WWW Wednesday – 10 September 2025

On By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW Wednesday2 Comments

WWW Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (ebook)

I just started reading the fascinating new fantasy novel, Katabasis by acclaimed author R. F. Kuang in the next week. A curious and intense novel from a rising star in fantasy fiction, Katabasis has an intriguing plot about two rival students who must journey to hell to save their professor’s soul. I’ve made a good dent in Katabasis so far and I’m hoping to knock it off in the next week.

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Born of an Iron Storm by Anthony Ryan (Audiobook)

I’ve also started listening to the excellent fantasy novel Born of an Iron Storm by Anthony Ryan.  The sequel to last year’s A Tide of Black Steel, Born of an Iron Storm continues the great story from the first book, as several compelling characters attempt to survive an oncoming invasion from a previously hidden nation.  While I haven’t made as much progress on A Tide of Black Steel as I had hoped this week, it is proving to be an outstanding listen, and I cannot wait to see where Ryan takes this epic tale of war, betrayal and hidden history.

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What did you recently finish reading?

The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis (ebook)

I had an outstanding time finishing off the compelling Australian crime fiction novel, The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis this week.  The sequel to Petraitis’s previous novel, The Unbelieved, The Stolen was an exceptional novel that covered some highly relevant social issues.

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The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford (Paperback)

I also had a lot of fun getting through The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford. An exciting and highly entertaining fantasy novel about grassland raiders who attempt to train fire-breathing giant lizards to win a war, The Bone Raiders was a fantastic read that is really worth checking out.  Review to hopefully follow soon.

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Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (Audiobook)

A recent road trip gave me time to relisten to the classic Discworld novel, Wyrd Sisters.  An outstanding early entry in the series from Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters was so much fun to get through again, and I still love its clever story.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

The next book that I am hoping to check out is the fun Australian murder mystery, Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson.  The next book in the outstanding Ernest Cunningham series, Everyone in this Bank is a Thief looks set to be another hilarious and clever read, and I’m looking forward to checking it out.

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That’s it for this week; check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday1 Comment

Publisher: Soundbooth Theater (Audiobook – 28 February 2022)

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl – Book Five

Length: 23 hours and 33 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The epic adventures of Carl and Princess Donut continue in the incredible fifth book of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, The Butcher’s Masquerade, which takes the reader on an intense thrill ride loaded with fantastic comedy, crazy action and some incredibly powerful moments.

After doing little else but talk about the series for the last few weeks, I think it’s obvious that I am now a massive fan of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series, a major LitRPG sensation that I have recently become obsessed with.  Featuring amazing books like Dungeon Crawler Carl, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook and The Gate of the Feral Gods, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series has been nothing but amazing since the very first page.  These books follow reluctant adventurer Carl, his now sentient cat Princess Donut and an eclectic mix of humans and NPCs (and some goats) fighting for survival in a dungeon built under the surface of Earth by entertainment-obsessed aliens.  I have been deeply impressed with the impressive narrative contained within these previous books, so much so that I have listened to all these books in a row without break, often spending hours at a time getting through key parts of the plot.  This fifth book in the series promised to be a major entry with some key plotlines, and Dinniman did not disappoint, presenting a deep and captivating book I couldn’t turn away from.

After surviving the horrors of the previous floor and striking a blow against the wealthy Faction Wars contenders waiting for the human crawlers below, Carl, Princess Donut and their allies have arrived at the infamous sixth floor of the dungeon, better known as the Hunting Grounds.  A lush, jungle level, filled with powerful mobs, intricate quests, and conquerable towns, there are many opportunities for the crawlers to level up on this floor, but also many dangers, including those who would make the remnants of humanity their prey. 

As part of the traditional chaos of the Hunting Grounds, off-world tourists are given their first chance to enter the dungeon to participate in the carnage.  Known on this floor as hunters, these aliens seek to make money by hunting crawlers and stealing their gear.  These hunters have long made the sixth floor the most lethal level for crawlers, whose best strategy is to run and hide from the deadly aliens.  However, this season is going to be very different, especially as Carl has no intention of being hunted.

Determined to punish everyone who has profited from his planet’s destruction, Carl takes the fight directly to the hunters, and his explosive actions soon inspire the rest of the human crawlers.  However, his very public rebellions have placed a massive target on his head, and soon the deadliest hunters in the game, including the legendary crawler killer Vrah, are on his trail.  At the same time, Carl and Donut must contend with far more dangerous human opponents, a horde of rampaging dinosaurs, the vicious whims of the AI running the dungeon, and an elite NPC whose tragic backstory they find themselves dragged into.  But the greatest threat to everyone in the Hunting Grounds lies at the end-of-floor celebration, a party where all the top crawlers will be forced to attend amongst their deadliest enemies.  Everything will be decided at The Butcher’s Masquerade, and no one will emerge unscathed.

Well goddamn, Dinniman, you really know how to throw a party.  Just when I thought this series couldn’t get even better, Dinniman presents The Butcher’s Masquerade, which throws the reader right into the carnage and barely gives you a chance to catch your breath.  Filled with epic moments, brilliant storytelling, insane humour and some of the most complex characters you are likely to find in LitRPG fiction, The Butcher’s Masquerade was an incredible and utterly addictive read that I could not turn away from.  I’m honestly still reeling from the ending of this novel, and there is no way I can give The Butcher’s Masquerade anything but a five-star rating.

I loved, loved, loved the narrative of The Butcher’s Masquerade, as Dinniman hits all the right notes to keep the reader engaged and diving even deeper into his series.  Starting off right after the chaotic events of The Gate of Feral Gods, Carl hits all manner of trouble early on, especially as his actions put a massive target on his head for every hunter.  Dinniman shows you just what kind of book The Butcher’s Masquerade is going to be early on, as Carl immediately teleports himself and Donut into the middle of the hunter base to start his own explosive campaign of resistance.  The story only gets more exciting and compelling from there, with an engaging Elite NPC storyline, various dinosaur themed quests and so much impressive action.  This action is well balanced by scenes showcasing the chaotic changes occurring out in the wider universe, as well as a particularly moving sequence where Carl and Donut are forced to deal with manipulative events with huge emotional implications.

While there are some amazing moments in this first part of the book, the events that really cemented The Butcher’s Masquerade as one of the best entries in the series occur around the middle, as Dinniman brings both fun action and deep tragedy in equal measure.  The first of these sees Carl whisked away to Crawler Con, an over-the-top convention filled with entertaining enemies, right at the moment that he and Donut find themselves under attack in the dungeon.  Knowing that he is going to be teleported back into a massive ambush, Carl spends his time at the convention trying to plan, including crowdsourcing tactics at a panel featuring an opponent’s mother.  The resulting carnage as Carl uses a fun combination of a gonorrhoea-causing arrow, necromancy, friendly fire and explosives (naturally) to defeat his enemies, all to the backdrop of ‘The Ballroom Blitz’, was so damn awesome and fun.  The fact that Dinniman immediately follows this up with one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the entire series goes to show just how talented an author Dinniman is, especially as it also works to set up an outstanding new supporting character as a complex recuring figure.

