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The Dark Lord Bert #1
The Dark Lord Bert
How does a 1-hit-point goblin become the Dark Lord? By accident. Bert is a tiny goblin with big dreams. He follows adventurers, and loots the copper they leave behind when they take the real loot. One day, Bert hopes, he'll have enough copper to buy a warg, and finally promote from a 1-HP critter to a Warg Rider. Kit is a typical gamer hoping to enjoy a good story, but her friends are more interested in rules, loot and experience. Kit’s friends Crotchshot, Brakestuff, and the White Necromancer rampage their way across the land desperately seeking the Dark Lord trope, which gives the wielder the power to reshape the world. When Bert accidentally steals the trope, Kit is forced to make a choice. Should she help her friends, or help a new Dark Lord rise to power? The world will never be the same. Get ready for The Dark Lord Bert. For gamers of all flavors, from video to pen & paper RPGs, and fans of both litRPG and GameLit. If you grew up tossing dice, playing video games, and binging fantasy novels then you're going to love Bert.
212 pages, Paperback
Published February 18, 2019
223 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Chris Fox
87 books672 followersBy day I am an iPhone developer architecting the app used to scope Stephen Colbert’s ear. By night I am Batman. Ok maybe not. One can dream though, right?
I’ve been writing since I was six years old and started inflicting my work on others at age 18. By age 24 people stopped running away when I approached them with a new story and shortly thereafter I published my first one in the Rifter.
Wait you’re still reading?
Ok, the facts I’m supposed to list in a bio. As of this writing I’m 38 years old and live just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the beautiful town of Mill Valley. If you’re unsure how to find it just follow the smell of self-entitlement. Once you see the teens driving Teslas you’ll know you’re in the right place.
I live in a tiny studio that I can cross in (literally) five steps and don’t own an oven. But you know what? It’s worth it. I love developing iPhone apps and if you want to work in San Francisco you accept that rent for a tiny place costs more than most people’s mortgage.
If you and about 2 million other people start buying my books I promise to move out of Marin to a house in the redwoods up in Guerneville. No pressure. Wait that’s a lie. Pressure.
I’ve been writing since I was six years old and started inflicting my work on others at age 18. By age 24 people stopped running away when I approached them with a new story and shortly thereafter I published my first one in the Rifter.
Wait you’re still reading?
Ok, the facts I’m supposed to list in a bio. As of this writing I’m 38 years old and live just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the beautiful town of Mill Valley. If you’re unsure how to find it just follow the smell of self-entitlement. Once you see the teens driving Teslas you’ll know you’re in the right place.
I live in a tiny studio that I can cross in (literally) five steps and don’t own an oven. But you know what? It’s worth it. I love developing iPhone apps and if you want to work in San Francisco you accept that rent for a tiny place costs more than most people’s mortgage.
If you and about 2 million other people start buying my books I promise to move out of Marin to a house in the redwoods up in Guerneville. No pressure. Wait that’s a lie. Pressure.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
April 7, 2025
Oh my, how I loved this book. It was such a fun adventure with fantastic characters. I just adored Bert and Boberton. Can't wait to go on another adventure with them.
March 2, 2019
*This is part of a continuing series to highlight comic fantasy by reviewing books and trying to characterize the style of humor. If you know of comic fantasy books you’d like to see me cover, leave a comment.*
“The Dark Lord Bert” is a comic LitRPG. I don’t have much experience with the LitRPG genre, but as far as I can tell, this book is a gentler introduction than some. There’s no character sheets or “Bert gained a point in the Speed Eating skill” notifications, but the story is very clearly set inside a game, as the characters are constantly talking about game mechanics and tropes. Fox does some interesting things with the concept. The player characters are aware that they are in a game, but there’s a foggy wall of separation between player and character. It’s kind of reminiscent of “The Order of the Stick,” “Goblins,” or “The Gamers” in that sense--I do wish it followed more in the footsteps of “The Gamers” and showed the players on the other side of the table. It’s alluded that they had some kind of real-world relationship that they couldn’t quite remember in-game, and wish that were explored more.
The two main characters are Bert and Kit. Bert is a goblin. He’s classified as a critter. He’s a bit of a loner and that makes him the smartest goblin in the world (goblins take an intelligence debuff the more time they spend around other goblins). He’s acutely aware that he’s just a weak little goblin with 1 HP who could die if someone looks at him funny, and he just wants to be somebody. He’s been following an adventuring party around collecting the loot they neglected to take for themselves (mainly worthless copper coins), with the ultimate goal of saving up to buy a warg and earn the respect and admiration of his goblin peers. Bert is dumb, adorable, and likable. He’s easy to root for.
The POV character on the adventuring party is Kit, a kitsune sorcerer. Kit is having trouble fitting in with her gaming group. Her party is led by the rules-abuser Master White, a necromancer whose character sheet says lawful good and whose heart says neutral evil; Brakestuff, a dwarf paladin whose idea of roleplaying is that Master White must be doing the right thing at all times because his character sheet says lawful good and they worship the same god; and Crotchshot, an Elf ranger and unrepentent munchkin who is “cursed” with a bow that always, ALWAYS hits its target in the crotch. Kit just wants to have some fun with a decent story, and her party is having none of it.
Fox introduces the idea of a trope, an in-game item that gives a character certain stat buffs and overwrites their alignment to force them into the role of a character archetype. As the story goes on, Bert fumbles into possession of the Dark Lord trope, giving him an intelligence boost, a few spell-like abilities, and the power to command all monsters. The trouble is: White wanted that, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it back, lawful good alignment be damned.
