How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps

The LitRPG bestseller

Andrew Rowe

$49.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

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English

Gollancz
13 January 2026

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Fantasy

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

'An endlessly inventive and entertaining love letter to all of us underdogs who spent countless hours with a game controller in hand, daydreaming about how we would save the realm'

Matt Dinniman, New York Times-bestselling author of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series

For thousands of years, there has been a cycle: a Demon King rises and conquers, and a Hero is reborn a hundred years later to defeat him. Each time, civilisations are ground to dust beneath the Demon King's hordes, but humanity has remained secure in the belief that a Hero of legend will always save them. There's just one slight problem. It's only been 23 years since the Demon King's latest rise, and this time, he's already conquered more than half the world. If humanity simply waits for the Hero's return, there may be no world left for him to save.

And so, Yui Shaw sets out with an ambitious plan. A 10-step plan.

She'll find a way to obtain the Hero's legendary sword. She'll earn obscure classes, gain levels, and increase her skills. She'll travel to the meticulously-crafted dungeons that seem designed for one specific Hero to complete. And, if she's truly (un)fortunate, she might even find a fairy.

How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps is an unmissable LitRPG fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and all your favourite RPG stories from The Legend of Zelda, Baldur's Gate, and Split Fiction to Dungeons & Dragons, Critical Role, and Dimension 20.

By: Andrew Rowe
Imprint: Gollancz
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 232mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 420g
ISBN: 9781399636759
ISBN 10: 1399636758
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 13 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Andrew Rowe was once a professional game designer for awesome companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Cryptic Studios, and Obsidian Entertainment. Nowadays, he's a New York Times bestselling author and writing full time. When he's not crunching numbers for game balance, he runs live-action role-playing games set in the same universe as his books. In addition, he writes for pen and paper role-playing games. Aside from game design and writing, Andrew watches a lot of anime, reads a metric ton of fantasy books, and plays every role-playing game he can get his hands on.