This book poses some interesting questions. If you woke up with no memories, should you be judged for your past actions? Are you even the same person? Personally, I lean towards no. Your experiences make you, you, so if you lose them, who even are you? This story explores that and what it means to make amends and try to be different in a digestible way that doesn’t take away from the importance of its message.

Our main character is an “evil” wizard. He has no memory as soon as we meet him, so we don’t know his past. He fumbles around and lies his way through situations to hide that his memories are gone and succeeds for the most part. He has a castle full of goblin servants, a village that fears him and a captive princess. Gav, formerly Gavrax, comes to find out that he’s part of a diabolical plan involving three other evil wizards. Throughout the story, he tries his best to play along, but he has a strong sense of self-preservation and also wants to ensure the princess, goblins and village people are safe. This perspective shows that, at a baseline, people are good. Without the corruption of existence, purity of heart is an inherent state. He grapples with the actions of his past self as more instances of his villainy come to light. Many notice the change to his demeanor but don’t question it, because why look a gift horse in the mouth? The princess is the only one who constantly throws his actions back at him and their dynamic is one that evolves throughout the course of the story in the most interesting ways. Their relationship really helps develop the conflicting ideas of “who you are now is what matters” and “you can’t erase your past.” Eliasha treats Gav like the villain he is, which helps the reader from firmly standing on Gav’s side. She has her own problems though as the hierarchy of a kingdom can be complicated. Her experience adds another layer to the depth of this story and provides a different perspective on the world. These two characters are enough to support the plot, but the side characters also contribute in their own ways and balance of the story is perfect. There’s just enough character development for the supporting cast that it doesn’t detract from Gav and Eliasha.

Dreadful is cute and charming with a well full of meaning. The story’s presentation is comical but has a deep subtext to add so much more meaning to it and I greatly appreciate the effort. Amnesia has been done so many times, but the way it’s done here adds so much more to the conversation. It’s a story with a lot of great moments and many made me laugh. It feels personal and the struggles that Gav faces, walking the line between good and evil, are realistic. People are inherently good, only through life do we change and grow. Gav is taking his second chance and trying to be better, something that few people ever get to do. It’s inspiring to see and I really enjoyed reading it. It’s short and everything that happens furthers the story in a meaningful way. It was a pleasure getting to know Gav and princess Eliasha. The open ending allows one to fantasize about where they would end up and the fact that I think about that is a testament to the storytelling present in this book.