It’s a cute, accessible, albeit very linear and predictable story (because it likes to broadcast exactly where it’s going). This leads to a point I want to make about the writing. Fox is a successful self-publisher in the Sci-Fi scene. He is also the author of a series of how-to guides on how to rapidly crank out books designed to sell well on Amazon. This is his first foray into comic fantasy, and the best word to describe the writing is “mechanical.” You can tell he’s using a method. The last sentence of each chapter lays out where the next is going. Each chapter has a similar tempo. It's professionally written and designed to sell, but also missing that spark of a passion project, feeling more like a work product than a piece of art, if that makes sense. The story has no twists or turns. It’s all very safe and designed for mass market appeal. That’s good and bad--there’s nothing wrong with wanting to write a book that will sells--but one of the things I love about both comic fantasy and indie fiction is that they are often targeting a more niche audience. They pay less attention to the rules and show more personal flavor. It’s like comparing Elysium Night Owl to Bud Light. Sure, people a few only want that craft pumpkin ale and they only want it during the months of October and November, but when they want it, they want it bad and it will satisfy them better than something designed for mass appeal.
That’s enough philosophizing from me. What about the humor?
“The Dark Lord Bert” is, generally speaking, a low-brow farce.
We have pop-culture references:
He passed an x-clops, the nastier cousin of the traditional cyclops. This one was taller and still only had one eye, but unlike a regular cyclops it could fire a ruby eye beam that incinerated targets. It was pretty easy to tell the types apart, as the x-clops wore a blue and gold suit instead of the usual dirty loincloth.
Open discussion of game mechanics:
The ranger loosed another volley of arrows, which unerringly slammed into the doomed dragon’s crotch. It screeched again, and desperately sought to cover its nads, to no avail.
The dwarf seized the dragon’s head, and rammed his sword into its remaining eye. “Ha! Yer fully blind. Now you’ve got a 50% miss chance and you have to guess our square.”
Fart jokes:
Then Boberton delivered a thunderous fart, and the paint on the wall behind him began to peel. “Boberton pungent.” Bert waved his hand in front of his nose.
More game mechanics and setting-defying casual dialog:
“Bitch, I put everything into social skills. I’m a social god. You think those glasses are going to give you an edge? Check it.” He jerked a thumb at a rune-etched headband. “Headband of mental superiority. +6 bonus to all mental stats.”
Like the writing, Fox keeps the humor kind of simple and digestible. This book isn’t here for social satire or high-concept humor, but to capture the kind of jokes you hear around a gaming table. I think there’s worse out there, there’s better out there, and this is the safe bet it was designed to be.
“The Dark Lord Bert” is a comic LitRPG. I don’t have much experience with the LitRPG genre, but as far as I can tell, this book is a gentler introduction than some. There’s no character sheets or “Bert gained a point in the Speed Eating skill” notifications, but the story is very clearly set inside a game, as the characters are constantly talking about game mechanics and tropes. Fox does some interesting things with the concept. The player characters are aware that they are in a game, but there’s a foggy wall of separation between player and character. It’s kind of reminiscent of “The Order of the Stick,” “Goblins,” or “The Gamers” in that sense--I do wish it followed more in the footsteps of “The Gamers” and showed the players on the other side of the table. It’s alluded that they had some kind of real-world relationship that they couldn’t quite remember in-game, and wish that were explored more.
The two main characters are Bert and Kit. Bert is a goblin. He’s classified as a critter. He’s a bit of a loner and that makes him the smartest goblin in the world (goblins take an intelligence debuff the more time they spend around other goblins). He’s acutely aware that he’s just a weak little goblin with 1 HP who could die if someone looks at him funny, and he just wants to be somebody. He’s been following an adventuring party around collecting the loot they neglected to take for themselves (mainly worthless copper coins), with the ultimate goal of saving up to buy a warg and earn the respect and admiration of his goblin peers. Bert is dumb, adorable, and likable. He’s easy to root for.
The POV character on the adventuring party is Kit, a kitsune sorcerer. Kit is having trouble fitting in with her gaming group. Her party is led by the rules-abuser Master White, a necromancer whose character sheet says lawful good and whose heart says neutral evil; Brakestuff, a dwarf paladin whose idea of roleplaying is that Master White must be doing the right thing at all times because his character sheet says lawful good and they worship the same god; and Crotchshot, an Elf ranger and unrepentent munchkin who is “cursed” with a bow that always, ALWAYS hits its target in the crotch. Kit just wants to have some fun with a decent story, and her party is having none of it.
Fox introduces the idea of a trope, an in-game item that gives a character certain stat buffs and overwrites their alignment to force them into the role of a character archetype. As the story goes on, Bert fumbles into possession of the Dark Lord trope, giving him an intelligence boost, a few spell-like abilities, and the power to command all monsters. The trouble is: White wanted that, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it back, lawful good alignment be damned.
