The Gate of the Feral Gods, Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 4, by Matt Dinniman is a big read in many respects. It’s long, it’s one where the characters face their largest challenge s, where the main characters start to become more complex and separated by powers and their individual abilities and goals.
And Carl’s hidden agenda is framed out in great detail as well as the powers that are involved within and without the game who are involved in their own plots.
It’s a great book. Involved and sets up at the end a sad and interesting story/confrontational scene to come.
Amazing work by the author in every aspect.
Cover Illustration by Luciano Fleitas Cover and Interior Design by Toby Dinniman
You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that’s talent.
A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps.
It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the stairwell is unlocked.
Here’s the thing. It’s never easy. Carl and his team can’t go it alone. Not this time. They must rely on the help of the low-level, I-can’t-believe-these-idiots-are-still-alive crawlers trapped in the bubble with them. But can they be trusted?
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the fifth floor of the dungeon.
This author continues to amaze me with the depth of his writing. It’s a fast paced science fiction/game Lit story, so jam packed with mind boggling elements, new technology gifted or created, and incredible characters who at this point it doesn’t even matter what species they or were after the alterations made to their bodies during the game.
It’s a brutal, messy, murderous and very sad slog from point to point as the players, including now the NPG players, try to keep going, until they get the chance to reach the next stage and level of the game.
Each book is one travel experience to the next level, with enormous losses, some wins with explosive attacks and equally devastating consequences.
The players we know and are familiar with can level up their skills and equipment, get sponsors, and also find a bigger bounty on their heads as they become popular. Carl, Princess Donut, Donut’s pet raptor Mongo, new player Katia have formed a team, albeit temporarily until Katia gets reunited with her old team of women players. One with a leader of many agendas.
This time the focus is on trains and subways. That’s how the players must travel to the next destination, their safe spaces, and the elevators to the next level when the designated time comes.
It’s full of new horrors, so so many body parts, and just when it’s a bit too much, things like this happen.
Carl is speaking to a NPG who just wants to read and has only a few books.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said. I pulled five Louis L’Amour books from my inventory. I’d read each of them already, from Sackett’s Land to Lando. I’d actually read almost all of them already, but I didn’t want to give them all up. “I’ll trade you these five for five of your books. Straight-up trade.””
So happens I love these myself. And some of the books Carl chooses? The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin and The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. All beloved reads of mine.
The narrative of quietly familiar scenes offset those that can immediately flow from high action intense scenes to the dramatic ones of fear, frustration or rage when Carl has a raw break alone to react with the reality of their situation and the insane amount of loss that they have suffered and will continue to endure going forward.
It hits the reader then equally hard. Keep the tissues nearby.
It’s hard not to care about the players. But this game is one where you find it hard to believe anyone will survive it.
I’m heading quickly to the next level and story.
The cover illustration is incredible. It’s so well done and exact to the characters and storyline. Honestly, you rarely see this fantastic artwork these days.
Cover Illustration by Luciano Fleitas Cover Design by Toby Dinniman
The top ten list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face.
The Iron Tangle. An impossibly-complicated subway system built out of the world’s subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away.
But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly-useless book. Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon
“I want to try one of Miss Beatrice’s favorite drinks. ….What is it, Carl? She always says it’s her Kryptonite.”
“A Dirty Shirley,” I said.
“Yeah, I want to try that one.”
“Cats don’t drink cocktails,” I said. “Cats don’t shoot lasers from their eyes, either, but here we are, Carl. Mama needs a night off.””
So we dive back into Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, the second book in Matt Dinniman’s wildly imaginative, incredibly violent , action packed series, Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Carl, Princess Donut, and their NPC handler, Mordecai, are at a bar/multi function area where they can gather supplies and information about their next level as well as prepare for their next moves against their opponents.
It’s another great thriller, a fast-paced game where all the RPG elements are set in motion, but Dinniman simultaneously evolves the character relationships between Carl, Donut, and even Mordecai, a NPC who’s character has hidden elements. So the story has a murder mystery to solve revolving around dead prostitutes, there’s a deadly circus (naturally), and other wildly imaginative creatures, personalities and beasts to combat and meet on their way to the next level.
This is an absolutely brutal game and story. At each level, millions of humans are being lost to the game. And while Carl,Princess Donut, and Donut’s new pet velociraptor, Mongo, and some other new comers are intensely concerned about surviving whatever level they are on and the other combatants, occasionally the outside galactic gallery of watchers and owners interfaces with them in a manner that makes them realize exactly what they’re facing.
These stories are fast paced reads and the ending will flow through to the next book.
No romance, high action, adventure.
You don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy it, but if you are you’ll under it and all the elements immediately.
Highly recommended.
These are, book by book, the most incredible, on point illustrations for covers. Colors are popping, the characters are spot on! Amazing artwork!
The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.”
The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can’t get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.
They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.
Carl still has no pants.
They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it’s anything but a game.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 