Book Review 154
"The gate of feral gods" by Matt Dinniman
4th book in "Dungeon Crawler Carl" series
Previous books was reviewed in Review 140, 149, 152
Previous books set a general setup: the protagonist (and an accompanying cat) is trying to survive in a DnD world. Which is actually an entertainment show for cruel aliens which are destroying Earth for its resources.
Sounds silly at a glance, but this cycle is really well written, with a decent amount of drama, some jokes and a real love to DnD. Plus, plot is decently twisted and even the scientific part of this supposedly Science Fiction provokes a surprisingly low amount of facepalms.
Even though author is making each new level (aka each new book) vastly different from the previous, when it comes to the fourth book, it started to be not as entertaining, as it was. Yes, the hero is surviving, encountering losses, learning more about his new world. Fighting mobs and bosses. Making alliances expecting a betrayal. But what's new?
Fortunately, an author still having some tricks in his sleeve. While this book is retaining the general narrative of the previous ones, in the second half there will be a significant development, which will give it a new twist.
When I haven't reached this twist, I was considering to make a pause between the 4th and 5th books (I consumed the first 4 in line, which I rarely do). But it was enough for me to continue with the fifth immediately.
According to the author, this cycle should have 7-8 books (and there is no promise of happy ending). The sixth book will be published anytime soon.
When it will be published, I'll add it to my playlist and let you know if it is any good. So far, it is one of the most balanced Sci-Fi adventure cycles I've ever read. There are more epic, more scientific, more funny cycles, but not a lot of them may entertain you while not being stupid or boring.