It’s a cute, accessible, albeit very linear and predictable story (because it likes to broadcast exactly where it’s going). This leads to a point I want to make about the writing. Fox is a successful self-publisher in the Sci-Fi scene. He is also the author of a series of how-to guides on how to rapidly crank out books designed to sell well on Amazon. This is his first foray into comic fantasy, and the best word to describe the writing is “mechanical.” You can tell he’s using a method. The last sentence of each chapter lays out where the next is going. Each chapter has a similar tempo. It's professionally written and designed to sell, but also missing that spark of a passion project, feeling more like a work product than a piece of art, if that makes sense. The story has no twists or turns. It’s all very safe and designed for mass market appeal. That’s good and bad--there’s nothing wrong with wanting to write a book that will sells--but one of the things I love about both comic fantasy and indie fiction is that they are often targeting a more niche audience. They pay less attention to the rules and show more personal flavor. It’s like comparing Elysium Night Owl to Bud Light. Sure, people a few only want that craft pumpkin ale and they only want it during the months of October and November, but when they want it, they want it bad and it will satisfy them better than something designed for mass appeal.
That’s enough philosophizing from me. What about the humor?
“The Dark Lord Bert” is, generally speaking, a low-brow farce.
We have pop-culture references:
He passed an x-clops, the nastier cousin of the traditional cyclops. This one was taller and still only had one eye, but unlike a regular cyclops it could fire a ruby eye beam that incinerated targets. It was pretty easy to tell the types apart, as the x-clops wore a blue and gold suit instead of the usual dirty loincloth.
Open discussion of game mechanics:
The ranger loosed another volley of arrows, which unerringly slammed into the doomed dragon’s crotch. It screeched again, and desperately sought to cover its nads, to no avail.
The dwarf seized the dragon’s head, and rammed his sword into its remaining eye. “Ha! Yer fully blind. Now you’ve got a 50% miss chance and you have to guess our square.”
Fart jokes:
Then Boberton delivered a thunderous fart, and the paint on the wall behind him began to peel. “Boberton pungent.” Bert waved his hand in front of his nose.
More game mechanics and setting-defying casual dialog:
“Bitch, I put everything into social skills. I’m a social god. You think those glasses are going to give you an edge? Check it.” He jerked a thumb at a rune-etched headband. “Headband of mental superiority. +6 bonus to all mental stats.”
Like the writing, Fox keeps the humor kind of simple and digestible. This book isn’t here for social satire or high-concept humor, but to capture the kind of jokes you hear around a gaming table. I think there’s worse out there, there’s better out there, and this is the safe bet it was designed to be.
August 22, 2019
This book is fun, hilarious, and blessedly light on game mechanics!
James Gillies did an excellent job with the audiobook narration. At first I was hesitant at the age conveyed by his neutral voice, but be has impressive vocal control. His voices are varied and distinct, his vocal inflections are excellent, and his tempo changes are subtle but effective.
Now, although I can confidently call this gamelit, it is not what I would call litRPG (although it technically fits the definition). The main character is actually an NPC rather than a player in the game and there is very little in the way of game mechanics or rules.
However, the author deftly manages this with the game having a semi-amnesiac effect on players, so there's much that they are not aware of while in the game.
While on the shorter side, this is a great story. But don't expect anything too serious.
Here we have Bert, who is classified as a "Critter" in the game world, so not even worthy of notice by most. But he's not a normal goblin. As you'll see.
Character development in this story is excellent, especially for Bert himself, who is really my favorite character.
Herein, you'll find a plethora of hilarity in the form of parodied names from pretty much all the major fantasy franchises, silliness galore, and a strong indication that the developers of the "game world" of the book either aren't done (game still in beta, perhaps?) or did a shoddy job with names of places and NPCs both.
The city of $placeholder being just one example.
Bert definitely wins some cuteness points, as does his "dog."
Plot-wise, the story is solid, if a touch on the simple and predictable side. We get to see a few really cool places and experience some fun interactions, as well as seeing the fruit born from how Bert gets along with people.
The writing is definitely good. The best I've seen from Chris Fox to date. I didn't notice anything that I would say could be improved on, save the complexity of the story. Which is obviously intentional, as the author has proved several times over that he can produce deep, complex stories that keep you on the edge of your seat.
Things came together for a nice ending that ties off the majority of the loose ends. While some things seemed to work much to easily, and there were one or two moments that danced extremely close to Deus Ex Machina, overall it came together nicely.
I'm a little surprised to say that I'm actually quite anxious for the next book to come out.
James Gillies did an excellent job with the audiobook narration. At first I was hesitant at the age conveyed by his neutral voice, but be has impressive vocal control. His voices are varied and distinct, his vocal inflections are excellent, and his tempo changes are subtle but effective.
Now, although I can confidently call this gamelit, it is not what I would call litRPG (although it technically fits the definition). The main character is actually an NPC rather than a player in the game and there is very little in the way of game mechanics or rules.
However, the author deftly manages this with the game having a semi-amnesiac effect on players, so there's much that they are not aware of while in the game.
While on the shorter side, this is a great story. But don't expect anything too serious.
Here we have Bert, who is classified as a "Critter" in the game world, so not even worthy of notice by most. But he's not a normal goblin. As you'll see.
Character development in this story is excellent, especially for Bert himself, who is really my favorite character.
Herein, you'll find a plethora of hilarity in the form of parodied names from pretty much all the major fantasy franchises, silliness galore, and a strong indication that the developers of the "game world" of the book either aren't done (game still in beta, perhaps?) or did a shoddy job with names of places and NPCs both.
The city of $placeholder being just one example.
Bert definitely wins some cuteness points, as does his "dog."
Plot-wise, the story is solid, if a touch on the simple and predictable side. We get to see a few really cool places and experience some fun interactions, as well as seeing the fruit born from how Bert gets along with people.
