Tag: Humour

Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback ThursdayLeave a comment

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Random (Audiobook – 6 June 1996)

Series: Discworld – Book 19/City Watch – Book Three

Length: 12 hours and 20 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Even after many, many re-reads, the awesome fantasy satire novel Feet of Clay remains one of my favourite Discworld novels by the late, great Terry Pratchett, with its intricate crime fiction narrative, compelling characters, and even a cool new audiobook version.

I’ve done a lot of Discworld re-reading recently as I have been checking out several of the best books in the series on their new audiobook formats, which featured cool new narrators.  This new format has proven particularly awesome for books like Mort, Pyramids, Moving Pictures and Small Gods, as well as for entries in my favourite Discworld subseries, the City Watch books.

While I have a lot of love for all the books in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, my absolute favourites come from the City Watch subseries.  Following the unlikely members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, a rag-tag team of guards who go from losers to an effective police force, the City Watch books features an exceptional combination of fantasy and crime fiction elements, wrapped up in Pratchett’s usual satirical humour.  The first two books in this series, Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms are quite exceptional, and it was a very easy decision to also check out the epic third novel in the series, Feet of Clay.

After several unlikely but successful investigations, things are looking up for the Ankh-Morpork City Watch.  No longer a home for the dregs of society, the City Watch is now a respected crime-fighting unit.  Led by Commander Sam Vimes, the Watch’s enthusiastic, if unusual, members are determined to bring some law and order to the city of Ankh-Morpork, whether it wants it or not.

However, even with their new resources and members, the Watch find themselves troubled by a series of brutal murders occurring throughout the city.  All the victims were bludgeoned to death, but there is no evidence of anyone alive, or undead, having been at the crime scene.  At the same time, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork has been poisoned by unknown methods and is only barely clinging to life.  If the Patrician dies, sanity in the city will be the next to fall.

To solve both cases, Vimes and his watchmen will need to investigate an overlooked underclass in the city, the golems, whose ancient secrets and desires may lie at the heart of the killings.  But with desperate conspiracies, unlikely noble heirs and a new deranged king coming to light, can the City Watch uncover the figures pulling the strings in the darkness of Ankh-Morpork before it’s too late?

Wow, how is this book still so damn good?  Feet of Clay was another outstanding read from Terry Pratchett, who once again deeply impresses with his exceptional writing, unmatched humour, and deeply relatable characters.  This third City Watch book is probably some of Pratchett’s very best work, and it gets an extremely easy five-star rating from me.

I absolutely love the great narrative that Pratchett came up with for Feet of Clay, which I personally thinks has one of the author’s best crime fiction narratives behind it, as the complex characters humorously manoeuvre around the gritty streets of Ankh-Morpork.  This book features a fun start that perfectly sets the scene for several of the key characters, including protagonist Sam Vimes’s daily routine of assassins and high society.  You are also quickly thrust into the Watch’s new case involving two elderly academics bludgeoned to death.  These initial investigations, as well as some other great sequences, set the scene for much of the rest of the book, with the narrative becoming even more hectic when Vimes discovers that the Patrician has been poisoned by unknown conspirators.

Afte the initial set-up, the rest of the story flows by extremely fast, with several character-driven storylines that flow together perfectly.  The primary focus is on the two seemingly separate investigations into the murders and the poisonings, with Captain Carrot and Vimes taking control of each case.  Both these major storylines go in some very interesting directions, with Vimes desperately trying to work out how the poisonings happened, while Carrot and Angua begin investigating the city’s golems, one of whom seems responsible for the murders.  At the same time, Pratchett also provides some fantastic character-based storylines around several of the supporting Watch characters. This includes the unusual proclivities of the Watch’s new dwarf officer Corporal Cheery Littlebottom, Corporal Nobby Nobbs’s unbelievable reveal as a potential noble, one golem’s journey towards self-determination, and Angua’s continued feelings of alienation at being a werewolf.

All these storylines cross over perfectly in the final third of Feet of Clay, as the protagonists finally put together the subtle clues for the main two cases.  While the reveal about who or what is behind the murders is fantastic in its own way, I must highlight the extremely well-hidden poisoning method that Pratchett devised for this plot, which is just so damn devious and cleverly set-up by the author.  This leads to an excellent, action-focused collection of sequences that eventually pull together into an intense confrontation.

Pratchett wraps this up perfectly, with some amazing final reveals about who was ultimately pulling all the strings.  While the mastermind of the conspiracy isn’t too surprising (especially if you listen to one of the audiobook versions), the way that Vimes works out their identity is so much fun thanks to some ironically hidden clues, and I love the big reveal scene between Vimes and the main antagonist.  Pratchett also wraps up the remaining storylines perfectly, providing some great final touches to each of the characters’ respective arcs, and ensuring that the readers come away extremely satisfied.  I honestly cannot emphasise enough just how addictive and clever this narrative was, and every single aspect of this plot was perfectly set up and utilised by Pratchett as he wove his fantasy, crime fiction magic.

I’ve always felt that Feet of Clay was one of Pratchett’s best-written novels, as he manages to expertly balance a range of competing storylines inside this highly entertaining, hybrid novel.  As with all his City Watch books, the way that Pratchett manages to blend fantasy and crime fiction elements with his usual brilliant humour is just incredible, and I love how well this mixture of elements works to tell an effective narrative.  I must particularly commend the great mystery in Feet of Clay, which is just so damn intricate with all its clues and mixture of compelling character storylines.  Feet of Clay easily has some of Pratchett’s best mystery writing in its plot, and there is an outstanding amount of complexity built into both cases, with the truly elaborate poisoning arc being a particular highlight.  The sheer amount of cleverly crafted and often humorous clues that the author scatters throughout the book is so damn awesome, and it is so much fun to pull them all together.

The book’s outstanding crime fiction elements are perfectly enhanced by the background fantasy elements of the setting, with the protagonists forced to investigate the crimes in the context of a chaotic city populated with different species.  Compared to previous books, the investigation in Feet of Clay is much more like a modern police procedural, with classic forensic concepts enhanced with fantasy elements like scent tracking done by a werewolf and crime scene photos drawn by imps.  The protagonists also need to deal with various fantasy creatures, such as golems, vampires, dwarfs and a very angry gnome, and understanding their motivations becomes a key part of the plot.  Pratchett also uses these fantasy elements to address and lightly satirise contemporary social trends.  For example, one dwarf’s attempt to find herself leads to a complex, nuanced and thought-provoking discussion on gender identity, which can still be readily applied to modern discourses on transgendered rights and modern gender norms.  Another storyline focusing on golems gaining free will is also highly relevant, especially when you consider artificial intelligence.  Throw in the general chaos and disorder of the city, which results in additional fun conflicts and incidents (Vimes’s one-sided battle against the Assassins Guild is particularly amusing), as well as a focus on the changes that have occurred to Ankh-Morpork thanks to the actions of the Patrician and the Watch, and you really have to appreciate just how fell the inherent fantasy elements of Feet of Clay enhances the plot.

While both the mystery and fantasy elements of Feet of Clay are very compelling, what really turns this into a five-star read is the clever humour that Pratchett adds to his books.  There are various layers to the humour in this novel, although much of it lies in classic fantasy or murder mystery scenarios going in particularly absurd directions, or being artfully dissected by self-aware protagonists who find the situation and its real-world historical precedent very absurd.  There are also the brilliant footnotes that seek to enhance the story and showcase just how ridiculous the Discworld is by providing additional details about the universe and the people within it.  Finally, you have humour driven by the outrageous characters scattered throughout the plot, with ultra-sarcastic figures rubbing shoulders with entertaining parodies of terrible people.  The more direct humour drawn from the storylines of several of these characters, such as Corporal Nobbs’s foray into the upper class, and Sergeant Colon unfortunate agricultural experiences, blends well with the rest of the complex novel, and ensures that there are entertaining moments, no matter where in Feet in Clay you are.

This great combination of humour, fantasy elements and a crime fiction narrative helps to make Feet of Clay one of the more appealing novels in all the Discworld series, and so many different readers will end up getting a lot out of it.  As such, Feet of Clay works incredibly well as a standalone novel, with new readers easily able to enjoy this book without any prior knowledge of the Discworld or previous City Watch books, especially as Pratchett covers any relevant history or characters quite effectively.  However, I do feel that to get the best experience with Feet of Clay, readers would benefit from checking out Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms first.  The continuing storylines, history of the city and character arcs all come into play extremely well in Feet of Clay and you get a much more complete experience viewing all City Watch novels in order.

