Carl's Doomsday Scenario is the second Dungeon Crawler Carl comedy fantasy by Matt Dinniman. Originally published in 2021, this reformat and re-release from Penguin Random House on their Berkley Ace imprint is 384 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This
is a fun and well written take on dungeoncrawler fantasy. MC Carl is
unwillingly thrust into a starring role in a survivor reality TV contest
when an alien invasion puts a major crimp in *everyone's* day.
Princess Donut (his ex-GF's pampered show cat) is along for the ride,
and the book is positively bursting with sarcastic humor and improbable
situations, with viewers from across the universe tuned in to see what
happens next, and which contestants get eliminated, permanently.
It's not at all derivative, but the bonzo, zany humor will likely appeal to fans of Charles Stross and Tom Holt. Donut and Carl have made it to level three and now things are getting _really_ squicky (like squid games + hunger games + it's a mad mad mad mad world (on steroids)). There are double entendrés and crazy situations and puzzles to solve and Carl has no choice but to forge ahead. It's a neat premise for a series, and the author just about manages to keep the puzzles and challenges different enough that the books don't seem too same-y same.
Four stars. There are currently 6 books in the series with a 7th due out in 4th quarter 2024. It would make a great choice for a genre buddy/binge read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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