The writing is definitely good. The best I've seen from Chris Fox to date. I didn't notice anything that I would say could be improved on, save the complexity of the story. Which is obviously intentional, as the author has proved several times over that he can produce deep, complex stories that keep you on the edge of your seat.
Things came together for a nice ending that ties off the majority of the loose ends. While some things seemed to work much to easily, and there were one or two moments that danced extremely close to Deus Ex Machina, overall it came together nicely.
I'm a little surprised to say that I'm actually quite anxious for the next book to come out.
November 30, 2019
This was such a fun and interesting read! It is my first litRPG (as I saw people describe it) and I was not disappointed at all. It was funny and smart, had vivid descriptions and interesting characters. I didn't even "care" for the Twilight joke, I ended up finding it funny xD
This is an adventure of a 1 hit point Goblin that is different from the others and wants to change his life for the better. There are things in his way making it hard but Bert finds smart and unique ways to get over the obstacles by taking actions, meeting people/friends, being honest, helping and getting help in return and, the best thing, never giving up! I loved this trait about him.
I also really liked Kit and all the characters of her party because they were unique in their own way. I found the trope idea to be amazing and I hope for future stories in this world. Kit's new trope suited her character better and made her more active and let her speak her mind. It got me thinking: do tropes ever get damaged? What would happen if a character equiped a "damaged" trope?
It was a great adventure and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes RPG P&P games or wants to get a taste of them in the most unique, fun and funny way!
This is an adventure of a 1 hit point Goblin that is different from the others and wants to change his life for the better. There are things in his way making it hard but Bert finds smart and unique ways to get over the obstacles by taking actions, meeting people/friends, being honest, helping and getting help in return and, the best thing, never giving up! I loved this trait about him.
I also really liked Kit and all the characters of her party because they were unique in their own way. I found the trope idea to be amazing and I hope for future stories in this world. Kit's new trope suited her character better and made her more active and let her speak her mind. It got me thinking: do tropes ever get damaged? What would happen if a character equiped a "damaged" trope?
It was a great adventure and I would recommend this book to anyone that likes RPG P&P games or wants to get a taste of them in the most unique, fun and funny way!
February 21, 2020
3.5 Stars
January 11, 2021
Quick, fun read.
If you are looking for a D&D-ish book that has no qualms poking fun at some modern franchises, this is the book for you.
If you are looking for a D&D-ish book that has no qualms poking fun at some modern franchises, this is the book for you.
August 1, 2021
Nice easy read, filled with a lot of pop culture references.
June 2, 2019
Do you enjoy RPGs and have an active imagination and been curious what happened to that character you passed in the street that gave you a dirty look? Have you spent time when watching a movie and wondered about the life of the side characters? Do you ever read a book and fall so in love with the story that you just want to know what happens to some of the minor characters when you turn the page?
Do these characters have their own wants, needs, and desires?
The answer, my friend, is yes.
This is the story of such a character in a RPG. Meet Bert, a tiny goblin with big dreams. Bert may be so weak that a low level character might kill him by accident during a fight (heck, perhaps not even during a fight if it is a bad day for Bert), but he has wants, needs, and desires and they are strong. Perhaps strong enough to alter the story in ways that the the human played characters don't anticipate. Perhaps there is a bit of actual magic in these games where, if you aren't true to your own character's story line, the game will fight back.
In any event, this book is a very quick blast and I am looking forward to more books in this same universe.
Characters: 5*
Plot: 5*
Universe: 4*
(I'm probably being a bit overly critical on this point, but I try to hold out my pure 5* reviews for absolute masterpieces).
*Note: Book was received for free, but I get most of my books for free from my library (I read 20,000+ pages a year so I can't afford to buy EVERYTHING I read :) - patronize your local library!) so this didn't impact my reviews.
Do these characters have their own wants, needs, and desires?
The answer, my friend, is yes.
This is the story of such a character in a RPG. Meet Bert, a tiny goblin with big dreams. Bert may be so weak that a low level character might kill him by accident during a fight (heck, perhaps not even during a fight if it is a bad day for Bert), but he has wants, needs, and desires and they are strong. Perhaps strong enough to alter the story in ways that the the human played characters don't anticipate. Perhaps there is a bit of actual magic in these games where, if you aren't true to your own character's story line, the game will fight back.
In any event, this book is a very quick blast and I am looking forward to more books in this same universe.
Characters: 5*
Plot: 5*
Universe: 4*
(I'm probably being a bit overly critical on this point, but I try to hold out my pure 5* reviews for absolute masterpieces).
*Note: Book was received for free, but I get most of my books for free from my library (I read 20,000+ pages a year so I can't afford to buy EVERYTHING I read :) - patronize your local library!) so this didn't impact my reviews.
March 23, 2019
The second most disappointing thing about this book is that the synopsis is a bit misleading. I expected more dark lording from a tiny adorable goblin. I didn't really get any. What I expected was a player who gets bored with her friends and decides to become the brains behind the eponymous Dark Lord Bert.
The most disappointing thing about this book is the worldbuilding, or lack thereof. Puns and pop culture references are not a substitute for good worldbuilding.