All this perfectly leads up to the big final third of the book, which starts with some major raised stakes and every ongoing storyline heading towards the titular Butcher’s Masquerade, an event where every major survivor of the floor is trapped in the same room, and the person who starts the inevitable fight is instantly killed.  The tension heading into this event is very impressive, as you wait to see who makes the first move and how the carnage will unfold, especially as the protagonist’s plan to survive has a lot of holes in it.  The contrast between Carl’s despair and the more light-hearted and frankly hilarious antics of Princess Donut (there may be a moonwalking dinosaur, just go with it) is very impressive, and you honestly don’t know what is going to happen next.  The eventual reveal of the big plan is pretty damn amazing, and the resulting over-the-top confrontation is pure Dinniman, who once again manages to exceed the craziness from the previous books with hunters, bosses, and gods.  There is some haunting tragedy thrown in amongst the carnage that really highlights just how dire the entire crawl is for the protagonists, while also concluding some powerful storylines.  However, even after this carnage and its terrible aftermath, Dinniman isn’t done with the readers, whiplashing them with some brilliant and well-telegraphed moments that change everything about the progression of the Dungeon Crawler Carl books.  So many major plot points for the series going forward have their origin in the final sequences of the book, and it will leave you wanting more as soon as possible.

Dinniman really brought all the carnage he could in The Butcher’s Masquerade, and I was really impressed with how this elaborate story unfolded for the readers.  Once again requiring knowledge of the previous novels to fully enjoy (seriously, start the Dungeon Crawler Carl books from the beginning), The Butcher’s Masquerade adds a lot of cool elements to the series, which Dinniman expertly introduces and then utilises in his massive, ongoing story.  Featuring all the cool action, adventure and over-the-top moments you’ve come to expect from the Dungeon Crawler Carl books, Dinniman really amps up the carnage in this fifth novel, while also increasing the drama and powerful character moments.  I honestly found myself sitting at the edge of my seat during some of The Butcher’s Masquerade’s big scenes, as I honestly didn’t know where the story was going to go at times.  The major show-stealing sequences were especially great, and I really appreciate how elaborate some of these scenes were, loaded with multiple moving parts and elements cleverly set up either earlier in the book or even in previous novels.  However, Dinniman ensures that all the scenes in this novel were really entertaining and there honestly are no slow or wasteful moments at all during this awesome novel.

As with the rest of the series, The Butcher’s Masquerade is loaded with a lot of elaborate RPG elements, which are worked into the story extremely well.  While the natural progression of the series and the need to include new things each book means that some original spells and abilities don’t get shown as much, while other RPG elements are somewhat overused, for the most part I feel that Dinniman ensures all the best elements are shown to the reader, and this is one of the easiest LitRPG series to enjoy.  A lot of this enjoyment is down to the outrageous humour loaded into every scene, which allows readers to absorb and even become obsessed with the progression of stats and quests, as well as the gaining of achievements and new abilities and equipment, especially as the series really doesn’t take itself as seriously as other LitRPG books.  While this humour might not be for everyone, I really loved how fun and over-the-top things got at times, and there are so many layers to the novel’s comedic charm.  This includes a combination of overreactions to crazy events, deadpan reactions to other humorous characters, and a ton of fun references, including some particularly subtle ones that are cleverly seeded throughout and may take multiple rereads to appreciate (for example, I only just got the hilarious U2 references loaded into the names of the rock cretin NPCs).  While this humour is very amazing on its own, its true strength lies in the way that Dinniman perfectly balances it with the more serious and darker elements of the narrative, providing some reprieves for the horror of the story, or even helping to emphasise the darkness surrounding the characters as they face death and despair again and again.  I really love the complex balance of themes that Dinniman manages to weave around his elaborate and often silly story, and it makes for quite an impressive read that will appeal to large audience of readers.

I’ve mentioned multiple times in previous Dungeon Crawler Carl reviews that Dinniman is extremely amazing when it comes to writing complex characters to set his stories around.  You really get drawn into the various moving character arcs in this series, many of which progress across multiple books, and it is awesome to see how these figures develop and evolve in response to the dark events of the dungeon.  The Butcher’s Masquerade is an impressive example of this, especially as Dinniman really amps up the drama surrounding several key characters, each of whom have their moment to shine in some outstanding ways.

Naturally, most of the book’s focus revolves around the series’ titular protagonist, Carl, the troubled and intense central protagonist, through whose eyes we see most of the narrative unfold.  Carl really shines in The Butcher’s Masquerade, with his anarchist persona on full display.  Determined to bring his own form of explosive justice to the various aliens profiting from the destruction of Earth and the murderous crawl, Carl eagerly faces off against the hunters who have come into the dungeon, antagonising them as only he can.  Dinniman pulls together some amazing sequences around Carl in this book, especially when it comes to facing off against the hunters in deadly situations, and I loved the methodical and often extreme ways he reacts to pressure, as well as he hilarious performance during Crawler Con.  While he is still mostly seen as the reasonable, if explosively inclined, straight man of the team, Dinniman starts to show a darker edge to Carl in this novel.  Thanks to the continued pressure of the dungeon, the various emotional revelations, his desire for revenge and his own troubled past, as well as a certain magic ring, Carl takes on a more sinister persona at times in this book, especially with the cold way he deals with his opponents.  He also finds himself struggling with all the trauma that comes his way in this new book, much of which is showcased through the appearance of “the river”, a part of his mind that is always moving and brings back his anger and memories of all the evils he has experienced.  The continued torrent of the river begins to warp Carl at times, and this is the book when he starts to become a little bit scary.  As such, there is a lot of emotional depth to Carl in this book, and Dinniman did a great job expanding on his darker personality, while still including all the elements that made him such a beloved protagonist of the previous novels.

While Carl is a brilliant main character, he is usually overshadowed in all the best ways by his sentient cat companion, Princess Donut.  A brilliantly sassy, over-emotional and deeply hilarious diva who still maintains many catlike personality traits, Donut is the perfect foil for Carl, especially when it comes to being in the spotlight, and her overly positive manner in most situations really endears her to the audience, even when she needlessly overreacts.  Dinniman has some real fun with Donut in The Butcher’s Masquerade, as the cat takes on a temporary bard class which requires her to sing to cast spells, much to everyone’s displeasure, and there are so many moments when you get to laugh at her antics.  However, much like Carl, Donut goes through some real emotional turmoil in this novel, not only getting the chance to confront her original owner Beatrice (although Carl was always her true human), but she also deals with some deep trauma as the book continues.  The author loads up some highly emotional scenes between Carl and Donut, especially in the aftermath of the climatic finale, and you grow to appreciate their complicated bond even more throughout this book, even when your heart breaks at some of the trials they must endure.  However, Donut continues to move through the dungeon in her usual over-enthusiastic manner, and it was very fun to see her finally get to perform on the big stage at the end of the titular Butcher’s Masquerade.  The pet talent show with Mongo was one of the funniest moments in the book, while her subsequent singing performance helped to highlight just how far she’d come, and the emotional impact she has on the rest of the cast.  I honestly love everything about Princess Donut, and this was probably one of her strongest appearances in the series.

While most of the story focusses on Carl and Donut, Dinniman at this point in the series has created a truly impressive collection of supporting characters, all of whom have some very compelling storylines around.  The most prominent of them is probably Katia, who has spent the last two books in the main party.  Katia steps away a little from the main character’s plot in The Butcher’s Masquerade, leading her own group of crawlers in a separate storyline to the protagonists.  While it was a shame to have her featured a little less, especially after her impressive appearances in The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook and The Gate of Feral Gods, it fit her character development nicely and showed how much her confidence had grown.  It also allowed for a bigger focus on some of the other extended members of the Guild group that Carl and Donut have become part of, and I think the book benefited from a bigger cast.  Dinniman did go quite dark with Katia at times in The Butcher’s Masquerade, especially in the book’s epilogue, where so many secrets that the author had cleverly been hiding under the character’s surface, finally come to light, especially the final shocking revelation.

