Quick Synopsis – We could think of nothing but the barbarian. He had come here, surely, to murder or marry someone, to exact revenge, or to say or do something very scandalous. We could hardly wait to see which it was. We hoped it would be all of them.

The barbarian traveled far to consult the wizards of the empire. Instead of lending their aid, they ensorcelled him, exploited his strength, and stole his sword. They should not have done that. Now the barbarian plans to kill every wizard who wronged him, even if that means blending in with their vile society: dressing in finery, taking tea in exclusive clubs, and reserving the best box at the theater.

Oh, he hates it all with the fiery passion of his savage heart—but not as much as he hates these wizards.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Beast of Burden – The Rolling Stones

Release Date – June 16, 2026

Bookshop Link – Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry

Content Notes – There is a fair amount of violence, blood, and gore in this book. There is kidnapping, drugging a character, and loss of a loved one.

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – This book was a fun adventure that can easily be read in a day, perfect for a little beach read or a rainy day in or just because you want to read. Honestly, the only reason this wasn’t a 5-Star read for me was because I didn’t always vibe with the writing style of the author. There are several points in the book where the 4th wall is broken. It was kind of fun, but I didn’t really love it. I think breaks like that are very hard to do without also taking the reader out of the story.

The story follows Gotch the Barbarian, initially we start with Gotch sitting down to tea with a friend. From there Gotch is recounting his adventures to his companion and how Gotch lost his eye. I do think that the author does a great job of weaving through the backstory and the current story, there are several seamless transitions from Gotch at the tea table to Gotch in the past. This is a short book, but the characters are easy to invest in. I think I could have done with a prologue explaining the politics of the world a little better.

While Gotch, our barbarian, does a good job through his narration talking about the wizards and the 5th Committee. However, I still didn’t have a good feel for Gotch’s own background. I would read the next book in the series though and I’m excited to see how the characters continue to develop.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor – Tordotcom for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.