The setting is absolutely bonkers with bad jokes to the point that there's no actual substance to it. Everything, from the characters to the town names to the lore of the world itself are nothing but bad jokes. A Bard named Whanye East. A sparkling vampire named Kullen. The Kount, a horrifying Nuppet--not an undead, but an unliving--who comes from somewhere near Straggle Rock, deep in the Undersnark. Sir Patrick, who acted and spoke so unlike his namesake that the author had to make sure I knew it was supposed to be Patrick Stewart.
When spells are cast, their chants are random Latin words strung together. Nobody can comprehend how nasty one of the characters is because his alignment--which he chose--is set to Lawful Good. And, despite the game being what it is, it apparently has a permadeath mechanic?
I can't think of a single person I know who would take this game as seriously as the characters do. Yeah, my friends and I would probably mess around in it, but we'd never get to max level, or become the slightest bit invested in any meaningful way. And this is obviously a VR game--usually portrayed as prohibitively expensive--which kept me asking who made this, and why? Is it popular because it's the only VRMMO? We don't know, because we never see the "real world" of this universe.
The book could have been more interesting if it explored other concepts, like how one of the game's systems automatically suspends disbelief for the players, going so far as to suppress their memories of the outside world. Imagine if that system broke! Imagine if Kit had to deal with the real life drama of leaving her friends to team up with an NPC!
But it doesn't explore those concepts, and I stopped smiling at the jokes early on. The only reason I finished this book is because I had nothing better to do at the time, and it was short. I wish I'd played Civilization instead.
The most disappointing thing about this book is the worldbuilding, or lack thereof. Puns and pop culture references are not a substitute for good worldbuilding.
The setting is absolutely bonkers with bad jokes to the point that there's no actual substance to it. Everything, from the characters to the town names to the lore of the world itself are nothing but bad jokes. A Bard named Whanye East. A sparkling vampire named Kullen. The Kount, a horrifying Nuppet--not an undead, but an unliving--who comes from somewhere near Straggle Rock, deep in the Undersnark. Sir Patrick, who acted and spoke so unlike his namesake that the author had to make sure I knew it was supposed to be Patrick Stewart.
When spells are cast, their chants are random Latin words strung together. Nobody can comprehend how nasty one of the characters is because his alignment--which he chose--is set to Lawful Good. And, despite the game being what it is, it apparently has a permadeath mechanic?
I can't think of a single person I know who would take this game as seriously as the characters do. Yeah, my friends and I would probably mess around in it, but we'd never get to max level, or become the slightest bit invested in any meaningful way. And this is obviously a VR game--usually portrayed as prohibitively expensive--which kept me asking who made this, and why? Is it popular because it's the only VRMMO? We don't know, because we never see the "real world" of this universe.
The book could have been more interesting if it explored other concepts, like how one of the game's systems automatically suspends disbelief for the players, going so far as to suppress their memories of the outside world. Imagine if that system broke! Imagine if Kit had to deal with the real life drama of leaving her friends to team up with an NPC!
But it doesn't explore those concepts, and I stopped smiling at the jokes early on. The only reason I finished this book is because I had nothing better to do at the time, and it was short. I wish I'd played Civilization instead.
December 24, 2019
This book was pretty meh. By the title alone, I was expecting Bert the goblin critter to gain the Dark Lord trope much sooner and have a story where he was learning and dealing with becoming a dark lord. However, most of the book is concerned with Bert’s day-to-day and his dream of becoming a Warg Rider, which is fine for character development but it was the majority of his story role. The other half of the story was concerned with a group of adventurers, their lousy roleplaying party dynamics, and eventual betrayal and expulsion of the marginalized member, a kitsune sorceress named Kit. The story splits between Kit’s plight and Bert’s struggle to scavenge money for a Warg. They eventually join forces and hire a rogue to help take down White, the treacherous adventure party leader, and wannabe Dark Lord in the very last couple of chapters. The Dark Lord trope (that White is lusting after) is donned by Bert more as a secret weapon rather than anything more significant to this story.
The story was fine but the humor was mostly punning and reference-based (RPG and pop-fantasy mostly), it was a little tiresome but did lend the story a lighthearted tone if not any actual laughs. The other major problem with this story for me was that when the focus was on Kit it was consistently mentioned that the entire story was just a game where Bert, the title character, was simply an NPC. Essentially, what this tells the reader is that the story simply does not matter. It threw me out every time. If the writer had included some table-time in the real world with the players of the adventurer characters including Kit, that would have helped me to remain in the story. Of course, that would mean that Bert would have to be some weird experiment by the Dungeon-Master as a non-player character run by random dice rolls or something like that to lend some story power to him. He would be significant because he would a presence, albeit a fuzzy one, in the real world of the players.
Unfortunately, that is not what you get here. For these reasons, I did not really care for it too much. Although, it was a very easy and fast read. The chapters are really short and the plot is very basic. So, if you are looking for an easy and quick read through an okay fantasy story with plenty of tabletop roleplaying references along the way, then this is probably the book for you but not for me.
May 1, 2019
What an absolute hysterical hoot! This is a story that takes itself seriously by NOT taking itself seriously. Poking fun at pop culture, geek culture and gamer culture, I just could not stop laughing throughout the entire thing.
In an unnamed MMORPG, Bert is a 1 hit-point goblin. So low he's considered by the game to be a critter rather than a monster or any kind of threat to anything or anyone. He's at the bottom of goblin rankings and he dreams of being a Warg Rider. But see... Bert's smart - for a goblin. Rather than looking for garbage like other goblins, he has paid attention to players and seen that they take the bits of metal as loot and exchange that metal for stuff. So he starts following players around and looting for metal so he can go buy himself a Warg and become a Warg Rider.
