Butler to the Dark Lord
A Grim Choices Gamebook
In this darkly funny choose-your-own-adventure-style gamebook, YOU play the conniving butler to the dark lord, and the choices you make shape the story.
With multiple pathways and 9 different endings to discover (not to mention plenty of ways to meet an untimely demise), you’re going to have your work cut out for you ensuring the castle runs smoothly. This is Downton Abbey meets Mordor – will you serve-vive?
– Navigate a cast of treacherous nobility and unwelcome relatives
– Help the household werewolves make it through ‘that time of the month’
– Manage a kitchen staff of stupid goblins
– Teach the castle harpies the merits of personal hygiene
– ‘Accidentally’ sleep with a virgin due to be sacrificed to the Shadow God
– Sample too much booze in the wine cellar
– Serve a feast of live balfrog tadpoles
– And much more!
“It’s amazing that Bowring has taken this form of story-telling and used it to tell a fantasy story to an adult audience. It works very well in e-book format because all the choices are hyperlinked to the relevant page – no endlessly flipping back and forth! … There are ribald jokes and double entendres throughout … Malacandros is also a terrifying boss (but sometimes he’s really nice!), and the atmosphere of the book is danger-filled and darkly humorous.”
– Speculating on SpecFic
“Even though the intention is clearly humorous and the various scenarios consistently amusing, ‘Butler to the Dark Lord’ is far from merely being a tongue-in-cheek parody of adventure gamebooks. There is a real adventure, which, thanks to the assassination plot, has a decent storyline with a reasonable level of challenge and intrigue … It all makes for a highly enjoyable adventure with a bit of a difference. It’s sure to keep you entertained throughout.”
– Amazon UK reviewer