The rest of the returning cast was also very impressive.  Mordecai continues to excel as the cranky and practical mentor figure, even if he has been turned into a cute and cuddly little creature this book, much to the team’s amusement.  The trapped and insane god Samantha was hilarious as the book’s mother-threatening comic relief, and there are some truly amusing scenes with her in this book, especially when Carl starts using her as a mobile weapon platform.  The returning former slackers, Louis and Firas, continue to shine in this novel as the team’s pilots, and it was nice to see how much they evolved since their original appearance, while readers also got to spend more time with long-running characters Elle, Imani and Chris.  The Butcher’s Masquerade also features the return of the dangerous Elite NPC, Tsarina Signet, whose dramatized storyline drags the protagonists into all manner of trouble.  Dinniman made perfect use of Signet and her NPC cohorts in this novel, and I was really impressed by the full-circle and sad nature of her narrative.

In addition to these returning characters, The Butcher’s Masquerade featured significant appearances from several notorious crawlers who had only been shown existing outside the protagonist’s adventures.  This includes the lethal child crawler, Lucia Mar, who lives up to her crazy reputation, the Crocodilian crawler Florin with his strong Australian accent, the calm shepherd turned vampires Miriam Dom, and the now sentient goat Prepotente.  Of these Prepotente was probably the most impactful new character, especially as his story takes him from being a comedic figure, to a particularly dangerous and grieving ally.  His heartbreaking appearance halfway through the book was extremely well-written, while his big act of defiance at the end of The Butcher’s Masquerade changes everything.  However, out of all these characters, my favourite remains the AI controlling the game, who has really started to crack and is testing its limits in some very concerning ways.  The various over-the-top descriptions, announcements and rulings made by the AI add so much humour to the story, especially as they are getting more-and-more unhinged and random.  Throw in the AI’s dangerous independent decisions, which have dire effects for everyone in the dungeon, and you really come away eager to see how crazy things are going to get with this disembodied figure next.  I really cannot emphasise just how impressive this massive cast is, and Dinniman perfectly uses all his complex character to enhance his already outstanding narrative.

I doubt anyone is surprised at this point that I chose to listen to The Butcher’s Masquerade on audiobook, which is just the best way to enjoy this incredible novel.  Due to the increased action and adventure that Dinniman loads into each new novel in the series, The Butcher’s Masquerade is the longest audiobook in the series yet, coming in at a respectable 23 and a half hours.  While this is a long audiobook, I honestly flew through it, thanks to how addictive and cool the crazy events within were, as well as the once again exceptional narration of Jeff Hays.  Hays is frankly perfect for the complex and hilarious Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and his amazing range of voices and excellent takes on the many over-the-top characters, has ensured that every second of this series was a joy to listen to on audiobook.  The Butcher’s Masquerade is one of the best examples of this, as Hays brings every awesome element of it to life with apparent ease, as well as some excellent use of minor sound effects and cool vocal enhancements.

Each character within The Butcher’s Masquerade has a very fitting voice to it, which includes a return of all the fantastic tones from the previous audiobooks, as well as several additional cool voices for some of the newer characters.  You really get the perfect sense of these characters from Hays narration, and every aspect of their personalities comes through with his voice.  Some of the best voices include those for Carl, whose increased anger is becoming more apparent, Mordecai, whose most recent transformation requires a new hilarious voice, and the System AI, whose over-the-top exclamations are just hilarious when read out.  I also must highlight Hay’s voice work for Donut in this audiobook, especially as he gets all her outrageous mannerisms, over-reactions and the rest of her personality perfectly.  Hays also rises to the challenge of Donut taking on a bard class in this book and singing, badly, which made me laugh so damn hard.  Highlights include an exceptional talent show performance, as well as the cat’s unique take on ‘Wonderwall’ in the Soundbooth Theater promotional material at the end of the audiobook (renamed as ‘Wondercrawl’), both of which Hays gamely voices, and clearly has fun with.  I honestly could go on for ages about every outstanding voice Hays uses in The Butcher’s Masquerade but let’s save time and say they are all exceptional, and that this entire audiobook is just pure awesomeness.  I cannot recommend this format enough, and you will have a brilliant time enjoying The Butcher’s Masquerade in this format.

If the above extensive review didn’t give it away, I loved The Butcher’s Masquerade, and it is probably the best entry in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series at that point.  Matt Dinniman produced a truly incredible entry in his brilliant series with The Butcher’s Masquerade, and I still cannot get over just how compelling, exciting and emotionally charged this fifth entry in the series was.  I honestly cannot think of a better compliment than to point out that I was still absolutely addicted to this series when I finished The Butcher’s Masquerade, and I instantly jumped to the next book in the series, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, and devoured it in a similar quick manner, before jumping even further into the series.  If you’re not enjoying the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, you are missing out, especially with this exceptional fifth novel.

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Waiting on Wednesday – The Hard Line by Mark Greaney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on WednesdayLeave a comment

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight one of the top spy thrillers of 2026 with The Hard Line by Mark Greaney.

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Few thriller series have had me consistently enthralled these last few years as the Gray Man books by acclaimed author Mark Greaney.  Following protagonist Court Gentry, an elite assassin, fugitive and occasional government agent known as the Gray Man, the Gray Man novels are one of the absolute best current spy thriller series, and I have had an absolute blast getting through some impressive entries from Greaney.  This includes The Gray Man, Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), Sierra Six (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Burner (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), The Chaos Agent (one of my favourite books of 2024) and this year’s entry, Midnight Black (one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of 2025). All these great books were quite exceptional, and I have had such an incredible time getting drawn into this series.

Due to how much fun I have had with the previous Gray Man books, I always keep an eye out for Greaney’s upcoming releases, and I was very excited to find out some details for the author’s next novel, The Hard Line.  Set to be 15th book in the Gray Man series, The Hard Line is coming out in February 2026 and is sure to be a major highlight of next year’s reading schedule.  Featuring an intriguing plot that sees the protagonist and his comrade’s families come under threat, The Hard Line sounds extremely awesome, and I am very excited to see how it pans out.

Plot Synopsis:

The Gray Man, the world’s deadliest assassin and apex predator, discovers he’s really the prey in the most shocking entry of this #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Family means different things to different people, but in the Gray Man’s world, family is defined by blood—the blood you share with some and the blood you shed with others.

Court Gentry’s current family operates out of an office park in Norfolk, Virginia. The Ghost Town is an off-the-books direct action team run by Matt Hanley, former CIA Deputy Director. They take on the jobs the Agency needs handled “discretely,” and those jobs are rolling in.

Somewhere at the top of the US Intelligence apparatus, security experts and intelligence operations worldwide are threatened.

It starts with a blown safe house in Tunis. Then Court himself barely escapes from an ambush in the jungles of Nicaragua. Now key members of the U.S. counterintelligence community are being assassinated in their own neighborhoods. With the feds compromised, it’s up to Court and his team to stop the hit squads.

But eliminating professional kill teams may be the least of the Gray Man’s worries when he finds himself targeted by the legendary assassin codenamed Whetstone—a man driven out of retirement by a very personal quest to rain down hellfire on Court and everyone he’s ever loved, starting with the father he hasn’t seen in twenty years.

Ok, so it sounds like this next Gray Man novel is going to be a compelling and interesting character-focused entry in the series that should be an excellent follow-up to the bleak prison-break/war focussed previous entry, Midnight Black.  Returning to familiar ground with the protagonist working covert operations for the CIA, The Hard Line looks set to be an action-packed novel of revenge, old secrets, and complicated families, as the Gentry goes to war on multiple fronts.  I love the cool mixture of potential conspiracy elements in this novel, as well as a deadly assassin coming out of retirement specifically to kill the protagonist and everything he loves.  I’m sure that Greaney will do an exceptional job of showcasing the resulting carnage, and I have no doubt that this will be a particularly intense and continuously exciting read.