Along the way, he follows a group of players as they tackle a dungeon and while they are busy battling the Boss monster of the dungeon, he goes and loots it. But along with the money, he takes a gem that turns out to be what gives the holder of the gem the power and rank of the Boss monster. Suddenly he finds himself in a role he was not created for, and in need of help from players to make his world safe.
If you play any kind of RPG (tabletop or online) this book is for you. I was totally the target audience. And James Gillies reading of it just made it even more spectacularly entertaining.
In an unnamed MMORPG, Bert is a 1 hit-point goblin. So low he's considered by the game to be a critter rather than a monster or any kind of threat to anything or anyone. He's at the bottom of goblin rankings and he dreams of being a Warg Rider. But see... Bert's smart - for a goblin. Rather than looking for garbage like other goblins, he has paid attention to players and seen that they take the bits of metal as loot and exchange that metal for stuff. So he starts following players around and looting for metal so he can go buy himself a Warg and become a Warg Rider.
Along the way, he follows a group of players as they tackle a dungeon and while they are busy battling the Boss monster of the dungeon, he goes and loots it. But along with the money, he takes a gem that turns out to be what gives the holder of the gem the power and rank of the Boss monster. Suddenly he finds himself in a role he was not created for, and in need of help from players to make his world safe.
If you play any kind of RPG (tabletop or online) this book is for you. I was totally the target audience. And James Gillies reading of it just made it even more spectacularly entertaining.
April 5, 2020
I laughed out loud very early and often at The Dark Lord Bert. Then somehow Bert became one of the most endearing characters I've read in a long time. Seriously. If you roll your eyes at the pop culture references (I didn't) or groan at the sometimes juvenile jokes (I didn't), you still have to love Bert.
I am a longtime tabletop gamer and I recognize the RPG talk (and especially the elements of gaming where people go nuts and ruin it for everyone else), so none of that had me confused or anything. One thing that does have me confused is the way people have criticized this book for NOT being a litRPG . I have no idea what a litRPG is. Apparently some people have given worse ratings to the book for not being a real litRPG. I could be wrong, but I don't remember it ever being marketed as a litRPG. So my next step is to read a real litRPG so I can find out what exactly that is and why someone would feel the need to dock stars from this wonderful little book for not being a litRPG.
I'm not going to jump on a soapbox here, but I'm just going to say that it's pretty weak to dock stars from somebody's fiction because of what it isn't. And I will leave it at that, nerd.
I am a longtime tabletop gamer and I recognize the RPG talk (and especially the elements of gaming where people go nuts and ruin it for everyone else), so none of that had me confused or anything. One thing that does have me confused is the way people have criticized this book for NOT being a litRPG . I have no idea what a litRPG is. Apparently some people have given worse ratings to the book for not being a real litRPG. I could be wrong, but I don't remember it ever being marketed as a litRPG. So my next step is to read a real litRPG so I can find out what exactly that is and why someone would feel the need to dock stars from this wonderful little book for not being a litRPG.
I'm not going to jump on a soapbox here, but I'm just going to say that it's pretty weak to dock stars from somebody's fiction because of what it isn't. And I will leave it at that, nerd.
March 16, 2019
The only thing that I actually liked here is Bert. Bert keeps me from giving this a one star. Everything else is just garbage.
The story about Bert would have been a great story but the setting is just a joke. Whanye East? The cringe with that one. Well, this book constantly makes me cringe with its lame pop culture references and unfunny jokes.
At least this book would Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer proud with its Epic Movie kind of humor.
And how terribly dated this novel is. It would only get worse as time passes by. Pop culture references has short shelf-life and a book that is dependent on it is always going to get stale quickly. This novel is just not made with longevity in mind.
What is there to say. It is just not good. This is really uncreative, uninspired and lazy.
No. This is not a book for gamers of all flavors. They deserve better than regurgitated nothing like this.
The story about Bert would have been a great story but the setting is just a joke. Whanye East? The cringe with that one. Well, this book constantly makes me cringe with its lame pop culture references and unfunny jokes.
At least this book would Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer proud with its Epic Movie kind of humor.
And how terribly dated this novel is. It would only get worse as time passes by. Pop culture references has short shelf-life and a book that is dependent on it is always going to get stale quickly. This novel is just not made with longevity in mind.
What is there to say. It is just not good. This is really uncreative, uninspired and lazy.
No. This is not a book for gamers of all flavors. They deserve better than regurgitated nothing like this.
May 11, 2019
This story is different from the LitRPG stories I've listened to and not in a bad way; more story, less game. The main character was quite funny, and rather endearing. I rooted for him the whole way along. Some of the jokes and references were quite silly, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc, but they worked well enough in the world. It's a story that doesn't take itself too seriously, and you shouldn't either. Anyone who's ever played any kind of RPG will find much to enjoy in this story and I highly recommend it.
The narrator was phenomenal, with a lovely British accent that nicely complimented the style of humor favored in the book.
I received this book for free from the author via Reddit.
The narrator was phenomenal, with a lovely British accent that nicely complimented the style of humor favored in the book.
I received this book for free from the author via Reddit.
April 28, 2020
It’s... ok
It has moments of hilarity. However, much of the book is dumbed down to the point where character motivations don’t make sense. Like why does Kit stay with the necromancer? Maybe there is a reason but it isn’t explained. Not a fan of the style of prose, but maybe that is a matter of taste.
