first part of the story, as a 'Walk Through' one would find on video game web pages. (I admit, I used them to either help get through tough spots, to fly through a game, or help find hidden stuff.)

The 'Walk Through' did turn into more of a story after the initial introduction to the world and the magic, though it needs a little bit more history/details, especially about the magic. One thing I can say is that if video games had similar descriptions of the magic and levels as the book did, I would have had an easier time playing/understanding some of the games I attempted.

My son is a very avid video game player; he even has his own channels on different websites, and as I read this, I could almost hear him explaining games to me: how to play, what things mean, and what not to do. And yes, I have suggested this book to him.

It was a good story, and moved along at a good pace AFTER the first half, which did get a little tedious. As I said, there was a lot of explaining instead of story. And even though that 'explaining' did continue here and there, more of the story unfolded, and there were some funnies and unique ways to... spoiler...

More story and less explaining in the first half would have earned this one more star.

3 Stars

[SheriC]

I didn't get very far in before realizing that this is just... not my thing. I think it could be really amusing for someone who has imagined themselves inside a fantasy themed action/adventure video game.

Audiobook, via Audible. I picked it up as one of their monthly freebies. DNF at 4%. I didn't give it a rating because it didn't seem poorly executed, I was just disinterested in the premise.

[Esme · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am having a ton of trouble concentrating on books at the moment. Physical reading is nearly impossible, so what I wanted was a fun light audiobook that was warm, easy, and quick. This is all of those things.

So, in this world, life follows a predictable cyclical storyline where a Demon King would rise up, and a Hero would be born to smote him back to whence he came. Typically this cycle lasts 100 years, but this time around the Demon King is advancing and has already taken over more than half the world with 70 years to go before the predicted Hero would be born.

The main character, Yui, has decided to be the Hero the world needs even if she’s not the person “meant” to save everyone. Since she was a small child she has been transfixed with the idea of being a Hero, and her journey is one of circumnavigating the expectations of society to gain the skills she needs to defeat the Demon King.

In this society, people essentially live and work in an extensive video game type world where you practice your skills to gain literal levels. Your stats will flash across your vision and you get notifications when you gain skills. You can grind like you can in a video game and go kill slimes for days on end to increase certain skills to open up certain Career paths. Not all paths are open to everyone… to qualify for a Hero Class you have to be born a farmer or an orphan…. one of the ways Yui tried to circumnavigate this particular expectation was to get her parents to disown her. Just for a little while, of course, just for long enough to qualify as an orphan. Her parents are loving, healthy, and not at all inclined to do this.

This is a very straight forward story, and honestly, I was just in the mood for that kind of thing. Gain levels to defeat the demon king and there are obstacles for Yui along the way. There are fairies and goblins and all manner of typical monsters/races you’d find in a MMORPG fantasy video game.

Yui was adorable, I really loved her spunk and attitude, and the side characters that become her “Companions” along the way were interesting and fun in their own ways.

The audiobook was well performed and I was able to crank it to 2x and so I read this start to finish in one day. I wouldn’t necessarily say this is any exceptional YOU HAVE TO READ THIS kind of review – however – I really appreciate it for what it is, and if this review sounds like fun to you, I’m pretty sure you’ll like it if you try it. It’s simple, straightforward fun that broke my reading slump and got me in the mood to read more. I think the thing I liked about it most was the not so subtle message that we shouldn’t wait for someone to save us, go be the Hero you’re looking for.

Ratings:
Plot: 10/15
Characters: 11/15
World Building: 12/15
Writing: 12/15
Pacing: 13/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 7/10
Final Score: 76/100 or 3.75/5 stars on GR

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This kind of reminded me of Jumanji? Might be a weird reference but if you watch the new version it might make more sense. I don't know.

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps was a pretty long audible original. In it, you will meet Yui Shaw. She has a plan to help save humanity and hopes that it will work. So she sets off on her adventure to get the legendary sword.

Along her journey, you meet some interesting characters (just like in Jumanji). Yui goes through some classes, level ups, and skill increases in each chapter. It was interesting to see how she worked with others throughout them as well. I will admit, I liked when she (or any other character) explained the task at hand.

Again, if you watched any of the new Jumanji's or played a video game.. it kind of seemed like this. A side character explaining your mission or the task you need to complete, before doing it. Out of everyone, I like the fairy the most. She was stubborn, sassy, adorable, and basically my spirit animal. I mean, she slept for YEARS people and was still salty someone woke her up.

In the end, I enjoyed the audio and wouldn't mind another one.