As with all of Pratchett’s novels, one of the real joys of Feet of Clay is the complex and comedic characters the author weaved such incredible, entertaining, and often extremely heartwarming tales around.  Featuring a great combination of the well-established cast of the previous City Watch books, as well as a couple of awesome new figures, Pratchett did an exceptional job diving into the cast of his novel and the resulting depth to their characters was so damn impressive.

At the centre of Feet of Clay lies main character Commander Samuel Vimes, the recently ennobled and married commander of the City Watch.  Transformed from a drunken and hated figure to the leader of a respected police organisation, Vimes has been forced to up his game, especially as he now finds himself being targeted by the elites of the city which he does with some comedic vigour.  Feet of Clay is probably the book where Pratchett twists the focus of the City Watch fully towards Vimes.  The definite centre of the plot, Pratchett really dives into Vimes’s obsessive nature, his simmering anger at the upper classes, and his determination to bring justice to everyone equally.  Vimes dogged, yet cynical, approach to investigation and crime solving comes face to face with a particularly dastardly plot in Feet of Clay, and there are some wonderful sequences as he tries to puzzle out the poisoning.  Pratchett also provides some extra detail about Vimes’ poor upbringing and the history of his family, which really showcases his motivations to a great degree.  All this allows for a much more complicated figure then we saw in previous books, and it was an interesting change of pace for this central character that Pratchett would expand on in later books.

In addition to Vimes, there are some interesting focuses on Captain Carrot and Constable Angua, who led the investigation into the murders in the city, and Pratchett wraps some compelling elements around them.  Carrot remains the charismatic and skilled leader of men for much of the story, with a continued focus on his love for the city and ability to charm anyone he encounters.  However, Pratchett does attempt to break his seemingly perfect facade in this novel by having him struggle to come to terms with Cheery Littlebottom’s identity issues.  The author also continues to shift away from Carrot as a perspective character, instead allowing his many appearances to be mainly told from the view of other, more cynical members of the cast.  This gives his actions and motivations a little more mystery and allows the reader to wonder just how perfect he really is.  For Feet of Clay, most of this narration was done by Angua, the Watch’s werewolf officer and Carrot’s love interest.  Angua proves to be a very practical and sarcastic personality foil to the upbeat Carrot, which helps to humanise both to a degree.  Pratchett also adds in a compelling underlying storyline of Angua struggling with how others perceive her as a werewolf, and her certainty that her relationship with Carrot can’t last.

While Carrot and Angua represent the more serious side of the Watch, Pratchett continues to have fun by focusing on the always amusing and comedic duo of Sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs.  Their narrative in Feet of Clay is particularly good, especially for Nobby, who finds himself elevated to nobility status when it is discovered he is the long-lost descendant of the Earl of Ankh.  Suddenly forced to hobnob with other nobs, Nobby has some fantastic reactions and interactions, especially going from despair at being a penniless noble, to trying to fit in with the city’s elite.  While this seems like a mostly comedic storyline to undercut the tension of Feet of Clay’s serious crimes it fits into the main narrative in some clever ways, although Nobby’s reaction when he finds this out is so damn funny and perfectly reflects his own mentality and his knowledge of Vimes’ reactions.

Sergeant Colon, on the other hand, is somewhat less used in Feet of Clay, although Pratchett has fun satirising the ‘policeman three days away from retirement’ trope through him.  Keen to get out of the Watch because his wife wants him to buy a farm (another subtle and fun joke from Pratchett), Colon inevitably runs into insane trouble in the second half of the book, and it was fun to see the craziness of the other storylines literally stampede over him.  I have loved these two characters since their first appearance in Guards! Guards! and this is one of their funniest books (although their next appearance in Jingo is also peak comedy).

While these recurring characters are awesome, special mention needs to go to the new members of the Watch that Pratchett introduces in Feet of Clay, who have major impacts on the plot.  The most significant of this is the new dwarf forensic officer, Corporal Cheery Littlebottom (a very traditional dwarf name).  Cheery serves as a compelling outsider figure, with Pratchett moving her across both investigations.  However, it’s her characterisation as a female dwarf who wants to acknowledge her gender rather than act like a male dwarf, as is tradition, that really sets Cheery up as a standout character.  Naturally working in aspects of identity and overcoming established mindsets are a big part of Cheery’s character, and it was wonderful to see her gain confidence and skill as a Watch officer.  Pratchett did such an excellent job of handling these complex cultural elements through Cheery, and it’s amazing how significant Cheery’s actions are in the larger Discworld narrative, as well as how relevant they are today.

Other characters I need to mention as I finally wrap up this section include the mysterious golem Dorfl.  A voiceless and dutiful figure that is part of the city’s exploited golem underclass, Dorfl has a compelling connection to the murders in Feet of Clay and serves as an unlikely witness and suspect.  Pratchett writes a particularly compelling motivation around Dorfl’s actions in this novel, which cleverly ties into discussion about self-determination and artificial intelligence.  I also had a lot of fun with Dorfl’s later scenes, especially as he becomes the city’s most unexpected and dramatic revolutionary.  Other highlights for me include Lord Vetinari, who takes his role as a poison victim with his usual special interest.  Throw in an ancient vampire with a love of terrible puns, an extremely angry gnome, and other compelling characters dragged into the narrative’s web, and the cast of Feet of Clay was one of Pratchett’s strongest, especially with all the emotional impact they add to the plot.

As with all the other Discworld novels I have reviewed, I have enjoyed Feet of Clay on various formats over the years, but my favourite is once again its audiobook version.  The various audiobook releases are always the absolute best ways to enjoy a Discworld novel, and the fantastic humour, compelling characters and entertaining locations that Pratchett comes up with, always come across in impressive fashion when read out.  This is especially true for Feet of Clay, which, like many of the series, has had several different audiobook versions over the years.  This includes the classic version released back in 1997, featuring narration by one of my favourite audiobook narrators, the legendary Nigel Planer.  I have raved about Planer in several previous reviews, including for Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms, and few narrators can capture Pratchett’s style and comedic charm with their voices like Planer did.  His work narrating Feet of Clay was particularly impressive, especially with his portrayal of all the cool characters, including an over-the-top vampire, the new dwarf member of the watch, and more.  The Planer narration of this novel is probably the definitive Feet of Clay audiobook, and I have been in love with this version since I was a child.

I also need to highlight the new audiobook released a couple of years ago.  Featuring the very impressive cast of Jon Culshaw, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy, this more recent Feet of Clay release was also very exceptional, building off the great work these three narrators did with their Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms audiobooks.  Coming in with a runtime of 12 hours and 20 minutes, this Feet of Clay audiobook is a bit longer than the Planer release (which had a runtime of 9 hours and 38 minutes), although listeners are still in for an exceptional time.  Much of this is down to British radio and television personality Jon Culshaw, who once again made this audiobook his own with his take on the story and his characters.  His gritty and entertaining voices for the cast are very fitting, and like Planer, he excels at showcasing their complicated personalities, as well as the overall humour of the book.  I am once again very impressed with just how excellent Culshaw was for the City Watch books, and he is my favourite narrator from these new Discworld audiobooks.

As with all books in this new collection of Discworld audiobook’s, Culshaw’s main narration was perfectly backed up by recuring voices of Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz.  These performances were once again perfect, and I especially loved Nighy’s excellent work with the vital, comedic footnotes. Serafinowicz’s role in Feet of Clay is also very fun, as he brings the fan-favourite character of Death to life.  While Death only has a few scenes in Feet of Clay, Serafinowicz makes the most of his appearances, and hearing the actor’s deep Death voice suddenly appear amongst the general narration really increases the impact of the character.  Both Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz’s inclusions were extremely fun, and I felt that they were combined with Culshaw’s main narration in a very impressive way.  These three brilliant British talents ensured that the new version of Feet of Clay was particularly impressive and while my heart will always belong to the original audiobook with Nigel Planer, this new multi-cast audiobook will likely inspire a new generation of Discworld fans.

With an incredible and winning combination of charm, mystery and comedic brilliance, Feet of Clay was another exceptional and classic read in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.  Providing an ultra-addictive story that also perfectly adds in some great new characters, Feet of Clay is one of the very best Discworld books, and one of my personal favourites.  An exceptional read I will recommend until the day I die!

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The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

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

Publisher: Gollancz (Trade Paperback – 16 March 2021)

Series: Blacktongue series – Book One

Length: 416 pages

My Rating: 5 out 5 stars

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Prepare for brutal action and adventure in the highly acclaimed fantasy novel, The Blacktongue Thief, a modern classic from a fast-rising author of fantasy fiction.