Some of the references are great (Sir Patrick), but much of it feels forced/corny to the point of not being funny. I like Bert, I wish the book had been written from just his point of view and delved deeper into his struggles.
Overall, fun story and I love Bert, just feels very light on content/world building. Anyone without a decent knowledge of science fiction or fantasy wont understand what is going on.
It has moments of hilarity. However, much of the book is dumbed down to the point where character motivations don’t make sense. Like why does Kit stay with the necromancer? Maybe there is a reason but it isn’t explained. Not a fan of the style of prose, but maybe that is a matter of taste.
Some of the references are great (Sir Patrick), but much of it feels forced/corny to the point of not being funny. I like Bert, I wish the book had been written from just his point of view and delved deeper into his struggles.
Overall, fun story and I love Bert, just feels very light on content/world building. Anyone without a decent knowledge of science fiction or fantasy wont understand what is going on.
September 8, 2021
The whole premise of this book is hilarious. A one-hit-point and surprisingly adorable goblin in a virtual reality version of D&D tags behind a group of adventurers. He scrounges through the loot they leave behind, hoping to save enough to by a mount and become important in his goblin village--and accidentally finds a trope that turns him into a dark lord.
Overall, I liked this book, though some of the humor was a bit crude for my taste. (There's a character named Crotchshot. Guess what his deal is.) The characters are great and surprisingly complex. Its a fast and fun read. It does have very occasional strong language (f*) and some mentions of adult themes (nothing explicit), but overall I'd rate this book PG-13.
Overall, I liked this book, though some of the humor was a bit crude for my taste. (There's a character named Crotchshot. Guess what his deal is.) The characters are great and surprisingly complex. Its a fast and fun read. It does have very occasional strong language (f*) and some mentions of adult themes (nothing explicit), but overall I'd rate this book PG-13.
February 27, 2019
I'm a big fan of Chris' books, so I was excited to see his take on a new genre. I'm not too terribly familiar with the new LitRPG/GameLit genres, but I have read Robert Bevan's "Critical Failures" so I feel like I have a good sense of what Chris was going for in this book. As with Critical Failures, I found the humor to be a little juvenile for my tastes, and I'm still trying to figure out how important the "gaming" aspects of the story are to this genre... but it was an otherwise very enjoyable read. Bert is a great character and there were some truly excellent and surprising narrative developments and character moments that are a hallmark of Chris' work.
July 21, 2019
A brilliant read
I picked this up initially because of the title. (I tend to call everyone Bert as I can never remember names. This way no one is offended.) Anyway back to the book.
The characters are well thought out and really come to life as you make your way through the tale. The writing and the flow of the narrative blend to make you want to know more. As the cliche stipulates this is a proper page turner.
There is hint of a sequel which does perk my interest but I am unsure how they could follow this up. I wait with great interest.
Now stop reading this drivel and buy the book already
I picked this up initially because of the title. (I tend to call everyone Bert as I can never remember names. This way no one is offended.) Anyway back to the book.
The characters are well thought out and really come to life as you make your way through the tale. The writing and the flow of the narrative blend to make you want to know more. As the cliche stipulates this is a proper page turner.
There is hint of a sequel which does perk my interest but I am unsure how they could follow this up. I wait with great interest.
Now stop reading this drivel and buy the book already
February 15, 2019
2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars due to how adorable Bert was. This LitRPG book was messed up. The puns, plays on words and chaotic tropes were over the top and more than a bit irritating. From the magical school Frogwarts with Bumbledork the headmaster, the mighty OLP (ominous Latin phrase), the hip Mummy Brotep, the bard Whanye East and the glittering vampire Baron Kullen, the punnyness keeps on coming. If it wasn't for Bert and Boberton his two headed pet dog, this would be flat and uninteresting. Almost worth reading, but won't read a sequel.
March 29, 2019
As a gamer myself, I found this book delightful!
There were a few too many unexplained gaming terms that required a background knowledge of RPGs that a reader may not have, but reading for context is becoming a lost art these days, anyway; exercising that skill with this book was a fun part of the experience for me!
The story of how a fox-elf and a critter, constantly overlooked and effectively invisible, grow into leaders (and worse) will catch you up and reel you in with its charming little hero, Bert.
There were a few too many unexplained gaming terms that required a background knowledge of RPGs that a reader may not have, but reading for context is becoming a lost art these days, anyway; exercising that skill with this book was a fun part of the experience for me!
The story of how a fox-elf and a critter, constantly overlooked and effectively invisible, grow into leaders (and worse) will catch you up and reel you in with its charming little hero, Bert.
April 14, 2019
This has to be the start have an amazing series fart is funny Charming tragic and someone that you want to hear from again and again hopefully 4 at the very least and 8 part series this author shows great potential not sense the early part of the career of Terry Pratchett of the Discworld series Fame who has not passed on has an author showing such a great potential for a series can't wait for the next supposed to go on Audible hopefully they'll be as many as 24 but definitely have to have eight can't wait
June 11, 2019
This book was every bit of fun that I was hoping for. As a writer who has followed Chris Fox for writing tips for the better part of a year, this was the first fiction book of his I've ever dived in to. What a treat. He's managed to turn every fantasy trope on its ear and then cheerfully wink at you. And even though I have never played a role-playing game, he kept it simple enough that I got the jist and never felt lost on the details. His world-building is exquisite and attention to detail spot on. Very much looking forward to the inevitable sequel.