[Krissi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, quick lit-rpg novel with definite inspirations from different video games sprinkled throughout it. The story is pretty basic and linear, not much depth to the characters, but it was still entertaining overall. The humor throughout it was also done well. Looks like there may be another book in the series on the horizon and I would definitely be interested in picking it up to see what happens next in the main characters adventures!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only LitRPG I've read before this was a manga, but apparently this is a very popular new genre, at least given how often I get ads for them shoved at me on Facebook.

For those unfamiliar, "LitRPGs" are not tie-in fiction, like the old Dragonlance books or W40K novels. No, a LitRPG features characters who are literally and unironically game characters negotiating a game world. I think some of them use the old "Players get sucked into virtual reality/another dimension and suddenly they are wizards and barbarian fighters" trope (like the old D&D cartoon), but How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps plays it straight: the main character talks about leveling up, gaining new classes, even seeing little text messages appear before her eyes as she performs various feats, but this is all perfectly natural to her. It's like she's obviously a character in an old Nintendo game, but has no awareness of this being anything other than her real world.

So there is a Demon King who rises every hundred years, to be defeated by a Hero. Except this time the Demon King is accelerating his conquest, and our hero (small-h) has decided they can't wait around for the Hero to show up and save them. So she masters the powers of her Bag Mage and Slime Hunter classes, and accompanied by her Sword Saint/Fashionista sidekick, sets out to defeat the Demon King.

And it pretty much continues through to the end in that vein. The character is sort of clever in trying to play "outside the box" and figure out new tricks, but this is a video game character on a quest to defeat a Demon King, with a cast of cute allies and foes. It was fun for a listen, but I don't think I could really get into a series, it's sort of a one-note joke.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this was fun fun fun! Think playing a game, but instead of game you live in that world, that makes no sense in a way, but make total sense to them.

The world is being taken over by a demon king, but that happens every 1000th year. Which makes no sense. Cos he has not been defeated every time, but the world still stands. Oh this world is crazy, I loved it.

A hero also always rises to fight the demon king. But this demon king is smart and will have conquered everything by the time a hero comes along. Oh and the hero always has to do the same thing too, wear the same clothes, same weapons, same dungeons. Same songs. How this world still stands I do not know.

Anyway in comes Yui, f that hero bs. She will save the world! By her way. And her way is awesome. The ways by how she does it, I applaud her. I also really liked her at once. She does not give up, even if she has to fight every slime monster in the world.

Humor, adventure, and an unlikely hero that turns out to be the best heroine the world can ever want. What was there not to like!

The narration was spot on. There are two narrators, one for Yui and one for levelling up, the "video game voice" ;)

The narration for Yui was filled with everything she was. She truly nailed it there. Her demon king voice, oh my, loved it, but then the demon king was *laughs, spoilers!* Fun!
Great narration with the feel of the book done perfectly.

[Krissi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, quick lit-rpg novel with definite inspirations from different video games sprinkled throughout it. The story is pretty basic and linear, not much depth to the characters, but it was still entertaining overall. The humor throughout it was also done well. Looks like there may be another book in the series on the horizon and I would definitely be interested in picking it up to see what happens next in the main characters adventures!

[Ngiste · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is how I imagine people who don't like video games experience video games. Way too much exposition of basic game mechanics and not enough actual story--and the story pieces were very funny satires of fantasy epic tropes! I would have liked to see more of that and less exposition on how to max out a skill in a video game.

[L.L. MacRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun, silly, somewhat satirical, adventure RPG fantasy romp!

A very well-written story about a non-Hero called Yui, who wants to defeat the Demon King - typically something only the Hero can achieve. There are a number of set challenges and rules adn traditions that must be upheld for this to happen, but Yui decides to do it her own way.

It's sort of a speedrunner's version of taking on this RPG quest, using tips, tricks, and strategies to achieve things someone of her Class (Bag Mage, hilarious) would never be able to do.

All in all a good, quick read that worked as a wonderful palette cleanser. Recommend if you enjoy RPGs, "typical" fantasy quests and light-hearted reads!

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, funny, cute.
Also strangely soothing.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yui lives in an RPG world setup with bizarrely arbitrary rules for everything including skill progression, leveling up, magic and experience points. The world also exists in an endless cycle where a Demon King rises and then a hero is born to stop him, all over a period of about a hundred years. But the latest cycle is very different and the new Demon King isn't playing by the old rules. It's only 23 years into the current cycle and all of humanity may be wiped out before the next hero is born.

Enter Yui, an ambitious young woman who sets out to save the world by defeating the Demon King, even though she doesn't have the prerequisites for the Hero class.

If you've read with this author's Sufficiently Advanced Magic and its sequel then you'll be very familiar with the approach to fantasy world-building used here. It's one part homage to classic RPGs and one part that particular sort of gamer that likes to take infrequently-used game options and make them an unexpected kind of powerful. All of that is on show here with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek gentle mockery.