Several years ago, I made note of an intriguing upcoming fantasy novel that had caught my attention, The Blacktongue Thief.  Written by Christopher Buehlman, an established fantasy and horror writer who I wasn’t familiar with, The Blacktongue Thief had an awesome and intriguing plot behind it, and I was determined to read it when it came out in 2021.  Unfortunately, due to time constraints I never got the chance to read it when it first came out.  However, for the next several years all I heard from fellow fantasy fans was just how good The Blacktongue Thief and its prequel The Daughter’s War was.  Despite this constant praise, which felt a little judgemental towards me, I kept failing to read The Blacktongue Thief, although I was lucky enough to find a good secondhand copy of it last year.  With the sequel to The Blacktongue Thief announced for late 2026, I finally decided to take the plunge with this book earlier this year, and boy was I happy, if unsurprised, with how much fun I had with it.

Plot Synopsis:

Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path.

But today, Kinch Na Shannack has picked the wrong mark.

Galva is a knight, a survivor of the brutal goblin wars, and handmaiden of the goddess of death. She is searching for her queen, missing since a distant northern city fell to giants.

Unsuccessful in his robbery and lucky to escape with his life, Kinch now finds his fate entangled with Galva’s. Common enemies and uncommon dangers force thief and knight on an epic journey where goblins hunger for human flesh, krakens hunt in dark waters, and honor is a luxury few can afford.

Whelp, it turns out that I made a big mistake not reading The Blacktongue Thief sooner.  Featuring a powerful and dark take on the classic fantasy quest, The Blacktongue Thief was a compelling character-driven journey into an elaborate and war-riven fantasy world that effortlessly grabs your attention and refuses to let go.  An utterly addictive read from Buehlman that gets a full five-star rating from me.

Buehlman hits the ground running hard with The Blacktongue Thief, quickly introducing you to witty and likeable rogue, Kinch Na Shannack, the book’s protagonist and point-of-view character, as he engages in a little light banditry in the forest.  However, things quickly get out of hand for the protagonist as he fails to rob travelling knight and goblin wars veteran Galva in dramatic fashion.  However, there is far more to Galva than expected, as Kinch finds himself tasked by his employers, the powerful Takers Guild of thieves to follow Galva on her quest to the remote, giant-ravished nation of Oustrim, where she seeks to find her lost friend and queen.  Manoeuvring his way into Galva’s travel plans, Kinch soon becomes attached to his new friend, while the Takers Guild continue to control his actions.  I liked how effectively Buehlman set up his narrative in the early pages of The Blacktongue Thief, as there is a lot of early hints and starting storylines that play out as the novel continues.  The author also lays out some interesting details about the larger fantasy world, including much of its recent troubles and wars, which effectively draws you in alongside the compelling central narrative.

After this intriguing start, Buehlman gets into the story proper, as The Blacktongue Thief takes on many characteristics of a classic fantasy adventure story, with the protagonists travelling from one end of the continent to another.  Picking up some interesting new companions, as well as hints of some of the shadowy motivations around the various players of the plot, Buehlman starts loading in the action, with several entertaining and bloody sequences.  I personally loved the extended run with the protagonists travelling on a piratical whaling ship that takes up much of the centre of The Blacktongue Thief, especially as Buehlman litters this part of the book with feuds, monster fighting, multiple skirmishes and other nautical misadventures.  There are some great moments here, and the author shows the reader what type of book The Blacktongue Thief is with plenty of brutal deaths and sudden changes of fortune.  While much of this part of the book is focused on adventure and modern carnage, Buehlman also makes sure to continue providing intriguing dives into additional details of the setting, as well as some compelling character histories, much of which comes into play as the book continues.

After several dark encounters, tragedies and compelling dangers, the book enters its final third, which proves to be particularly compelling.  Set in the giant-stalked ruins of Oustrim, this final part of The Blacktongue Thief is particularly intense, and you are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop amongst the dangerous exploration, encounters and sudden sharp conflict.  Buehlman cleverly drops some big revelations as you get towards the end of the book, with developments that change your entire perspective of events.  It also leads to a final series of deadly confrontations, which proves to be quite shocking in places, even after the book’s various prior tragedies.  Buehlman keeps you guessing about what will happen next right to the very end, especially with a final mind-blowing twist about a supporting character.  I loved the intriguing note that Buehlman leaves The Blacktongue Thief on, especially as it sets up its potential sequel which will no-doubt expand on several loose ends from this cool book.  All this is quite addictive, and I honestly got so hooked on all the crazy adventures that the author loaded into this novel.

I really enjoyed how The Blacktongue Thief came together, especially as Buehlman provides a dark take on the classic quest narrative.  Bringing the reader into a beat-up fantasy world, The Blacktongue Thief has a very readable and edgy style that effectively draws you in from the start.  It really doesn’t take you long to get stuck into the book thanks to the great combination of entertaining humour, distinctive worldbuilding and intense action, all of which blends in an excellent and intense manner.  Much of this humour is driven from the amusing antics of The Blacktongue Thief’s protagonist, and the combination of other unique personalities adds a lot to the overall adventure aspect of the plot.  The intrigue, mistrust and hidden motivations increase the tension of the plot nicely, with old mistakes and dark histories perfectly inserted into the main plot by Buehlman.  I deeply enjoyed the multiple awesome action set-pieces that the author throws into The Blacktongue Thief, with so many intense moments of well-choreographed and described combat weaved into the plot.  There is an amazing amount of brutality thrown into the book, which the darker nature of the universe and the desperate plot extremely well, and I was glad that Buehlman didn’t hold back any punches.  I also really enjoyed how there were no slow or quiet moments in The Blacktongue Thief, with the reader constantly moving forward, much like the protagonists.

For me one of the big highlights that put The Blacktongue Thief on another level was the complex and grim fantasy world the story takes place in.  While there are many classic fantasy elements within this book, Buehlman sets it apart with some very intriguing details.  In particular, the book is set in the aftermath of a brutal war between the various human nations and an invading army of goblins.  As such, there is a battered feel to the setting, with the remaining humans wary and militant, and distrust and change in the air.  I loved how well Buehlman captured the desperation and despair of the inhabitants of the realm, as they attempt to survive in the post-war period, and it adds an even darker edge to the already brutal proceedings.  The clever inclusion of several consequences of the war, such as the loss of all the horses in the world thanks to a goblin-wrought disease, and the necessity of woman to be called up to fight in the last war, further enhances the uniqueness of The Blacktongue Thief, and it was really cool how it impacted the current journey and the protagonist’s pasts.  I also quite enjoyed how Buehlman set up multiple unique fantasy realms and kingdoms within the larger world, which the protagonists are forced to move across to reach their goals.  The differing politics, cultures and allegiances that they experienced, as well as the realistic length of the journey across the large continent, ensured that the protagonist’s journey felt like a proper epic quest, and I really enjoyed following the journey on the map provided at the front of the book.  Tracing the protagonist’s journey across the lands helped to enhance the enormity of the plot, and it also hinted at a ton of fun new realms that the protagonists will likely visit in the other entries in this series.  Buehlman’s excellent world building in The Blacktongue Thief really was quite impressive, and it was a big factor in my eventual five-star rating.

The final thing I want to talk about with The Blacktongue Thief are the excellent and memorable characters Buehlman sets his plot around.  The author ends up introducing a fun central cast that engage in the main quest, each of whom have their own demons and interesting quirks.  The primary character is Kinch Na Shannack, a low-level thief who is indebted to the Takers Guild after they trained him and taught him some basic magic.  The narrator and central perspective protagonist, Kinch entertains as the willey tricksters of the group, using his brains and talents for deceit and thievery to survive rather than brute force.  Much of The Blacktongue Thief’s humour comes from Kinch’s funny jokes, cutting observations and somewhat unreliable narration, which blended surprisingly well with the darker setting of the book.  While mostly always comedic, Kinch does have a serious side to him, especially when it comes to his many secrets and hidden motivations.  Buehlman writes a great plot around Kinch finding his true purpose, as his loyalties to the group and his growing courage is forced up against the control of the Takers Guild and the general craziness of the world he encounters.  An overall amazing main character who was the perfect depiction of the rebellious yet faithful rogue.

