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A sharp-witted, debut high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, evil wizards and a garlic festival – all at once. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, K. J. Parker and Travis Baldree.

It’s bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard’s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something.

It’s a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is… you.

Gav isn’t really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed.

But as he realizes that nothing – from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess – is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he’ll have to answer the hardest question of all – who does he want to be?

A high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, an evil wizard convocation, and a garlic festival. All at once. All in all, Dread Lord Gavrax has had better weeks.

Don't just take our word for it...

“An absolutely magnificent comedic fantasy with a hint of bite. This book was a witty, empathetic, and genuinely funny meditation on the nature of good and evil. It was easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.”
– Olivia Atwater, author of Half a Soul and The Witchwood Knot

“It was very kind of Caitlin Rozakis to write this book for me. Sure, the rest of you should like it too, but it was clearly written for me, with all the elements I love: fun and humor, breaking fantasy tropes, interesting and complex questions about identity and redemption, and some delightful goblins!”
– Jim C. Hines, author of Goblin Quest

“Adding a surprising dose of heart to her quick-witted tale, Rozakis demonstrates her excellent comedic timing and keen ability to keep readers guessing. This clever, high-energy fantasy is a delight.”
– Publishers Weekly 

Taste the very first page

He woke up with no eyebrows and no idea how he’d gotten into such a position.

It wasn’t just that he couldn’t remember why he was lying on his back, or why there were tiny fires smoldering throughout the room. He couldn’t remember the room.

It was not the kind of room to be forgettable. The floor was made of black marble, with concentric silver circles embedded in it. The remains of an elaborate pattern of magical runes and indeterminate squiggles chalked around the outermost circle had been scuffed into partial illegibility. A dagger whose death’s- head pommel gave him the willies lay coated in caking blood. The wall had manacles embedded in the stone, which made him passingly grateful to have only been on his back on the floor. He didn’t know whether the large articulated bird skeleton was intended as an oft-used resource or just decoration. The human skull with a half-melted candle jutting out of it attempted to be both. As far as he was concerned, it succeeded at neither. Who had chosen this decorating scheme? He was tempted to give the owner a piece of his mind, if only he could remember who the owner was.

Or who he was.

June 2024