Carl's Doomsday Scenario
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series, Book 2
Matt Dinniman
Ace
Fiction, Fantasy/Humor/Sci-Fi
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: Coast Guard veteran Carl and his cat companion, Princess Donut, along with Donut's new dinosaur pet Mongo, have made it to the third level of the dungeon in the "game" that will determine humanity's fate on the planet they used to call home. They, and the diminishing number of other "crawlers", now have to decide which race they'll transform into (if they don't opt to remain human) and pick a class, decisions that may directly affect their odds of survival. But Carl and Donut both know by now that many of the choices in the game mean little when the powers behind it, and the greater field of galactic politics, are really pulling the strings. Even as they have no choice but to play out their roles, fighting monsters and gaining levels and figuring out the ever-evolving game mechanics, Carl and Donut are still determined to do everything they can to hold onto their decency and, if possible, break the system that's trying so very hard to break them.
This book also contains the second installment of "Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret", an ongoing bonus story set elsewhere in the dungeons.
REVIEW: I never expected to enjoy the first book in this series as much as I did, and happily the sequel both lives up to the promise of the first one and builds on it brilliantly. Carl and Donut have both changed since they first ventured down the stairwell into the first level. Donut's intellectual evolution since gaining the ability to speak continues, as her thoughts grow more sophisticated, though there are still several blind spots, particularly regarding Carl's ex Bea (whom Donut still hopes will turn up someday and they can all be a family again, even as Carl knows the truth). Mongo, Donut's new pet, is also growing and leveling, becoming a useful asset to their little team. Their trainer Mordecai finds his role transformed from a mere trainer to someone who can provide more support, though he still has secrets related to his own run as a dungeon crawler and he may have his own agenda. And Carl himself struggles to juggle the many hats and obligations foisted onto him: celebrity dungeon crawler, co-conspirator with Mordecai, object of a creepy foot fetish by the dungeon-running AI (which might be going rogue), and (hopefully) survivor of a system so rigged that not a single "crawler" from a single species subjected to the cruel and twisted death gauntlet of the dungeons has ever succeeded and won the promised sovereignty of their home worlds back. He also picks up a few new allies and - naturally - more rivals, both within the game and without.
The level itself manages to not repeat the first floors too much, as Dinniman introduces new game mechanics and twists. The third floor brings not only the potential to permanently change species, but also quests and the dangerous "elite" class of non-player characters - which are, in true dungeon fashion, part of much larger franchises and interests, running semi-independently of the whole death-gauntlet-for-humanity main event; becoming entangled in one of their ongoing story arcs can make things infinitely more complicated and dangerous, but it might also lead to certain advantages if a crawler manages to play their cards right, and Carl and Donut both have clued into the need to play the game outside the dungeon at least as keenly as they play the one inside. The end lives up to the title, setting up even more explosive problems for the third installment.
As for the serialized bonus story, this one continues the tale as it explores some of the behind-the-scenes manipulations and mechanics, foreshadowing even greater problems in the making should any crawlers live long enough to encounter them. Even the NPCs are victims in the dungeons, only given enough tools and freedoms to develop a hatred of crawlers and both the willingness and ability to kill them.
The very slight dip in the ratings is simply due to the fact that this time I knew what I was getting when I picked it up, and didn't have that extra kick of surprise. It also flirts with excessive entanglements with all the players, species, factions, galactic powers, and other forces and their various complicated histories, all of which become increasingly important to Carl's and Donut's survival. It remains a very readable and highly enjoyable book, with much more to it than one might expect.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Game of Sunken Places (M. T. Anderson) - My Review
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Matt Dinniman) - My Review
Otherland: City of Golden Shadow (Tad Williams) - My Review
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