Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Publish date: 1st August 2024

 

How many times have you dreamt of entering the world of your favourite novel or series? Got lost in the thought of meeting that character or leading the charge against that villain? Being the one to entice that dark haired, shadow wielding … *cough* ok, let me bring it back to the point. Many of us dream of entering our favourite fantasy novel, with the usual caveats, of course. Obviously, we want to be one of the rich or powerful or beautiful characters, not the cannon fodder or poverty stricken nobodies that hover in the background, worth nothing more than a passing reference, if that. But what would it take you to actually DO it? Maybe your imminent death? That’s what happens to Rae. When a mysterious woman reveals that there’s no hope left for her, that her tumours have spread and the upcoming costs of treatment will destroy her family before she dies anyway, she’s offered one opportunity to change it all, to live. And she takes it. Who wouldn’t? Finding herself in the pages of her favourite fantasy series, Rae uses every bit of her (admittedly patchy) knowledge of the plot to keep herself alive and manipulate her way to her goal – stealing the Flower of Life and Death. It’s her only chance to live her real life again, free of disease and pain. But being a villain is harder than it looks and the real world is not the only place where death stalks the story…

‘I’m not a villain! I’m someone whose thoughts and desires conflict with those of the main characters.’

Rae snorted. ‘Same thing.’

There’s no doubt that this is hugely fun and one of the most innovative and memorable books I’ve read in a long time. I’m not usually a fan of modern day/fantasy crossovers, but the pop culture references in this were spot on and genuinely funny. The main character’s awareness of the ‘rules’ of fantasy, and this story in particular, had the same vibe that’s been used so effectively in horror films – there’s real comedy in the meta aspect of genre fiction and the author plays that game well here. Our main character, Rae, now Lady Rahela, leans in to her role as sexy villainess, and up first on her to-do list is preventing the execution plan that will have her dead the morning immediately following her ‘arrival’ in her new body. But Rae is a problem solver and without the heavy burden of a dying body and endless pain, she’s ready to take on the world. And boy, does she do it with style.

Building a team of evil minions, she schemes her way into a whole new plot line. While Cobra (spymaster and bling extraordinaire) was a firm favourite, I quickly fell totally in love with the amoral Key (person, not inanimate object) whose love of backstabbing and all other forms of violent action was wickedly appealing. I’m a sucker for a bad boy. Or in this case, a gleeful sociopath. There may be a deck of morally grey characters in this novel, but some are pitch black – selfish and savagely cut-throat. In a novel which questions what it really means to be a hero or villain, it’s fun to see darkness walking in the figure of Key. Who doesn’t want a man who’d kill the whole world just to brighten your day?

‘Beg for mercy,’ Key suggested. ‘It amuses me.’

Playfully shattering expectations from the first page to the last, Long Live Evil brings us a truly original reading experience. The ending was everything that I wanted, dark and deadly and beautifully obsessive. There’s something so freeing about being able to cheer for Team Evil without any of those pesky moral qualms. Who knows what kind of death and destruction they plan next? Whatever depths of Hell they sink to, I’ll be there for the party with my own sharp smile.

ARC via Netgalley

Buy from Blackwell’s (free worldwide shipping)/ Waterstones/ Amazon Kindle