While The Hard Line will no doubt feature lots of intrigue, excitement and firefights, the part of the synopsis that has really caught my attention is the focus on family and its associated complexities.  Having the protagonist trying to save his estranged father, a figure who hasn’t appeared too much in the series up to this point, is going to make this a particularly powerful novel, and I am intrigued to see what compelling backstory around the protagonist comes to light.  At the same time, an alternate plot synopsis suggests that beloved secondary character, Zach Hightower is also going to have some family issues, when his daughter is threatened, and Gentry is dragged into save her.  Both these family-focused storylines are sure to add some extra emotional heft to the plot, and I cannot wait to see how Greaney combines it with the more action and intrigue focussed parts of the book.

Due to the outstanding time I have had with all the previous Gray Man books from Mark Greaney, The Hard Line is already a must-read book of 2026 for me.  The excellent plot synopsis above sounds particularly impressive, and I am extremely curious to see how everything comes together.  Likely to be one of the top spy thrillers of next year, The Hard Line has so much potential, and I know I’m going to love it.

WWW Wednesday – 3 September 2025

On By The Unseen LibraryIn WWW WednesdayLeave a comment

WWW Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis (ebook)

I’ve started to read the compelling new Australian crime fiction novel, The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis.  The sequel to Petraitis’s previous novel, The Unbelieved, The Stolen once again takes the reader back to a troubled small town, infected with systemic issues, with a powerful case about a kidnapped baby. The Stolen is already proving to be an exceptional novel and I cannot wait to see how it comes together.

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What did you recently finish reading?

Liar’s Game by Jack Beaumont (ebook)

I managed to finish off the excellent spy thriller, Liar’s Game by Jack Beaumont this week.  A great new entry in a particularly realistic and gripping series, Liar’s Game was extremely clever, and I deeply enjoyed this fantastic tale of espionage, betrayal and covert action.

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Star Wars: Sanctuary by Lamar Giles (Audiobook)

I also just finished off the latest Star Wars release, Sanctuary by Lamar Giles. A tie-in to the Bad Batch animated series, Sanctuary was a very exciting read that added a great new adventure to this fun group of characters from the extended Star Wars universe.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

Born of an Iron Storm by Anthony Ryan

I’m hoping to dive into the excellent new fantasy novel Born of an Iron Storm by Anthony Ryan next.  The sequel to last year’s A Tide of Black Steel, Born of an Iron Storm will continue the great story from the first book, as several compelling characters attempt to survive an oncoming invasion from a previously hidden nation.  Sure to be one of the more impressive and captivating fantasy novels of 2025, I am very excited to read A Tide of Black Steel, and it’s going to be pretty damn epic.

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Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

I’m also hoping to read the fascinating new fantasy novel, Katabasis by acclaimed author R. F. Kuang in the next week. A curious and intense novel from a rising star in fantasy fiction, Katabasis has an intriguing plot about two rival students who must journey to hell to save their professor’s soul. I love the sound of this book, and I cannot wait to see what dark magic Kuang will weave together in this excellent read.

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That’s it for this week; check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Spring 2025 To Be Read (TBR) List

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List1 Comment

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week featured books with occupations in the title, which I actually completed last week, so instead I’m instead going to use this post to look at some upcoming books. This is because today is the first Tuesday of Spring 2025 and I thought this would be a good opportunity to do my quarterly post about the best upcoming books I am looking forward to reading in Spring (Autumn/Fall for folks in the Northern Hemisphere). This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and I always love to highlight some of the most impressive sounding novels coming out in the next three months.

For this list, I have come up with ten books coming out between 1 September 2025 and 30 November 2025 that I am most excited for. There are quite a few amazing novels set for release in the next few months, so it took me a while to finalise my final top ten list, including my usual honourable mentions section. I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world. I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Waiting on Wednesday articles, and I think all of them will turn out to be incredible reads. I am extremely excited for these next three months and I feel that quite a few of these upcoming reads have the potential to be some of my favourite books of 2025.

Honourable Mentions:

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown by 9 September 2025

A deeply exciting thriller from the legendary Dan Brown that will once again present a compelling mystery from history.

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The Widow by John Grisham – 21 October 2025

An intriguing new legal thriller from the always impressive John Grisham.

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King Sorrow by Joe Hill – 21 October 2025

The highly inventive Joe Hill will present a compelling new horror thriller with King Sorrow, an epic novel that sees a group of friends experience the downside of summoning a vengeful dragon.

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Kill Your Boss by Jack Heath – 4 November 2025

One of top Australian releases of 2025, Kill Your Boss will follow Jack Heath’s previous outstanding novels, Kill Your Brother and Kill Your Husbands.

Top Ten List:

Circle of Days by Ken Follett – 23 September 2025

The first book I want to highlight on this list is the upcoming historical fiction novel from Ken Follett, Circle of Days.  A historical epic set around the construction of Stonehenge, Circle of Days will follow several complex characters as they live their lives in the shadow of an iconic construction.  I have no doubt that Circle of Days will be one of the top historical fiction releases of 2025 and this is an excellent novel to start this list on.

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The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman – 25 September 2025

Few Spring releases have me as excited as The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman.  The fifth book in the incredible Thursday Murder Club series by Osman, The Impossible Fortune will follow on from outstanding novels like The Thursday Murder Club (one of my favourite books, debuts and audiobooks of 2020), The Man Who Died Twice (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), The Bullet That Missed (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and The Last Devil to Die (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023).  Featuring a cool new case, The Impossible Fortune sounds like another entertaining entry in the series, and I cannot wait to see how the characters are going after the deep tragedy of The Last Devil to Die.  This will likely top all my end of 2025 best-of lists, and I cannot wait to check it out.

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Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson – 30 September 2025

One of the more entertaining novels coming out in the second half of 2025 is going to be the brilliant Australian thriller Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson. The fourth book in the Ernest Cunningham series (Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect, and Everyone this Christmas has a Secret), Everyone in this Bank is a Thief will once again place Stevenson’s insightful and unlucky protagonist at the site of another crime as he is forced to investigate a murder while trapped as a hostage in a bank robbery. Blending classic murder mystery elements with a fun heist narrative, Everyone in this Bank is a Thief is going to be a hilarious read, and I cannot wait to check it out.

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Cold War by Jonathan Maberry – 14 October 2025

After already impressing with Burn to Shine, Maberry still has his second novel of 2025 coming out with Cold War.  A follow-up to his 2024 dark science fiction novel, NecroTek, Cold War will see a group of human scientists, soldiers and pilots trapped on the other side of the universe using death-powered alien mechs to fight against ancient cosmic horrors.  Sure to be another complex and chilling novel, Cold War has a ton of potential and will likely be a top book of the year.

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The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly – 21 October 2025

The always reliable master of crime fiction, Michael Connelly, has another awesome book coming out in 2025 with The Proving Ground. The next book in the author’s incredible Lincoln Lawyer series (which has previously featured books like The Law of Innocence and Resurrection Walk), The Proving Ground will team Mickey Haller with another Connelly protagonist, Jack McEvoy (the protagonist of books like Fair Warning), as he takes on a sinister AI company. Likely to combine great legal elements with a complex thriller narrative, I have a feeling this is going to be one of Connelly’s more captivating books, and I am very excited to get my hands on it.

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Tyrant of Rome by Simon Scarrow – 6 November 2025

For some additional historical fiction awesomeness in 2025, we still have the new Eagles of the Empire novel from Simon Scarrow, Tyrant of Rome. Scarrow’s second book in 2025 after A Death in Berlin, Tyrant of Rome will follow on from the previous Eagles of the Empire novel, Revenge of Rome, as the protagonists return to Rome after ending Boudica’s rebellion. This time series protagonists Cato and Macro are dragged back into the excesses of Nero when they are chosen to take control of law and order throughout the city to keep the depraved emperor in power. I love this interesting change of direction away from the brutal war stories of the last few books and it is going to be fun to dive into over-the-top Roman politics.