The other major character I really need to highlight is the striking Galva, a deadly female knight whose quest the plot is set around.  A scarred and dangerous veteran of the goblin wars, Galva is a no-nonsense figure in the book, dedicated to her mission, as well as her worship of the setting’s death goddess.  Buehlman ensures that Galva is set up as pretty badass character from the very start of the book, and you really get drawn to her honourable personality in this dishonourable world.  While mostly serious and unforgiving, there is a certain lighter side to Galva at times, which makes even more likeable, and she ended up being the perfect foil and straight woman to Kinch, with the two having some great interactions.  There is also a certain amount of battle-born trauma to Galva, much of which looks set to be explored in the prequel novel, The Daughter’s War, which added some extra complexity to her appearance.  Galva truly was a great character, and I loved her use as the serious and militant heart of the larger cast.

While Kinch and Galva get most of the focus in The Blacktongue Thief, there are some other entertaining characters who add a lot to the plot.  This includes the young witch, Norrigal, who serves as an interesting interest to Kinch, and whose overarching story had some clever and twisty moments to.  I also must mention Malk Na Brannyck, a countryman of Kinch who adds a lot of drama to the plot due to his history with the protagonist.  Another war veteran, Malk worked well as a minor antagonist who eventually morphs into a reluctant ally, and his various caustic interactions with Kinch added to the larger dysfunction of the protagonists.  Special mention also needs to go to the stray cat, Bully Boy, who tags along with the group against all the odds, and whose appearance definitely isn’t sinister or mysterious.  Throw in a range of rogues, thieves, killers and other dangerous figures that the protagonists encounter, and the cast of The Blacktongue Thief is stacked.  All these characters, and more, have some great storylines attached to them, and I really enjoyed the entertaining and often dark interactions that occurred, especially as it added to the general chaos of the plot.

After finally reading this epic novel, I can confirm that The Blacktongue Thief lives up the hype surrounding it.  Christopher Buehlman introduced a wonderfully dark fantasy world in this book and then moulded a powerful adventure story around it.  Loaded with intense action, great characters and a captivating story, The Blacktongue Thief was utter fun from the very beginning, and I had so much fun getting through it.  I am so glad I finally got the chance to read this novel, and I am hoping to read The Daughter’s War next, especially with the next book in series, The Thrice-Bound Fool, set for release later this year.

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Pretenders to the Throne of God by Adrian Tchaikovsky

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star BooksLeave a comment

Publisher: Head of Zeus (Audiobook – 12 February 2026)

Series: The Tyrant Philosophers – Book Four

Length: 20 hours and 1 minute

My Rating: 5 out 5 stars

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The legendary Adrian Tchaikovsky continues to showcase his incredible writing skill with his deeply impressive novel, Pretenders to the Throne of God, an outstanding read that perfectly continues one of his very best series.

Over the last few years, I have fully fallen in love with the writings of Adrian Tchaikvosky, who is honestly one of the best current writers of fantasy and science fiction.  Known for his Shadows of the Apt, Children of Time, Echoes of the Fall and Final Architecture series, as well as several awesome standalone novels, Tchaikovsky has a truly outstanding catalogue of works to his name, and there are some true classics captured there.  I personally have had the pleasure of reading several of his latest great books, with entries like Service Model (one of my favourite books of 2024), Alien Clay, the novella Orges and the Warhammer 40,000 novel, Day of Ascension (one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels) and the awesome fantasy novel Guns of the Dawn (which I only recently finished), proving to be quite amazing.

While I have had an exceptional time with many of Tchaikovsky’s novels, my favourites are the awesome novels of his Tyrant Philosophers series.  This gripping, brilliant and highly amusing series is set in a cool fantasy world filled with magic, gods and demons, all of which are being consumed by the Palleseen, an anti-religious empire of perfection-seeking fanatics who have been conquering the world through elaborate military and diplomatic action. The first three books in the series have been quite exceptional, including City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), Days of Shattered Faith (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2025), as well as the cool novella Lives of Bitter Rain.  I really love these elaborate and highly entertaining novels, which made me very excited for the fourth book in the series Pretenders to the Throne of God, one of my most anticipated books of 2026, which very much lived up to all my expectations.

Plot Synopsis:

Arthur C. Clarke winner and Sunday Times bestseller returns to a world steeped in magic – and the Tyrant Philosophers’ campaign to bring reason, logic and ‘perfection’ to it.

Eres Ffenegh – “the City on the Back of a Crab” – is the next state slated for conquest by the Palleseen, but its citizens won’t give up sovereignty easily, and the siege has now dragged into the harsh Eresi winter. The defenders – both locals and Pal renegades – hold an uneasy alliance against the enemy at the gates, while the Pal army is constantly looking over its shoulder for the next self-destructive dictate of their government back home.

Within the city, Devil Jack is the apprentice to the notorious conjurer and bawd known as the Widow, a good man driven to bargaining with hell to get back what he’s lost. Meanwhile Kiffel ea Leachan is the city’s champion, a child of privilege who’s just lost everything to the invaders. We follow the ups and downs of both as they try to survive the siege and make their own destinies in a world that’s cut them loose.

Outside the city, the Pals have been desperately waiting for reinforcements so they can finally take the city, but when new soldiers finally march in with the winter it’s the worst kind of help, enough to damn the entire army.

Tchaikovsky continues to showcase why he is one of the world’s leading authors of unique fantasy fiction with his latest Tyrant Philosophers novel.  A wonderful and complex character-driven read, Pretenders to the Throne of God was an outstanding novel that perfectly tells its own story, while also continuing the epic overarching series narrative.  Clever, incredibly moving, and featuring some subtle but effective satire, Pretenders to the Throne of God is an exceptional novel that gets a full five-star rating from me.

Even after reading all the previous books in the Tyrant Philosophers series, I honestly was so impressed by how Tchaikovsky pulled this latest distinctive story together.  Pretenders to the Throne of God once again sees the bureaucratic, yet effective, armies of the insidious Palleseen trying to recapture the city of Eres Ffenegh.  However, between the city’s unique defences, determined citizens, and a group of former Palleseen soldiers sworn to two cults, the Palleseen assault has mostly halted, awaiting the arrival of fresh reinforcements.  Told through multiple chapters, each of which generally focus on one point-of-view character who is witnessing the events of the siege unfold from their perspective, Tchaikovsky effectively introduces the setting and the key players in the siege, and you soon get a sense of the chaotic nature of the conflict and the volatile figures on both sides.  These initial chapters do a good job of setting up a variety of book-wide story elements, including early introductions to figures who will have a bigger impact later in the plot as side figures in other characters perspective chapters.

The plot of Pretenders to the Throne of God quickly gets into overdrive when unexpected and uncomfortably undead Palleseen reinforcements arrive outside the city.  Despite reservations and restrictions, the besiegers make use of their new troops and swiftly gain ground, causing the defenders to make some desperate decisions.  Tchaikovsky makes sure to expand on all his character storylines as this plot continues, including in several compelling ‘mosaic’ chapters, which generally surround big events and split the focus across multiple characters as they try to deal with new developments.  There are some great character-focused moments built into this part of the plot, with various members of the cast dealing with their own issues or chasing their own desires.  This includes the continued torment of Devil Jack, internal politics of the besieged city, the machinations of a leading Palleseen officer, the struggles of isolated Palleseen specialists, and various people discovering how far they’ll go to get back what they have lost.

Everything leads up to a particularly intense and complex final third of Pretenders to the Throne of God, focused on the final days of the siege.  Without giving too much away, things inevitably go to hell for all the major characters, as desperation, determination and deceit guide them to their destinies.  I love how so many characters take the final steps towards being the people they want or think they should be, and there are some amazing moments built into this final bit of narrative.  Tchaikovsky has an even-handed approach to tragedy and happy endings here, with various characters encountering either an ironic conclusion to their story or their ideal fate.  The author ensures that the main standalone story of Pretenders to the Throne of God is nicely wrapped up by the end, with all the major character storylines finalised one way or another.  At the same time, certain storylines from previous entries in the series are cleverly continued, with various threads remaining for the final upcoming Tyrant Philosopher novel to finalise.  All this ensures that readers come out of Pretenders to the Throne of God extremely satisfied, while also remaining curious enough to instantly get the next book when it comes out.

Tchaikovsky ended up using a similar writing style to the previous entries in the Tyrant Philosophers series, which I think works extremely well to convey his elaborate and entertaining narrative.  Relying heavily on multiple perspective changes to tell his layered story, Tchaikovsky embarks on providing a deep and personal story, set around a large collection of compelling supporting characters.  The author excels at creating elaborate and complex backgrounds for the various protagonists which are worked into the larger plot extremely well, especially as each character has their own unique motivations and damage.  All these varied story elements are well woven together into one complex story, and it was fascinating to see all the different figures react to the continually changing events.