Lots of fun, and a hell of a lot shorter than everything else by this author.

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well my roommate forced me to listen to all of this in one sitting. The reader is really good. Ummmm. It’s a story with a bunch of nods to video games and rpgs, so if that gets your rocks off I guess you’ll enjoy it. I like videogames and rpgs but it just left me wanting to play them rather than listen to a super snarky main character. I think if it was only an hour of fun references it would have been fine but 5 1/2. Yikes. RIP my free time.

[kartik narayanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its ok, I guess. Some portions of the story were inventive. But, at the end, it felt meh - I doubt I will remember this book after a month.

[Andrea]

The first lit rpg (stories that are linked to or use some form of the systems of a roleplaying or computer game) I read was Quag Keep, long before the term came into being. It's become a genre heavily dominated by male writers, with primarily male protagonists. Most of the more recent examples I've read are Korean, such as Solo Levelling.

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps is a light lit rpg aimed at children, and brings us a world that is highly gamified. People gain classes, levels, and skills. The story questions the structure and 'plot' of the world without directly raising the issue of whether the world itself is within a game. It made for pleasant listening, but wasn't a compulsive read.

It also compares rather poorly with Dark Lord of Derkholm, which played around with fantasy world tropes and the cycle of dark lords trope in particular (while not really being lit rpg). But DWJ wrote for children with a level of complexity (and embedded humour) that this book doesn't really approach.

Not a bad book, had some funny bits, liked Yui's constant attempts to think outside the box, but it isn't something to send me hunting for more by the same author.

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance copy from NetGalley.

This is a breezy, super cozy LitRPG read that comes across as a blatant homage to classic role playing games. The set up is simple, the main character loaded with agency: Yui Shaw is not born to be the Hero, but decides to build the role for herself, as otherwise the Demon King will obliterate humanity before the real Hero comes along.

There are direct references to beloved game monsters, such as my own all-time favorite Dragon Quest slimes. A certain ninja royal from Final Fantasy IV gets a tribute, too. The characters who enter the book in disguise aren’t disguised at all to the reader, and that still works fine within this cozy set-up. The way technical game play aspects are converted into a novel is incredibly innovative; I loved how Yui manipulated her inventory skills to subvert the natural order. This book feels like a wink-wink-nod to RPG lovers of my generation and younger folks who also would get the references (my 20 year old son would love this book, but then, one of his favorite toys as a toddler was a plush slime).

[Jordy Rousse · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

Thank you Saga for the ARC of this book!!

I absolutely loved this book! It’s such a fun, fast-paced adventure that feels both fresh and wonderfully nostalgic. The story leans into classic fantasy tropes: heroes, quests, and an epic battle against darkness, while giving them a clever, modern twist. It reminded me of the RPG-style games and adventure tales I grew up with (especially the Legend of Zelda) but with enough humor and heart to feel new and exciting.

The tone is light and playful, the action is engaging, and the pacing keeps the pages flying. It’s one of those reads that makes you smile while still delivering epic stakes. My only tiny critique is that a few moments felt a bit too quick or simplified, but honestly, that hardly took away from the sheer enjoyment.

If you’re looking for a book that’s adventurous, witty, and brimming with nostalgic charm, this one is a must-read!

[Erik Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

No more for me, thanks.

[Mark Groenen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book takes place in a universe that abides by video game fantasy rpg logic. That's pretty interesting, I suppose. Having played thousands of hours of World of Warcraft, hundreds of Elder Scrolls and more than is healthy in the world of Dark Souls, I have been around the block. So... What do I, once upon a time "gamer", nowadays a "filthy casual" think of this book?

It's awful.

At the start of the novel the premise is interesting and pretty funny at times. I did chuckle at the tale of a long lost hero who went missing in the Water Temple - a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. But that's all there seems to be. Endless references and in-jokes. The book just keeps screaming "REMEMBER VIDEO GAMES? VIDEO GAMES SURE ARE WEIRD WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HUH?!".

What's even worse, is that the author decides to focus a lot of the main character's time on character building and inventory management. Both of these elements are almost always menu-based in video games. And in this tale... It is as well! The most boring (but nenecessary) part of gaming should not be told in a story.

So the book is a "REMEMBER VIDEO GAMES?" slog. The main character chooses many different classes (Final Fantasy), a hero should wear green attire and play the harmonica (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time), a priest always wears white even though his clothes might get dirty (every game ever), they hunt for slimes (Dragon Quest), and they must enter a giant tree that houses a temple (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, again).

When the book repeated the Water Temple reference for the second time I almost threw my phone (that played the audiobook) into the upcoming traffic. I was 20% in at that point. Reference for reference sake is not clever, it is not funny. It's lazy.