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The Blackfire Blade by James Logan – 11 November 2025

Last year I had the very great pleasure of reading the outstanding fantasy debut, The Silverblood Promise by James Logan. An elaborate and compelling fantasy adventure that saw a young man travel to an unfamiliar city to uncover his father’s killer, The Silverblood Promise was an amazing read that blended inventive worldbuilding with a great conspiracy storyline. I had a ton of fun with this first book from Logan, and I have been eager to get my hands on the sequel for a while now. Luckily, I only have to wait a few more months as Logan’s second book, The Blackfire Blade, is one of the big fantasy releases of the second half of the year. Continuing to follow the protagonist’s quest to find clues related to his father’s murder, The Blackfire Blade takes the reader to another elaborate fantasy city and forces the characters to uncover the new setting’s dark secrets. I have no doubt this is going to be an impressive book, and I cannot wait to see how Logan continues his amazing series.

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The Strength of the Few by James Islington – 11 November 2025

Probably the most anticipated book for fantasy fans coming out in the second half of 2025 is the elaborate and intriguing novel, The Strength of the Few by James Islington. The sequel to Islington’s highly acclaimed The Will of the Many, The Strength of the Few, will continue to follow Islington’s compelling protagonist as he attempts to undermine the empire that destroyed his family, while uncovering the hidden secrets from the past. However, this book looks set to be even more complex as different versions of the protagonist are split across three separate realities, each of whom must face its own troubles and adventures. I am extremely intrigued to see how this split narrative is going to work out but based on how damn exceptional The Will of the Many was, I have very little doubt this is going to be a particularly epic novel.

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Our Lady of Blades by Sebastien de Castell – 11 November 2025

One of the more impressive fantasy novels coming out later this year is the very cool novel, Our Lady of Blades. The next book in Sebastien de Castell’s The Court of Shadows series, Our Lady of Blades will be another standalone novel in the author’s Greatcoat universe, that will build on the previous, loosely-connected novels Crucible of Chaos and Play of Shadows. Our Lady of Blades will explore a new location in this universe and will feature a The Count of Monte Cristo inspired plot, as a mysterious masked duellist returns to a corrupt city to get justice and restore her family through any means necessary, all while the big conspiracy of the series continues to unfold. Based on how exceptional the last two books in this series have been, I feel that Our Lady of Blades is going to be a top book of 2025, and it is one I am especially keen for, especially after having a blast with de Castells other release for the year, The Malevolent Eight.

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Star Wars: Master of Evil by Adam Christopher – 11 November 2025

The final book that I want to highlight on this list is the impressive and character-focussed Star Wars tie-in novel, Master of Evil by Adam Christopher. Set to follow Darth Vader during his early days as a Sith Lord, Master of Evil will provide some complex insights into this iconic villain’s mind as he attempts to uncover the true dark side of the Force. With a very intriguing and lore-heavy plot idea, and an even more awesome cover, Master of Evil has certainly caught my attention, and I cannot wait to see Adam Christopher’s take on this legendary Star Wars character.

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Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list. I think it turned out pretty well and it does a good job of capturing all my most anticipated books for the next three months. There are some really impressive books coming out in this part of 2025, and I cannot wait to read each of them soon. Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months. In the meantime, it looks like I have quite a bit of reading to do in the near future.

WWW Wednesday – 27 August 2025

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

Liar’s Game by Jack Beaumont (ebook)

I just started reading the excellent spy thriller, Liar’s Game by rising author Jack Beaumont.  A great new entry in a particularly realistic and gripping series, Liar’s Game is already proving to be quite interesting, and I’m keen to see where Beaumont takes his latest story of espionage, betrayal and covert action.

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Star Wars: Sanctuary by Lamar Giles (Audiobook)

I was in the mood for a fun new audiobook so I decided to check out the latest Star Wars release, Sanctuary by Lamar Giles. A tie-in to the Bad Batch animated series, Sanctuary sees the rogue team of clones attempt to pull off several dangerous heists with predictably disastrous results.  I have made a little bit of progress on Sanctuary so far, and I’m already really enjoying its cool story and fun take on the Bad Batch characters.

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What did you recently finish reading?

The Bolthole by Peter Papathanasiou (Trade Paperback)

I managed to finish off the excellent Australian crime fiction novel, The Bolthole, this week.  The latest book from author Peter Papathanasiou, The Bolthole was a really intriguing novel that I’m glad I got the opportunity to read.

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This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (Audiobook)

After a couple of weeks of chain listening, I am now up to date with the incredible Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.  The seventh and most recently released novel, This Inevitable Ruin, was a particularly epic read, which saw the protagonists engage in an all-out war against multiple armies of alien players. A truly impressive entry in an amazing series, This Inevitable Ruin was so damn good, and I absolutely powered through it.

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Two Kinds of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh (Trade Paperback)

I also managed to read is the awesome new Eddie Flynn novel from Steve Cavanagh, Two Kinds of Stranger.  A cool legal thriller with an addictive plot, Two Kinds of Stranger was a very entertaining read that I had an outstanding time with.

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The Final Vow by M. W. Craven (Trade Paperback)

The final book I got through this week was the epic thriller, The Final Vow by M. W. Craven.  Featuring an outstanding narrative about a deadly sniper terrorising England, The Final Vow was everything I’d expected after being blown away by The Mercy Chair last year, and this was easily one of the best thrillers of 2025. Review to hopefully follow soon.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis

The next book I am hoping to read is the compelling new Australian crime fiction novel, The Stolen by Vikki Petraitis.  The sequel to Petraitis’s previous novel, The Unbelieved, The Stolen once again takes the reader back to a troubled small town, infected with systemic issues. The Stolen looks set to be another deep and moving read, and I am looking forward to diving into it this week.

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That’s it for this week; check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books with Occupations in the Title

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants get a freebie option, allowing them to post whatever they want.  I’m going to use this freebie to jump ahead and do next week’s topic, mainly because I’m hoping to highlight upcoming books for Spring 2025 next Tuesday.  As such, this week I will be listing my favourite books that have occupations in the title.

This was an interesting list topic, and I always enjoy Top Ten Tuesday tasks where I can dive into the titles of the various unique books I have had the pleasure of reading over the years.  Listing occupations featured in titles was a cool choice, and there are a surprising number of books out there that feature job titles or professions in their names.  I ended up with a substantial list of potential inclusions for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, so I made sure to restrict entries to one book from each author.  I also tried to show the most varied list of occupations I could, as I didn’t want my list to get bogged down in the various uses of solider or miliary ranks.  I think my resulting list had a great combination of various occupations used in book titles, and it liked the intriguing combination of novels that emerged.

Honourable Mentions:

The Recruiter by Gregg Podolksi

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The No.1 Lawyer by James Patterson and Nancy Allen

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The Interpreter by Brooke Robinson

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The Maid by Nita Prose

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Top Ten Tuesday:

Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 30: Thieves and Spies by Stan Sakai

A classic entry from one of my favourite comic series.  While early volumes The Ronin and Samurai would have also been excellent choices for this list, I’m instead going with the 30th volume, Thieves and Spies, which features two separate occupations in the title.

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The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

An excellent recent fantasy novel that follows a scholar character as she tries to uncover a dark conspiracy amongst a complex and deadly tournament.  Scholar was a great occupation to have in the title, and I deeply enjoyed this epic fantasy read.

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Mr Einstein’s Secretary by Matthew Reilly

A deeply captivating historical fiction novel that follows a talented secretary who finds herself involved in multiple world events in the lead up to World War II.