Tchaikovsky cleverly altered the tone of Pretenders to the Throne of God multiple times within the course of the story.  While there is an easy, compelling and cynical humour to much of this novel, especially when the various characters provide their realistic and sarcastic commentary on events, at times Pretenders to the Throne of God can get quite dark and moody.  Much of this is down to Pretenders to the Throne of God being a gritty siege novel, and the desperation of the characters fighting on both sides is heavily evident during the plot.  Into this potent mix, Tchaikovsky adds in some intense action sequences, as well as an overlay of intrigue, betrayal and hidden motivations, all of which is quite awesome to see.  There is even a moving love story right at the heart of the plot, which, while unique and twisted, adds some real emotional heft to the novel.  All this ensures that Pretenders to the Throne of God has an extremely unique feel to it, even compared to the other Tyrant Philosophers novels, and I loved how well the compelling fantasy elements fit with the very human narrative.

Pretenders to the Throne of God works well as both its own distinctive standalone narrative and as a continuation of elements and character-focused storylines from the previous books in the series.  Due to how it initially focuses on several central characters stuck in a new setting in the established world, readers can easily come into Pretenders to the Throne of God without any real pre-knowledge of the other Tyrant Philosophers books.  However, as the story eventually grows to focus on several major characters from the previous novels, existing Tyrant Philosophers readers will end up appreciating the plot of Pretenders to the Throne of God a little more, as you are a little more familiar with the events that forged them.  Much of this prior character history is cleverly reintroduced throughout the course of Pretenders to the Throne of God, so new readers can also appreciate the continued personal arcs and storylines very easily.  The author also features references to events from the previous books throughout Pretenders to the Throne of God, and readers will find it fascinating to see how certain decisions or plots from the recurring characters, such as religious conversion in House of Open Wounds, wider rebellion against the Palleseen and the continued tragedy of a certain former priest, continue to be explored here.

One of the big highlights of Pretenders to the Throne of God is the elaborate setting for his compelling narrative.  While the book is set in the same fantasy world as the other Tyrant Philosophers novels, much of the action occurs around the newly introduced and besieged city of Eres Ffenegh.  An ancient city of gods and the sea located on top of the body of a long-dead crab god, Eres Ffenegh is currently under attack from the Palleseen, with various factions within the city, both new and old, struggle to work together to defend it.  Tchaikovsky excelled at introducing the various unique elements of Eres Ffenegh with some deep dives into its history and culture, all of which bleeds into the plot. In many ways Eres Ffenegh felt like its distinctive character of the book, with an understanding of its people, their mindset, and the city’s relationship to the rest of the world, vital to appreciating the full plot of Pretenders to the Throne of God.  Tchaikovsky cleared had fun developing the many quirky and unique features of Eres Ffenegh, and this ended up being a particularly compelling fantasy setting, which added a lot to the wider book.

I also must highlight Tchaikovsky’s excellent continued use of the villainous Palleseen, who serve as the series’ main antagonistic group.  Ideological zealots often bound by their own rules and processes as they slowly and greedily try to take over the world, all the books in this series are dedicated to examining their methods and serves as a humorous critique of militarisation and empire building.  Pretenders to the Throne of God once again features the Palleseen as an occupying force as they attempt to reconquer Eres Ffenegh. However, thanks to the events of the previous novels, many of the foreign magic and occult practices they co-opted as weapons, such as necromancy and demonology, are at risk of being designated as imperfect, with potential dire consequences for the Palleseen soldiers who specialise in them.  It has been very fun to see the slow decline of the mighty and insatiable Palleseen over the last few books, and the continued symptoms of their unsustainable growth and continually narrowing definition of perfection has been a fantastic ongoing storyline.  Tchaikovsky works these elements into the plot of Pretenders to the Throne of God perfectly, especially when it comes to the various Palleseen characters, who come to fear their own side more than their opponents in the siege.  Not only does this add to the drama for half the cast but it also serves as an insightful critique of militaristic and fascist governments and how they always turn on each other.  I look forward to seeing how the various storylines about the Palleseen come to an end in the final Tyrant Philosophers’ novel, and it has been a real treat to see how Tchaikovsky has utilised them.

Another key aspect of Pretenders to the Throne of God that I need to highlight are the incredible characters featured throughout this story.  Tchaikovsky loads this novel with an outstanding array of complex or damaged characters who are the true highlight of the plot thanks to their collective dark histories and layered motivations.  The sheer range of different characters in this novel is very impressive, with a combination of local inhabitants of the city, newcomers determined to defend it for their own reasons, the invading Palleseen, and others who have their own complex motivations for being there, which Tchaikovsky explores in detail.

Some highlights of the cast include Kiffe lea Leachan, Eres Ffenegh’s current champion, who finds herself at a moral crossroads when her magical sword that allowed her to be a great fighter is destroyed.  Disgraced and caught up in despair, Kiffe is forced to fight between her natural meekness and determination to regain the thing that made her special by any means necessary.  Kiffe is well matched by Nieve a Galeaff, a fixer for one of the city’s leaders, who not only serves as a cynical buffer to the more naïve Kiffe but provides one of the more interesting perspectives of the Eres Ffenegh’s defenders, as she tries to hold the city together.  Other highlights include the damaged or insane leaders of the two former Palleseen religious cults that have taken up residence in Eres Ffenegh.  This includes the Mouth of the Sea; one cult’s conflicted second in command who will be very familiar to fans of the second Tyrant Philosopher’s novel.  There is also the quite entertaining Abellaime, better known as The Widow.  A dangerous conjurer, Abellaime serves as a dark temptress for many characters in the city, while also manipulating events for her own designs, and in many ways is a more dangerous villain than the Palleseen.

In addition to the defenders of Eres Ffenegh, Tchaikovsky spends a good chunk of the novel focused on the Palleseen army besieging the army, especially the members of an officer’s club known as the Heretics.  Made up of several specialists with controversial fields of study, the Heretics prove to be fun characters as they reluctantly fight for an empire that is likely to brand them imperfect and expendable any day.  Their alternating perspective of the novel, as well as their weariness and damage from previous wars, make the associated Heretics quite fascinating to follow, and their storyline was one of the more intense and interesting in the book.  However, my favourite Palleseen character had to be Fellow-Archivist Dantell, the second in command of the regiment and a self-serving schemer who serves as one of the main antagonists of the book.  Known as ‘the Stoat’ for her sneaky and backstabbing behaviour, Dantell was a highly entertaining figure who attempts to outthink and manipulate every other character in the book, with mixed effects.  A wonderfully sinister schemer who perfectly showcases the larger issues of the Palleseen in her actions and personality, Tchaikovsky clearly enjoyed writing Dantell, and I felt she had one of the more amusing storylines in the book.

While all these characters are amazing and intricate in their own ways, the best and most emotionally compelling character in Pretenders to the Throne of God had to be that of Devil Jack.  The closest thing this series has to a main character, Jack has appeared in all four novels so far with a different name or occupation each time, starting off as a priest to a selfish fallen god.  Much of the series has focussed on his struggle to escape his past and find a better life.  This latest novel sees Jack at his very lowest, having lost his demon lover and one chance of happiness in the previous novel.  Determined to do the impossible and bring her back, Jack apprentices himself to the Widow to learn all about conjuring and demonology, while the Widow attempts to corrupt him in turn.  Tchaikovsky writes an impressive narrative about Jack’s despair and desperation in Pretenders to the Throne of God, as he attempts to hold onto his humanity while trying to recover his lost love.  You really get drawn into his emotionally charged inner battle, and Tchaikovsky writes some fascinating scenes and interactions with the other characters, such as the unlikely friendship he forms with Kiffe.  I personally loved the scene where he meets his former god once again, with the two continuing to influence each other in entertaining and complex ways.  This was one of the most heartfelt appearances of Jack in the series yet, and he was the perfect highpoint Pretenders to the Throne of God’s other exceptional characters.

As with most big fantasy novels, I ended up listening to the audiobook version of Pretenders to the Throne of God, which turned out to be an awesome way to enjoy this incredible book.  Coming in with a decent runtime of 20 hours, the Pretenders to the Throne of God audiobook is a bit of a longer listen, however, it is worth it, as this format really helps to capture the elaborate nature of Tchaikovsky’s narrative, as well as the multiple complicated characters within.  Hearing the story read out really helps me absorb more of the book’s impressive detail, and I found myself more easily dropping into the besieged city and witnessing the various interactions between the characters.

