Only Villains Do That: An Isekai Adventure

Only Villains Do That, Book 1

By: D. D. Webb

Narrated by: Todd Haberkorn

Length: 21 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

From the author of the Gods Are Bastards series comes a new isekai adventure, in which a man is granted sinister powers he doesn't even want.

On a typical day, on an average train platform, two warring sister goddesses found their avatars. One avatar, the young Yoshi, was swept away to the world of Ephemera to be a great hero of honor, courage, and light. The other, the not-so-young Seiji, was swept away to become a dark lord out to kill or conquer all in his path.

But Seiji is in absolutely no mood for that nonsense. It's bad enough that on Earth he was a closed-off, misanthropic grouch with zero patience for other people. Now he's supposed to muster enough of a give-a-damn to lead vile hordes, crush Yoshi, and take all of Ephemera as his own? No thanks. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a choice.

Seiji's patron goddess wants results, and if he doesn't deliver, she's going to take a serious interest in discovering his pain, suffering, and overall misery threshold. But just because he doesn't care about people, doesn't mean he doesn't care whether they suffer by his own hand. After all, just because you're the embodiment of ultimate evil doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it.

The first volume of the hit fantasy adventure series—with more than five million views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

©2024 D. D. Webb (P)2024 Podium Audio

much better than I thought it would be

First the bad

a tendency towards repetitiveness and kinda cringy at times. a little preachy too at times with his rants about society.

now the good

surprising excellent world building that didn't feel bogged down. Interesting and developed side characters.

lastly

narrator did a descent job, a little too much emotion at times and a few parts where he lost track of the accents he was trying to do but overall good.

Fantastic Isekai adventure!

I really LOVED this book. A smart & (reluctant) villain, or a hero in disguise. Voice acting was great too. A huge “thank you” to author for not including “harem” garbage in his book. I highly recommend. I can’t really give a more detailed review without spoilers. Already pre-ordered Book 2!

Rooting for the bad guy

I have read many a stories where they try so incredibly hard to get you to root forvthe bad guy....a fail. This story does not. You start the book thinking the main character is an a$$h0le but quickly realize he is saying so many of the things we wish we could. Not because we are evil but because "GOOD" is used to cove up or hide evil acts by those in control. The Dark Lord forced into a life he doesn't want decides he is going to change what is wrong and lift people up and out of the slums they are in ...and if in the process he concers the world.... oh well then it happens

Another world story without stats

A great story I didn't even know I needed. The lack of stats or harems really go a long way in making this great

Way better than I’d hoped.

I gave this audiobook 5 stars even though I occasionally felt like the MC was a little exaggerated. I didn’t penalize the book for this because when taken on the whole it does fit the story and the themes.

I just wish the author had been a little more nuanced with the MC’s inner monologue. As a result the MC sometimes comes across as annoyingly dickish and immature even though he’s clearly supposed to be kind of a jerk.

That aside this was a really engaging and at least somewhat different take on the genre. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and the story and I’m excitedly awaiting the next book.

The Dark Lord... is a Healer?

This story has a couple of tropes that, if advertised, I think could bring in a lot more readers. First, the Dark Lord is a Healer! People love Healer Isekai stories; there aren't enough of them. Second, the main character is the Dark Lord, which you can figure out from the summary of the story.

That aside, I love this story, and the voice actor totally had me glued. It's nice having someone actually act out the story and not just read it to me—the difference between a voice actor and a narrator, I suppose.

As for the story, it kind of reminds me more of an isekai mafia-like trope, even though it has elements of everything you'd expect. Mostly mafia, though. To overturn the world, his great plan is to introduce Earth social concepts—feminism. Yeah, I rolled my eyes and laughed at that one a bit too much. Still, this entire story takes place outside a single city within a magical realm, unraveling the city’s (or kingdom’s) social structure from the very bottom to topple the top—through the power of healing and prostitutes. Albeit, he may sometimes imbue the most powerful healing spell with a fire spell, acting like an absolute sadist to those he’s healing, eliciting agonizing screams. However, we do get references about how horrible that makes him feel, and eventually how horrible he feels for no longer feeling horrible about it. lol

As for the main character, well, he's a sarcastic smartass, which I personally got a kick out of, but may not vibe with everyone.

In any regard, I loved it, and it feels like a fresh take on a repetitive trope that seems overused. Can't wait for the sequel!

Masterclass in parody, narration, and storytelling

This book is genuinely one of the best listens I've had all year. The narrator is impeccable with his voices, the story is a wild ride, and overall it's a fantastic take on the hero-saves-the-world trope.

The Story where the Protagonist is the Antagonist.

A respectable twist on the ancient tale of The Hero and The Villain, summoned to a period of instability, where injustice and inequity rule - one shall Defend The Status Quo, and one shall Tear the institutions down, and rebuild the World according to their own view of How It Should Be.

Two people, isekai'd to a world of lies and inexcusable suffering, but here our Villain, the Dark Lord of the story, who came to raze cities and topple Order, at the command of a malovent yet bored Goddess, finds the world is just so damn broken, that the most Socially Disruptive action he can take is to try and fix it.

A well crafted and narrated story. Does contain graphic descriptions of suffering and trauma. It affects him more than it will you.

Loved it

If you're an isekai fan then this will obviously be your book. The story is solid and i thought quite funny. I can't wait for the next one.

Very well

A refreshingly different anime book that I look forward to hearing the next in the series!!