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The Judge’s List by John Grisham

A judge is an excellent occupation to feature on this list, especially as this judge has some very dark secrets.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

A classic novel from the legendary Terry Pratchett that follows the humble city guard in a fantasy city as they come face to face with a magical murder.  This is an incredible novel and a great choice for this list.  Other books from Pratchett such as Men at Arms or Reaper Man might have fit in here nicely as well, but Guards! Guards! was my first choice for this list, and I’m glad I get to highlight it again.  

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The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney

I suppose that it was inevitable that a book in one of my favourite, long-running spy thriller series would feature “agent” in one of its titles, which is a great way to describe the occupation of the protagonist.  This particular novel from Greaney was a great addition to the Gray Man series, and readers are in for a wild time with its cool plot and compelling action.

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Priest of Bones by Peter McLean

An impressive and awesome fantasy novel that follows returning soldiers determined to take over their home city’s underworld.  While the “priest” in this title is a little more criminal you would usually associate with the occupation, it still works to make this book a worthy entry to this list.

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The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

A title taken from a classic saying, advocate works as an occupation for the sake of this list, and I was pleased to feature a fun legal thriller from Steve Cavanagh.

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The Queen’s Captain by Peter Watt

I had a few novels with the occupation of “captain” in the title, but I decided to go with The Queen’s Captain by Australian author Peter Watt.  While captain here refers to a military rank, the word also works to describe a general occupation, so I think it works well for this list.

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Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

The final novel I want to feature on this list is Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb.  There were several amazing books I could have used here that featured the nefarious occupation of “assassin” in the title, but I decided to go with this beloved fantasy novel, which I deeply enjoyed reading years ago.  Following a young bastard prince who finds a new, secret occupation as a court assassin, Assassin’s Apprentice is true classic and it rounds out this list perfectly.

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Well, that’s the end of this list.  I had fun listing my top books with occupations in the titles, and I’m happy with how the above list turned out, especially as there is an interesting collection of books there.  All the above come highly recommended, and I hope everyone else enjoys this topic when they look over it next week.

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday3 Comments

Publisher: Soundbooth Theater (Audiobook – 1 July 2021)

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl – Book Four

Length: 18 hours and 3 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The chaotic fun of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series reaches another impressive level in the awesome fourth book, The Gate of the Feral Gods, an exceptional read that I could not put down until its gripping and epic end.

I can officially say that I am incredibly obsessed with the Dungeon Crawler Carl books.  Taking place after all buildings on Earth are instantly destroyed and turned into an elaborate fantasy dungeon, all in the name of an alien reality show, the Dungeon Crawler Carl books are an incredible series that perfectly utilises its unique concept and LitRPG basis to create a particularly addictive story loaded with crazy action, over-the-top humour and an array of incredible characters.  I only started it a few weeks ago and I have so far powered through several books in the series, including Dungeon Crawler Carl, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario and The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, all of which were five-star reads.  Indeed, I have had such a great time with this series, that the moment I finished off The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook I instantly started listening to the fourth book in the series, The Gate of the Feral Gods, which continued the series in some outstanding ways.

After surviving the carnage of the Iron Tangle, Carl, Princess Donut and Katia have emerged on the fifth floor of Dungeon Crawler World Earth and must now contend with a new dastardly set-up.  Placed into a multitude of small, bubble-contained worlds, each remaining human party needs to assault castles contained within each of the bubble’s four zones.  If they succeed in capturing each zone’s castle, the dungeon stairwell will open and they’ll be able to advance to the sixth floor.

While the setup for the fifth floor seems simple, in reality it is a logistical nightmare, as the popular team of Carl, Princess Donut and Katia must navigate and master four very different environments within a rushed timeline, including a desert landscape infested with flying gnomes, a gigantic haunted crypt filled with traps, a besieged sand castle that is home to a powerful mage with relationship issues, and a derelict underwater submarine surrounded by gigantic sharks, all while trying to untangle a unique puzzle hidden in an elaborate quest storyline.  Worse, thanks to their high levels, the team are forced to rely on ineffective, low-level fellow crawlers to clear out the bubble’s zones, including those people who have barely survived the previous floors.

However, the elaborate new floor is only the tip of the problems facing Carl.  Old enemies from outside the dungeon are desperate to strike him down for the chaos he has caused, while the AI controlling the dungeon continues it erratic obsession with him.  As events heat up, Carl is given the unique chance to obtain a legendary artefact loaded with unimaginable power and terrible risk, The Gate of the Feral Gods.  If Carl can master the gate, he has the chance to keep his friends and loved ones safe on this floor.  But what happens when Carl decides to use the gate to strike back against those who have destroyed his planet?  You will not break him, but he will break everything in the galaxy to get his revenge!

Dinniman does it yet again as The Gate of the Feral Gods was another exceptional and epic novel that I could not stop reading.  Perfectly continuing the impressive story from the previous Dungeon Crawler Carl novels, The Gate of the Feral Gods was an ultra-exciting and complex novel, that brings laughter, excitement and powerful emotional moments in equal measure.  Another book in this series that gets a very easy five-star rating from me, The Gate of the Feral Gods was so damn good, and I had so much fun getting through this insane, but clever, adventure.

I really enjoyed the impressive story that Dinniman came up with for The Gate of the Feral Gods, especially as the author uses the opportunity to feature a more traditional fantasy narrative, while also building on the unique character relationships that have been an impressive part of the previous novels.  In a new dungeon floor with some unique quirks, you are once again drawn into the battle for Carl, Donut and Katia’s survival, as they attempt to understand their new scenario as the population of the entire galaxy watches their progress.  There are also some great new characters introduced in this early part of the book, who add some excellent human elements to the wider story.  Determined to clear their part of the floor, Carl’s team embark on some explosive initial actions, and I liked how Dinniman treated this early part of the story in a more traditional LitRPG manner, as the protagonists follow the quest elements laid out as part of the story.  However, it doesn’t take long for Dinniman to throw things completely off the rails, as there are some great scenes halfway through, including the return of an old friend with real inner anger, and a unique boss battle in a flying house that will have you cackling with surprise.  However, one of the more impressive events set around the middle of the novel sees Carl start to embrace his anarchist persona, striking back against his oppressors in his usual destructive manner.

The big events of the first half of the book have an impressive impact on the second half of The Gate of the Feral Gods, as the protagonists find themselves in a time crunch.  This forces them to go on some risky missions, including invading a giant sandcastle with some unique elements, as well as journeying beneath the waves, much to the horror of everyone’s favourite sentient cat.  The various intense challenges faced by the protagonists are usually overcome in some impressively inventive ways, I loved how well Dinniman hints at the protagonist’s eventual plans.  While this is unfolding, you get some interesting looks at the wider crawl thanks to flashes of other character’s battles, and Dinniman also provides some intriguing looks at the issues surrounding the outer galaxy.

While all the above elements are impressive and result in some epic moments, it pales in comparison to the final third of the book.  Thanks to the titular Gate of the Feral Gods, all hell breaks out (literally and figuratively), as the protagonists find themselves involved in the biggest escort mission ever.  Thanks to that, they get into some brutal confrontations, which help to define how desperate things are getting for the characters.  The final sequences of The Gate of the Feral Gods helps to cement this novel as a truly impressive part of the series, as Carl and Donut finally face down one of their oldest enemies, while also fooling everyone with a particularly chaotic scheme.  The set-up for the protagonist’s bold strike against their foes is very clever, and while there are a lot of hints about what is to come, Dinniman cleverly obscures the entirety of the plan, allowing for some awesome surprises that really show off how audacious the protagonists are coming.  This was honestly an incredible end to such a chaotic and compelling read, and it sets up the next book in the series perfectly, allowing for some impressive moments going forward.