Much of the impact associated with Pretenders to the Throne of God’s audiobook is due to the excellent voice work of David Thorpe, who has previously narrated the other Tyrant Philosophers audiobooks.  Thorpe has a real knack for bringing Tchaikovsky’s unique style and characters to life with his voice work, especially as he constantly matches the tone of the various scenes perfectly.  Not only does Thorpe always land the book’s subtle humour and sarcastic observations in every scene, but the more serious and tragic moments are given the solemnity and emotional depth they deserve.  Thorpe also has an incredible array of voices for the various characters of Pretenders of the Throne of God, and I loved some of the fun and unique tones he attributed to some of the more supernatural creatures in the plot.  I personally appreciated how Thorpe brought back several voices from the previous entries in the series, and it was great to get this continuity.  At the same time, the various new voices were also extremely good, with the tones always matching the personalities of their respective characters.  Thorpe also showcased a real talent for pronouncing the over-the-top names, titles and other unique words that Tchaikovsky invented for his fantasy world, and I loved how authentic the Pretenders to the Throne of God audiobook felt, as it was clear that Thorpe was really putting in the effort.  All this makes for quite an exceptional listen, and I loved every single second I spent listening to Pretenders to the Throne of God.

Thanks to his captivating and layered narrative, great characters, and wonderful storytelling, Adrian Tchaikovsky once again impresses with Pretenders to the Throne of God.  An exceptional continuation to the Tyrant Philosophers series, Pretenders to the Throne of God was so damn good, and I honestly couldn’t get enough of this outstanding read.  One of my favourite novels of the year so far, Pretenders to the Throne of God comes very highly recommended, and I cannot wait to read more from Tchaikovsky this year, especially with his next novel, Green City Wars, nearly here.

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Warhammer 40,000: The Last Ditch by Sandy Mitchell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer1 Comment

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 February 2012)

Series: Ciaphas Cain – Book Eight

Length: 9 hours and 29 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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The mighty hero of the Imperium returns for another rip-roaring and highly entertaining Warhammer 40,000 adventure, with The Last Ditch by Sandy Mitchell, a wonderful Ciaphas Cain novel that proves exceptionally hard to put down.

I have been in a real Warhammer 40,000 mood lately, so I decided to continue my exploration of the franchise by diving back into one of its best and most hilarious series with another Ciaphas Cain novel by Sandy Mitchell.  The Ciaphas Cain series are particularly awesome Warhammer 40,000 novels that follow the adventures of the legendary human hero Commissar Ciaphas Cain as he faces down the many horrors the grimdark Warhammer universe has to offer.  However, what sets the series apart from other series in the franchise is the fantastic tongue-in-cheek way in which the supposed hero of the series sees himself as a substantial coward concerned more with his own survival, and whose heroic exploits are down more to luck and chance.  This results in a fantastic collection of books, each one of which throws the protagonist into danger despite his best efforts, often resulting in a series of hilarious and over-the-top adventures.  I have had an outstanding team reading the previous entries in the series, including For the Emperor, Caves of Ice, The Traitor’s Hand, Death or Glory, Duty Calls, Cain’s Last Stand and The Emperor’s Finest, and I have been eager to read the eighth novel in the series, The Last Ditch for some time.

Commissar Ciaphas Cain, famed hero of the Imperium of Man, is at the height of his legendary career, fighting back the many enemies of humanity despite his best attempts to stay out of battle.  However, despite his reputation usually landing him in the most challenging of conflicts, Cain’s next mission seems to be relatively straightforward.  Once again accompanied by the Valhallan 597th regiment of Imperial Guard, Cain is tasked with eradicating a simple ork infestation on the frozen planet of Nusquam Fundumentibus.  However, not even Cain’s most pessimistic musings of the future can prepare him for the horrors to come.

Travelling aboard a disreputable freighter, Cain and his soldiers are forced to make a deadly crashlanding on Nusquam Fundumentibus, right into the middle of an ork horde.  Engaged in a desperate fight for their lives against the greenskins, the Imperial Guard are blind to other threats hiding on the planet, threats that are far more insidious than a group of rampaging orks.

As the conflict continues and several isolated communities on the planet start to go dark, Cain soon becomes aware that something apart from the orks are stalking the citizens of Nusquam Fundumentibus.  Something ancient and malevolent lies hidden beneath the ice of the planet, and the new war has finally woken them up.  Outnumbered and outmatched, the Imperial Guard need to pull a desperate and no doubt suicidal plan to survive.  Luckily, they have a bonified hero to lead the charge, even if he’d rather be anywhere else in the galaxy.

The always outstanding Ciaphas Cain series continues in impressive form, as Sandy Mitchell adds further depth to some of the more entertaining and gripping novels in the Warhammer 40,000 franchise.  Combining intense action with the protagonist’s unique insights into the grimdark Warhammer universe, The Last Ditch was a brilliant addition to the series that I couldn’t get enough of.

Mitchell once again came up with an outstanding narrative for The Last Ditch that grabs your attention early on and keeps you hooked to the very end.  I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about reading The Last Ditch, as it looked like Mitchell was going to rehash the similar ice-world story found in Caves of Ice.  However, this book has a very different narrative, while still maintaining all the familiar story elements that make this series to dependable to read.  Starting off on a different footing with a fun transport arc that ends in deadly tears, The Last Ditch has an explosive first third (literally), which provided a lot of initial drama and risk.

The Last Ditch’s story quickly dives into even more awesome action, as the protagonist is reluctantly forced into action against the orks, while other dangerous threats lurk beneath the surface.  I liked how Mitchell did a good job building up tension in advance of the reveal about the true antagonists of the novel, with the reader knowing that something worse was coming thanks to Cain’s prescient narration from the future, and the author used this time to expand on his new setting.  The eventual sequence revealing this enemy had a great horror vibe to it as Cain explored tight quarters underground, and it led naturally into an extended campaign.  The rest of the book is a good mixture of connected action scenes, as Cain and the other characters slowly work out just how desperate the situation is and attempt to take steps to address it.  This works well as an overarching narrative, and you really appreciate the scope of the situation and the protagonist’s continued accidental heroics as he tries to run away.

All this perfectly leads up to a final big sequence, where the desperate protagonists are forced into a particularly brutal fight with little hope of survival.  Unsurprisingly, this requires Cain to engage in another suicide mission, which leads to some of the best action scenes in the entire book.  This entire last section of The Last Ditch is a particularly awesome thrill ride which I powered through so very quickly to see how everything came to an end.  Readers come away very satisfied from The Last Ditch, which honestly was one of the stronger books in this cool series, and I really enjoyed how Mitchell continues to entertain with his amazing and entertaining Warhammer 40,000 premise.

Mitchell maintains pretty much the same writing style for The Last Ditch he has previously utilised in the other Ciaphas Cain books, which allows for a very impressive light read.  It is told primarily in a chronicle/journal format written by an older Cain, which recounts the events of this adventure through the narrow focus of the protagonist’s unreliable memory.  This allows for a fun and self-centred take on events that examines Cain’s reluctant action while also loading up the story with some entertaining humour that provides a great satirical look at the usually grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe.  This main narrative of action, adventure and supposedly cowardly behaviour is cleverly interspersed with a range of entertaining footnotes, commentary and in-universe texts that have been provided by the account’s patient, if sarcastic, editor, Inquisitor Amberly Vail.  This combination of narrative elements not only cleverly provides readers with and informative and light-hearted look at events taking place outside of Cain’s selfish storytelling, but it also pumps up both the humour and the stakes of the plot, especially as you become aware of the planet-wide impacts of the central adventure.

As with all the books in the series, The Last Ditch does work well as a standalone novel that readers can enjoy without any previous knowledge of the other Ciaphas Cain books, or indeed the wider Warhammer 40,000 universe.  While this novel is set in the middle of Cain’s personal chronology and makes mentions of several previous adventures, readers should have no trouble following along, with the point of these references made clear quickly through the writing and context.  Established fans of the series will also have a lot of fun with this book, especially as Mitchell continues Cain’s adventures with the Valhallan 597th, and there are a lot of entertaining familiar beats with this newer entry.  Like many of the previous books, The Last Ditch does have some repetition issues, with Mitchell reusing a lot of basic story ideas and phrases in Cain and Vail’s descriptions that returning readers will notice.  However, I felt that this entry was distinctive enough, especially with a more horror vibe to it, that any readers can come in and easily enjoy it.  This allows The Last Ditch to remain an awesome addition to the overall series, and it’s one I personally had an outstanding time getting through.