June 25, 2024
I read this in a couple of days, and really enjoyed it. It's a very simple story, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment. It's ultimately a fun little book.
I enjoyed many of the jokes and parodies. Some were a little on-the-nose to me - a condescending wizard named White who takes credit other people's achievements - but this was rare.
I would recommend this for KU members; 3.99 seems a bit much to me considering its length. Despite that, I still love Bert and look forward to reading the second book in this series.
I enjoyed many of the jokes and parodies. Some were a little on-the-nose to me - a condescending wizard named White who takes credit other people's achievements - but this was rare.
I would recommend this for KU members; 3.99 seems a bit much to me considering its length. Despite that, I still love Bert and look forward to reading the second book in this series.
February 26, 2019
Hilarious and fun
No spoilers...
This was, I believe, Mr Foxes first foray into GameLit and he smashed it out of the park.
Totally enjoyable characters that truly do level up as the tale progresses. Whilst it’s not a serious game player style novel, it certainly ticks all the boxes of the genre.
Do I recommend it? Yes, if your after a good light hearted piece of fun.
Will I be reading the next one? You betcha... as soon as t becomes available.
No spoilers...
This was, I believe, Mr Foxes first foray into GameLit and he smashed it out of the park.
Totally enjoyable characters that truly do level up as the tale progresses. Whilst it’s not a serious game player style novel, it certainly ticks all the boxes of the genre.
Do I recommend it? Yes, if your after a good light hearted piece of fun.
Will I be reading the next one? You betcha... as soon as t becomes available.
March 2, 2019
I wanted to love this book, but the lame humor kept getting in the way. The story is enjoyable and original and most of the characters are interesting. But the book tries to get clever with characters who basically spoof famous people or well known characters from other fantasy books. And it just falls flats. Perhaps some people might find it funny, but I found it as an unfortunate distraction to an otherwise fun story.
June 1, 2019
Fun to read
This is possibly the first kind of negative review I think I have ever left... It was a lot of fun to read, but I found the constabt references to other sources including Harry Potter, Twilight and New Girl, among other things, to be kind of unnecessary. The story was solid on its own and I feel that it probably would have been better without these references. All in all, however I really liked it.
This is possibly the first kind of negative review I think I have ever left... It was a lot of fun to read, but I found the constabt references to other sources including Harry Potter, Twilight and New Girl, among other things, to be kind of unnecessary. The story was solid on its own and I feel that it probably would have been better without these references. All in all, however I really liked it.
June 15, 2019
Strong start and sloppy ending
The beginning was wonderful—especially for gamers since this was clearly full of satire for the gaming tropes. But the ending was disappointing. The characters didn’t grow or change even then the plot made a big deal out of it (e.g. huge boost to intelligence and yet still using childish grammar and thinking in the same “voice”). And the ending was short and too easy. Fun but shallow.
The beginning was wonderful—especially for gamers since this was clearly full of satire for the gaming tropes. But the ending was disappointing. The characters didn’t grow or change even then the plot made a big deal out of it (e.g. huge boost to intelligence and yet still using childish grammar and thinking in the same “voice”). And the ending was short and too easy. Fun but shallow.
June 24, 2019
Super adorable book, and I so hope there is going to be another one!
The Dark Lord Bert pokes fun at all that we love and hate about gaming. Very light on the LitRPG, but I think that was purposeful. It wouldn't have been as great of a book if it had been heavy on that aspect. I loved all the references, and re-imagining of characters. A quick fun read for anyone that enjoys gaming, nerd stuff, and fantasy. (and can see the humor in those that take it a tad too seriously. :P )
The Dark Lord Bert pokes fun at all that we love and hate about gaming. Very light on the LitRPG, but I think that was purposeful. It wouldn't have been as great of a book if it had been heavy on that aspect. I loved all the references, and re-imagining of characters. A quick fun read for anyone that enjoys gaming, nerd stuff, and fantasy. (and can see the humor in those that take it a tad too seriously. :P )
November 29, 2019
Bert, Kit, And Company
Bert is a weak goblin. So small that others don't even notice him. Kit is a Kitsune and a sorceress in an adventure group. Bert is smarter than the average goblin and has dreams of bettering himself. Kit feels mistreated by her group and worries that she is in e wrong group. Bert is likeable and considers Kit a friend. I like the action, humor, and plot. I look forward to the next book.
Bert is a weak goblin. So small that others don't even notice him. Kit is a Kitsune and a sorceress in an adventure group. Bert is smarter than the average goblin and has dreams of bettering himself. Kit feels mistreated by her group and worries that she is in e wrong group. Bert is likeable and considers Kit a friend. I like the action, humor, and plot. I look forward to the next book.
January 21, 2020
2D pastiche
Unfortunately I only made it 45% of the way through this book. At a certain point I got tired of the poorly written parody, except for Bert all the characters are cartoonishly two dimensional and the only female character is mostly there to be a damsel in distress and lacks all agency which I've seen too often in other poorly written fantasy.
The idea of the novel is somewhat original. The execution is poor.
Unfortunately I only made it 45% of the way through this book. At a certain point I got tired of the poorly written parody, except for Bert all the characters are cartoonishly two dimensional and the only female character is mostly there to be a damsel in distress and lacks all agency which I've seen too often in other poorly written fantasy.
The idea of the novel is somewhat original. The execution is poor.
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