I really enjoyed how The Gate of the Feral Gods turned out, especially as Dinniman turned what could have been a filler novel between two major parts of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, into a particularly powerful and intense novel with long-running implications for the rest of the series.  Due to its position as the fourth book in the series, The Gate of the Feral Gods is best read by those who have enjoyed the previous entries in the series, even with the protagonist’s useful internal recaps, especially as this book continues to feature and build on a lot of complex ongoing storylines and character arcs.  Once again written in the first-person style, Dinniman perfectly showcases his unique scenario, and gifts the reader with so much awesome action, fun humour, compelling characters, and surprisingly enjoyable LitRPG elements.  With a bit more of a slower pacing at the start of the novel, Dinniman gives this book time to breath after the crazy conclusion of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, and allows the characters, and the readers, time to get familiar with the new floor of the dungeon.  This complex new setting within the dungeon was extremely well crafted, and its unique features ensured that The Gate of the Feral Gods had a very distinctive feel amongst the rest of the series.  The focus on quests and the internal storylines of the level helped to amp up the fantasy vibe of the story, while Dinniman also set up a multitude of additional long-running storylines that have a big impact later in the series.  At the same time, Dinniman cleverly continued to showcase the wider universe outside of the dungeon and the way that these exterior events impact the protagonist’s battles, and vice versa, allowing for a particularly compelling narrative.

While I felt that The Gate of the Feral Gods had a slightly slower start, that doesn’t last long, as Dinniman adds in some amazingly exciting and over-the-top sequences that really stick in the mind.  The author proves extremely capable of completely going even further beyond the craziness of his previous novels, and I loved how fantastically outrageous things get at times, with giant boss battles, unbelievably dangerous traps, multiple crazy gods, and some deeply human fights, all making this story particularly epic at times.  The many, many action scenes within the book are so well written, and I loved how impactful, insane, and usually hilarious these sequences are, and Dinniman makes excellent use of the LitRPG part of the series, with so many cool elements from RPG games coming into play in entertaining ways.  Dinniman also does an excellent job expanding on a ton of complex elements of the dungeon in this novel by including various extracts from Carl’s Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, a secret compendium of knowledge from previous crawlers.  These extracts are each cleverly written in their own style, and I love how they highlight technical elements of the dungeon, as well as the emotional damage each of these previous crawlers experienced.  These LitRPG elements are further made better by the author’s unique sense of humour, which inhabits every aspect of the book and ensures that the reader is constantly laughing at all the insane moments, clever jokes, and over-the-top characters.  While this humour might not be for everyone, I felt it was perfect, especially as it blended with all Dinniman’s complex storytelling and the deeper emotional pain of the book, allowing for a very impressive overarching novel.

The thing that made The Gate of the Feral Gods really stand out was the author’s focus on character introductions, growth and powerful human moments, as the protagonists, their allies, and the various beings involved in the running on the dungeon, continue their chaotic journey together.  As with all the books in the series, the plot of The Gate of the Feral Gods revolves around protagonist and perspective character Carl, through whose eyes we see the plot unfold.  The perpetually exasperated and intense heroic figure who is desperately trying to save everyone he comes across, Carl continues to struggle in his role of leader and must keep coming up with dangerous plans to save his friends and beat the latest challenges of the dungeon.  While mostly serious, there is some fantastic humour and deeply sympathetic moments behind Carl, and it proves fascinating to see him struggle to maintain his anger and place as the reasonable one in the group, especially when it comes to his habit of blowing everything up.  The author also really dials up the rebellious anarchist aspects of Carl in this novel, as he starts fighting back against everyone he holds responsible for Earth’s destruction in some very cathartic ways.  Throw in the continued hints at the character’s traumatic past and his growing connection to all his friends, and Carl proves to be an excellent central character for this incredible book.

While Carl is a great main protagonist, this series would be nothing with his sentient cat companion, Princess Donut, who continues to be the highlight of most of the scenes she is in.  An overly dramatic, imperious and fun figure who maintains many stereotypical cat elements, Donut is the heart and soul of the book, and you have to laugh at all her funny jokes, entertaining reactions and the unlikely friendships and interactions she has.  Dinniman has fun building up the cat aspect of the character in The Gate of the Feral Gods, especially in the sequence where Donut finds herself underwater, and it was so damn entertaining to see her freak the hell out at times.  Much of the book’s humour also revolves around her unlikely partnership with Carl, and the way the two play off each other is just amazing.  While most of her personality and appearance is humorous in nature, it hides a deeper heart to it, as Donut’s child-like nature ensures that she is very reliant on Carl, and it was deeply moving to see them bond even further in this novel, and you can clearly see how close they are, even during the moments when Donut is deliberately annoying her human.  Probably one of the best cat characters in modern fiction, Princess Donut is so much fun, and I deeply enjoy every scene she is in.

While most of the book’s focus is on the central pair of Carl and Princess Donut, Dinniman continues to expand the incredible supporting cast of the series in The Gate of the Feral Gods, and I loved the brilliant storylines and development that occurs around these secondary figures.  This includes the third member of the protagonist’s party, Katia, who serves as the more reasonable and responsible member of the team.  It was fascinating to see how much Katia comes into her own in this novel, especially during a period where Carl and Donut are out of the game for an extended time, and she really steps up as a compelling alternative leader to the supporting cast.  Donut’s manager, Mordecai, a former crawler with issues, was a wonderful mentor figure for much of the story, and I quite enjoyed the interactions he has with the rest of the characters, especially Carl, while his attempts to keep his charges from doing anything too crazy are often ignored.  I also continue to be deeply entertained by the AI running the dungeon, whose over-the-top commentary, descriptions and jokes, add so much awesome and often concerning humour to the story.  There were some hilarious moments in The Gate of the Feral Gods where the AI continued to act a little crazy as its personality evolves to match the dungeon’s participants, including his continued messing with Carl, his weird foot fetish, and its own rebellion against the showrunners and people outside the game who are trying to restrict its fun.  Dinniman clearly had a ton of fun when it came to writing the AI’s actions, and it is so entertaining to see how crazy things get around it.

While all these returning major characters are great, one of the best things about The Gate of the Feral Gods was the way in which Dinniman brought in outstanding new characters, as well as reintroducing figures we haven’t see for a few books.  Some of the best new characters include Louis and Firas, two out-of-their-depth crawlers whom the protagonists must rely on.  Thanks to the encouragement of Carl and the others, they start to become much more effective as the book continues, and I loved their compelling growth in The Gate of the Feral Gods, as well as their impacts in their later books of the series.  I also must mention fun new character Samantha, renamed that by Donut from Psamathe.  A minor deity of unrequited love (or crazy ex-girlfriends), Samantha is a banished god trapped in the decapitated head of a magical sex doll.  Loud, rude, crude and constantly threatening every character’s mother, Samantha is probably the most over-the-top character in the series (which is saying something), but boy is she entertaining.  Perfectly introduced amongst the chaos of this book’s story, Samantha perfectly fits in amongst the main characters and becomes a major comic relief for much of the series.  Other great characters include some other fractious crawlers, the return of Chris from the first novel, who has gone through some major personality changes, a variety of insane gods including some unfortunately named demons, and various NPCs, whose existential plight becomes a major ongoing arc in the series.  All these characters, and more, allow for quite an entertaining and at times moving novel, and I really appreciate how well Dinniman utilises them in The Gate of the Feral Gods.