I also must once again highlight some of the great character work in this novel, especially when it comes to the main character of Commissar Ciaphas Cain.  A complex figure and self-professed coward, Cain spends most of the book trying to come up with ways to avoid combat and survive the inevitable danger his reputation and own bad lack force him to participate in.  With a very cynical and self-deprecating writing style, Mitchell always tries to emulate classic, comedic and craven military figures like Flashman or Blackadder with his depictions of Cain.  However, despite the protagonist’s best efforts to showcase himself as a dishonourable coward, his resultant heroic actions and Inquisitor Vail’s notes help to show the reader that his is somewhat lying to both us and himself, as he continues to be an inspirational figure.  This allows for quite a complex and relatively light-hearted read, as you are constantly wondering just how honest the protagonist is being with his observations and descriptions of his actions.  This all blends well with Cain’s witty and sarcastic humour, which lightly lampoons the usually serious Warhammer 40,000 universe and ensures that you are constantly entertained as you follow Commissar Cain into danger once again.

The rest of the cast of this novel are also a ton of fun, especially as many fan favourite characters from the previous novels are well utilised here.  This includes Cain’s faithful aide, Jurgen, who continues to toe the line between gormless soldier and ultra-effective sidekick, and is a very entertaining inclusion in any of these books.  Inquisitor Amberly Vail once again has a big impact, despite her actual appearance in the novel being quite negligible, and her no-nonsense overarching commentary allows for quite an amusing read.  The returning members of the Valhallan 597th regiment were a welcome inclusion, and it is always cool to see the close relationship that Cain has with these soldiers after so many adventures.  Throw in a young gung-ho commissar that Cain is forced to school, and a planetary governor trying to stay in control of her planet amongst the chaos of war, and the cast of The Last Ditch was pretty exceptional and continues Mitchell’s habit of showcasing entertaining and complex supporting characters.

I have long extolled the impressive virtues of the audiobook format when it comes to Warhammer 40,000 fiction, as it is just so much fun having the over-the-top stories read out loud.  Some of the very best Warhammer books in this format are the Ciaphas Cain audiobooks, due to their elaborate casts and the fantastic way their narrators capture the unique style of the series.  This is particularly true for The Last Ditch, which was another absolute joy to listen to, as its amazing narrators perfectly captured both the humour and complex action.  Coming in with a decent run time of nine and a half hours, listeners can absolutely fly through The Last Ditch audiobook, which once again features all the awesome elements that the rest of the series had.  This includes the use of several different narrators, with the incredible vocal talents of Stephen Perring, Penelope Rawlins, Emma Gregory, Toby Longworth and Andrew James Spooner, all adding a lot to the impact of this fun and fantastic story.

Perring is particularly awesome as he voices the main plot of The Last Ditch from the perspective of Cain.  Voicing the protagonist’s conflicted memories of the events, Perring perfectly captures the complex personality of the main character, while also providing a fun take on the action and adventure occurring around the protagonist.  Perring has a great range of different voices for this part of the book, with each of the characters getting a very fitting tone that showcases their separate personalities, including many recurring voices the narrator used in previous audiobooks in the series.  Perring is once again supported by Penelope Rawlins, who voices the character of Inquisitor Amberley Vail as she edits Cain’s memoirs.  Rawlins really dives into the sarcastic character of Inquisitor Vail in these supporting parts of the book, providing a calm, indulgently humorous voice that fits the fun feel of the series.  Rawlins’s interruptions and inclusions as Vail complement Perring’s narration extremely well, adding some great  humour to the plot without ruining the flow of the main story.  These two narrators work together extremely well to bring out much of the book’s humour, and I love how they both have kept coming back to this series to ensure some excellent continuity.

While Perring and Rawlins do the main narration, the additional narrators each have a fun supporting role in proceedings.  Emma Gregory probably gets the most use of the three as she once again voices the memoirs of an ambitious officer in Cain’s regiment, retelling events in a particularly bombastic way.  Gregory deliberately over-acts her part of the audiobook to show off the brash personality of the memoir’s author, and you have to love the pomp and self-importance that Gregory adds to her voice work in these scenes.  The other two, Longworth and Spooner, both of whom are well-established narrators of Warhammer fiction in their own right, have a lot of fun with more minor supporting roles in The Last Ditch, and their cool, if short, inclusions added some fun variety to the experience.  The overall result was another excellent listen that really enhances the fun and impact of the story and the larger franchise.  I honestly think that the Ciaphas Cain series has some of the best audiobooks, and The Last Ditch perfectly showcased how well these books come across in this fun format.

With all the fun action, humour and great focus on a fantastically flawed protagonist fans have come to know and love, Sandy Mitchell continues his exceptional Ciaphas Cain Warhammer 40,000 series with The Last Ditch.  A wonderful and deeply entertaining read, The Last Ditch was a joy to read from start to finish and I had such a brilliant time with it.  Indeed, I enjoyed The Last Ditch so much that I immediately dove into the next book in the series, The Greater Good, the second I finished it.

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Kill Your Boss by Jack Heath

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery2 Comments

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 4 November 2025)

Series: Kill Your Brother – Book Three

Length: 368 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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The most relatable new Australian crime book for all office drones is the awesome and addictive Kill Your Boss by the always impressive Jack Heath, an exceptional read that proves very hard to put down.

There are a lot of talented and entertaining Australian authors writing outstanding novels these days, but one of my favourites due to his consistently clever and entertaining reads is the wonderful Jack Heath.  Hailing from my home city of Canberra, Heath has been entertaining Australian readers for years with his interesting combination of complex works.  I am a massive fan of his amazing crime fiction novels, which includes his spectacularly over-the-top Hangman series (including Hideout and Headcase).

In recent years, some of Heath’s best work has been some amazing and twisted murder mysteries set in small-town Australia.  The series started with Kill Your Brother (one of my favourite Australian novels of 2021), a clever read that saw a damaged protagonist imprisoned and forced to choose between killing her guilty brother or dying alongside him.  I had an outstanding time with Kill Your Brother, and I eagerly dove into the loosely connected sequel, Kill Your Husbands.  Featuring two of the protagonists from Kill Your Brother as they get drawn into a devastating case involving a series of murders after some ill-advised partner-swapping.  I deeply enjoyed this fantastic sequel, and it ended up being one of my favourite Australian books of 2023.  Naturally I was very keen when I saw that Heath had a third book in this series coming out in late 2025 with the awesome title of Kill Your Boss.  I dove into Kill Your Boss as soon as I could, and it proved to be another great read with a very fun plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

What would it take to turn you into a killer?

Detective Sergeant Kiara Lui has just broken up a loud brawl between two blokes in front of the Warrigal Public Library. But just as she’s about to leave the scene, a man inexplicably plummets from the sky and slams into the bike rack right in front of her, dead.

Neville Adams was the head of library services, hated by staff, borrowers, or in fact anybody who had ever met him. Kiara quickly seals the building, trapping everyone who might have pushed him off the roof. She expects to have someone in custody within minutes.

Instead, the investigation becomes the most challenging and dangerous of her career as it spirals outward, ensnaring half the town. It seems that Neville was connected to the disappearance of Emmylou Chisholm – a case that Kiara could never solve, and that has haunted her ever since.

If the killer isn’t found fast, the first two victims won’t be the last . . .

Compelling, propulsive and darkly funny, this is a perfect follow-up to Jack Heath’s bestselling Kill Your Husbands.

Kill Your Boss was a particularly amazing novel from Jack Heath and one of the better pieces of Australian fiction I had the pleasure of reading in 2025.  Featuring an extremely compelling crime fiction narrative with some fantastic dark humour behind it, Kill Your Boss was extremely fun to get through, and I had a brilliant time with this latest twisted offering from Heath.

Heath cleverly builds around the fantastic and entertaining concept of a villainous and wildly disliked boss getting murdered.  Once again set in the small Australian town of Warrigal, Kill Your Boss has an instantly great opening with the victim, Neville Adams, plummeting to the ground from the library roof, right in front of main police protagonist Detective Sergeant Kiara Lui.  Kiara, who previously served as a supporting character in Kill Your Brother and the main investigator of Kill Your Husbands, quickly takes charge of the case, locking down the library and hoping to identify the killer amongst the people trapped inside.  However, Kiara soon hits a wall with her investigation when it becomes apparent that everyone in the library, especially Adams’s employees, hated him.  With multiple motives and no witnesses, Kiara starts diving into the crime, assisted by rookie cop Ben Higgens.