As with the previous Dungeon Crawler Carl novels, I ended up listening to The Gate of the Feral Gods on audiobook, which is such an incredible experience.  These Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook are so damn good, and it’s one of the key reasons I have been able to so effortlessly binge this entire series.  The narration, done by the very talented Jeff Hays, perfectly captures the insane and over-the-top nature of the series, and so many elements of The Gate of the Feral Gods, including its humour, the intense action, and the impressive LitRPG inclusions, are deeply enhanced by having the story read out.  Hays complements this narration with unique and very fitting voices for all the characters, and I love all the elaborate and often hilarious tones that come out as a result.  It’s impressive how many new voices Hays comes up with each audiobook, and I loved the excellent consistency between audiobooks for the recurring characters.  The long-running voices for Carl and Donut are just perfect, especially as Hays perfectly captures the various emotions hidden within both figures.  I really love how much extra humour you get from hearing Carl’s exasperated voice at times, while the entirety of Donut’s excessive personality, including her hilarious overreactions and continuous outrage, are just amazing.  The rest of the cast are also voiced extremely well, and Dinniman pulls out some fun voices and accents in this book, including an acceptable Australian accent from a crocodile-themed crawler.  However, one of my favourite voices is still the one he uses for the Dungeon AI, and it is so much fun to hear Hays’s voice the various excited, mocking and occasionally deranged announcements and descriptions from this figure.  Throw in some subtle sound effects and vocal enhancements, that add even more umph to the narration, and The Gate of the Feral Gods is an exceptional listen.  I absolutely powered through the 18-hour runtime, and I cannot recommend this format enough, as you guaranteed to have an absolute blast listening to it.

With even more incredible carnage, character development and the author’s incredible humour, The Gate of the Feral Gods was another outstanding novel from Matt Dinniman.  Perfectly continuing the extended Dungeon Crawler Carl narrative and adding in some excellent, long-term characters and elements, The Gate of the Feral Gods is an amazing entry in this epic series, and I honestly couldn’t stop enjoy this novel.  I loved The Gate of the Feral Gods so much that I instantly dove into the next book in the series, The Butcher’s Masquerade, the very second I finished it, and I am so very glad I did. 

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Waiting on Wednesday – Jigsaw by Jonathan Kellerman

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Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out an intriguing, upcoming murder mystery that is going to be a highlight of early 2026 with Jigsaw by Jonathan Kellerman.

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Of all the murder mystery authors I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing since I started my blog, few have consistently impressed me as much as Jonathan Kellerman.  A veteran of the crime fiction genre, Kellerman has written a huge array of compelling novels throughout his writing career, including some very gripping reads.  His main body of work is the iconic and long-running Alex Delaware series, which follows the titular protagonist, Alex Delaware, a child psychologist, who works with his best friend, LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis to investigate unusual or complex cases around Los Angeles.

The Alex Delaware novels are a classic and captivating crime fiction series, and Kellerman has written a huge number of them over the years.  I became a fan of the series myself a little more recently, when I was lucky enough to grab a copy of The Wedding Guest back in 2019.  A very cool novel with a great case behind it, The Wedding Guest was a fantastic introduction to the author and the Alex Delaware novels, and I ended up going back to the series the following year to read The Museum of Desire.  This great novel was also outstanding, and it impressed me enough to make the Alex Delaware series a must-read addition to my annual reading schedule.  I have since gone on to read every new Alex Delaware novel that followed, including Serpentine, City of the Dead, Unnatural History, The Ghost Orchid, and Open Season.  All these novels were extremely amazing, and I have had an exceptional time with all of them.

Due to how much fun all the previous novels were, I am always very keen to get my hands on the next Alex Delaware novel, and we already have some details about the 2026 addition to the series, Jigsaw.  Jigsaw will be the 41st book in the Alex Delaware series and will force Alex and Milo to investigate two separate, complicated murders that have an unlikely connection.

Plot Synopsis:

When a young woman is found dead at her kitchen table – with DNA belonging to her ex-boyfriend at the scene – psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis assume it’s an open-and-shut case.

But the guy has an airtight alibi. Could an enemy from his shady past have framed him?

Many miles away, a former LAPD officer is found brutally murdered in her garage. Her co-workers knew her as meticulously organized, but her house is full of junk and meaningless objects – except for the envelopes full of cash hidden within the chaos…

But as Alex and Milo dig deeper, they discover shocking links between the victims. It soon becomes clear they have a complicated – and deadly – puzzle to solve.

Based on the above synopsis, it sounds like Jigsaw is going to be another excellent entry in this great series.  I am already quite intrigued by the hinted plot, and Kellerman clearly has quite an outstanding mystery brewing for his 41st Alex Delaware novel.  Two seemingly unconnected murders with unique circumstances running at the same time is the great basis for an addictive crime fiction read, and I look forward to seeing the protagonists dive into both compelling victims with the author’s typical methodical, character-focused, style.  While I am curious about both murders, including one featuring an obvious, but clearly innocent suspect, and the other with an unlikely hoarder, the true test of this novel is how the author will bring both separate murders together into a single storyline.  I honestly have no doubt that Kellerman will come up with a clever link between both cases, and this will likely result in Jigsaw being an outstanding and very impressive addition to one of my favourite crime fiction series.

Due to how much fun I have had reading Jonathan Kellerman’s previous novels, Jigsaw is a highly anticipated book for the first half of 2026, especially with its intriguing synopsis.  Kellerman has never failed to wow me with his compelling mysteries, and Jigsaw already looks set to be an incredible read.  I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on the next Alex Delaware novel, and I already know it is going to be amazing.

WWW Wednesday – 20 August 2025

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly post hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So, let’s get to it.

What are you currently reading:

The Bolthole by Peter Papathanasiou (Trade Paperback)

I’m still going with the Australian crime fiction novel, The Bolthole, as I didn’t get a lot of reading time this week.  The latest book from author Peter Papathanasiou, The Bolthole is set on Kangaroo Island and focusses on the disappearance of a rich man, while also featuring a battle for the island’s identity.  The Bolthole is so far proving to be a really intriguing novel and I’m hoping to find some time in the next few days to finish it off.

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This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (Audiobook)

While I didn’t have a lot of physical reading time this week, I did get the chance to listen to get through a lot of audiobooks, so I have continued on with the incredible Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.  I’ve just started to listen to the seventh and most recently released novel, This Inevitable Ruin, which sees the protagonists fight an all-out war against multiple armies of alien players in an event known as Faction Wars.  I have been very excited to see Faction Wars for several books now and I cannot wait to see just how crazy this new novel gets.  I’m currently making some good progress on This Inevitable Ruin, but due to its length I will probably still be listening to it next week.  This will likely be one of the most awesome audiobooks I enjoy this year, and I cannot wait to see how everything unfolds, especially as there is so much potential for tragedy and mayhem.

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What did you recently finish reading?

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman (Audiobook)

Due to how obsessed I am with Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series, I powered through the sixth book in the series, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride this week.  A very awesome entry in the larger series, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride featured a cool new dungeon floor with an interesting monster card concept behind it, which allowed Dinniman to continue his unique story in some interesting ways.  This actually proved to be one of the more intense and complex Dungeon Crawler Carl novels, and I had such an epic time getting through it.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

The Final Vow by M. W. Craven

The next book I am going to try and read is the epic new thriller, The Final Vow by M. W. Craven.  A very awesome sounding novel that will see Craven’s protagonist face off against a deadly sniper terrorising England, The Final Vow has a ton of potential, and I am very excited to see how the story unfolds, especially after being enthralled by The Mercy Chair last year.  I have a strong feeling that The Final Vow is going to be one of the top books of 2025, and I am extremely excited to see how it unfolds.

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Two Kinds of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh

I am also hoping to read is the awesome upcoming Eddie Flynn novel from Steve Cavanagh, Two Kinds of Stranger in the next week.  A cool legal thriller with an intriguing plot idea behind it, I have no doubt Two Kinds of Stranger is going to be a very entertaining read, and I look forward to unwinding its awesome story.

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That’s it for this week; check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.