This first part of Kill Your Boss sets the story up nicely, and you are soon quite hooked on the case, especially as the novel breaks apart to follow either the police or one of the suspects.  Thanks to this split, you get a good insight into the compelling investigation, while also examining the combined motives of the potential suspects, each of whom are covering something up, including involvement in an alternate case that the protagonist is familiar with.  Heath keeps the story moving quickly and effectively, and there is some additional grim humour as it becomes apparent that multiple characters tried to kill Adams, but only one succeeded.  This perfectly leads up to the final third of Kill Your Boss, as all the various motives come to light, and the various suspects are whittled down thanks to some additional gruesome killings before the big conclusion.  I think that Heath set up this entire mystery extremely well, and the various red herrings ensured you were guessing right up to the end.

Heath once again manages to pull together a brilliant book that is somehow fun and twisted at the same time.  Featuring a series of murders that starts with a very relatable sentiment around bad bosses, Kill Your Boss effectively builds up a complex mystery that has a lot of fantastic layers to it.  This mystery is then well supported by the author’s great use of multiple different perspectives, especially as you get invested in all the complex suspects and their lives.  This tight and entertaining story hits hard while also presenting the reader with dark humour, especially when it comes to motives for murder, and the result is a particularly addictive book that you can’t turn away from.  Heath also successfully endeavours to make Kill Your Boss a particularly open book to all sorts of readers, from those looking for an amusing Australian mystery with a great small-town setting, to those readers already familiar with the author’s wicked humour and aptitude for murder.

While part of a larger series that started with Kill Your Brother, Kill Your Boss is primarily a standalone read, which I honestly think enhances the story, as the various new characters, as well as the existing protagonist, get a lot more prominence without tying the narrative down to previous events.  Detective Sergeant Kiara Lui once again works extremely well as the book’s primary investigator, and it was interesting to see her take more of a leading role in this novel.  While Kiara was an excellent primary protagonist, as well as a mentor to a new police character, it is the other larger-than-life supporting characters who make Kill Your Boss very impressive.  This includes a truly despicable murder victim whom you honestly don’t feel too sympathetic to, especially after the flashbacks.  This excellent use of a villainous victim adds some great complexity to the plot, especially when it’s revealed that multiple people tried to kill him simultaneously.  This victim is well matched by the various suspects, who serve as supporting perspective characters in the plot.  Without giving too much away, each of the suspects in this novel is very entertaining, and the range of complex interactions and grudges they held made for a very entertaining read.  I particularly enjoyed the final revelation about why the main killer committed the first murder, which fits the overall entertaining mood of Kill Your Boss perfectly, and was a perfect endcap on these outstanding characters.

Jack Heath continues to showcase why he is one of Australia’s most entertaining crime fiction authors.  Featuring a brilliant plot loaded with outrageous revelations and supporting characters, Kill Your Boss was a wonderfully addictive novel from start to finish.  Compelling, twisted and just so much fun, Kill Your Boss is a very impressive read, and it was easily one of the top Australian novels of 2025.

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Warhammer 40,000: Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok by Denny Flowers

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer1 Comment

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 July 2025)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 6 hours and 55 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 authors, Denny Flowers, returns with one of the more entertaining novels of 2025 with Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok.

Denny Flowers is an interesting rising author of Warhammer 40,000 fiction who has so far written several particularly notable books.  Starting with his cool debut, Fire Made Flesh, Flowers went on to write his two exceptional Lucille von Shard novels, Outgunned and Above and Beyond (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2024), both of which are among some of my favourite pieces of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  I also had a great time with Flowers’s inclusions in Da Red Gobbo Collection, Da Gobbo’s Demise and Da Wrong Type of Green, two hilarious entries that focused the always entertaining orks and grotz.  These short stories were quite hilarious, and it made me very excited when I saw that Flowers had a new Warhammer 40,000 novel focusing on the orks coming out this year with Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok.

Plot Synopsis:

“I made Ghazghkull. Not the Gods. Me.”

Grotsnik comes to the aid of Beastboss Bakum on Hive Prome, and it soon becomes apparent that the Mad Dok is feverishly working on something that could change the fate of ork-kind forever.

READ IT BECAUSE
How wild does a painboy have to be to earn the nickname “Mad Dok”? Find out as you follow Grotsnik – with eager scalpel in hand – as he plans his latest galaxy-changing creation. What could it be?

THE STORY
Da Mad Dok Grotsnik, creator of Ghazghkull Thraka, is a painboy beyond legend. What – and who – he harbours in his formidable brain is a mystery to every ork but himself, and an army of orderlies provides him with a constant supply of flesh with which to tinker.

So, when Grotsnik comes to the aid of Beastboss Bakmun, whose rampage on Hive Prome teeters on the brink of going out not with a Waaagh! but with a whimper, Bakmun can’t believe his luck.

Following a series of increasingly unlikely accidents, however, it soon becomes apparent that the Mad Dok is working on something in the depths of his colossal Painwagon. Something big. Something that could change the fate of ork-kind forever, surpassing Grotsnik’s own forging of the Prophet of the Waaagh!…

Denny Flowers continues to showcase why he is one of the fastest-rising authors of Warhammer 40,000 fiction with this highly entertaining and addictive new novel.  Perfectly taking on the always entertaining Warhammer orks, including the over-the-top titular character, Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok was an absolute hoot from the very beginning, and I laughed my way through the entire epic story.  One of the most hilarious novels of 2025, Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok gets a five-star rating from me due to the pure fun it contained.

Flowers comes up with an exceedingly fun narrative for Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok, which I ended up getting through in a very short amount of time.  As the title suggests, this novel follows the machinations of Grotsnik, an ork dok partially responsible for the creation of the legendary Ghazghkull Thraka, the boss of bosses for all ork-kind.  However, on the outs with his creation, Grotsnik joins up with a small band of orks led by Beastboss Bakmun, who is attempting to invade a mysterious human city.  Amongst this new band of orks is the aptly named Valtun the Patient and his clever grot Ikor, both of whom are very suspicious about Grotsnik’s intentions in joining them, especially once various members of the warband start going missing.  What follows is a hilarious series of events as Grotsnik gathers the material for his grand ambitions, while dealing with the strange humans and monsters within the city they are invading, as well as the unique intentions of other ork characters.  Primarily told through the perspective of Valtun and Ikor, who find themselves stuck in Grotsnik’s murderous orbit, these perspective protagonists slowly learn more about the titular character’s intentions, as well as the unique modifications he has made to himself, which turns him into something truly sinister.

Flowers moves this story along at a very quick pace full of funny interactions, crazy battles and the typical brutish humour that all fans of the orks will appreciate.  The action-packed and regularly over-the-top scenes that emerged were so damn fun, and there is honestly not a single slow moment in this book.  At the same time, Flowers installs a clever story throughout Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok, mostly based around the maniacal machinations of the titular character and his attempt to outsmart the suspicious Valtun.  It all leads up to a very entertaining ending that completely changes your perspective of Grotsnik’s intentions, while also leaving some of the remaining characters in ironic situations.  I personally loved where the multiple character arcs ended up at the end of this book, and while Valtun and Ikor were both great central figures, Grotsnik really stole the show with his weird behaviour, insane experiments, and the hilarious interactions he had with his unsuspecting patients/victims.  An overall awesome and well-written story that is guaranteed to suck you in with its exceptionally crazy characters and entertaining storytelling.

As with a lot of Warhammer 40,000 fiction, Flowers’s Da Mad Dok book is probably best read by established fans of the franchise, who will have a lot of fun seeing the titular character come to life.  Grotsnik’s unique mentality and connection to the most iconic ork character, Ghazghkull Thraka, makes him a very interesting figure to follow for those in love with the Warhammer canon, and Flowers clearly had a lot of fun utilising him in his story.  However, Flowers has already proven himself to be a very good at making his previous Warhammer 40,000 novels accessible to all readers, and this book is no exception.  Most people with a general knowledge of Warhammer lore and fiction can easily dive into Da Mad Dok’s narrative, and the inherent humour of the characters and the ork faction will keep them coming back for more.  I personally loved Flowers’s latest dive into the orks, and his takes on this crazy faction and some of their more distinctive members were both entertaining and accurate to the lore.  As such, Da Mad Dok has a ton of appeal, and I think most readers are going to have an exceptional time with it.

As has become my habit with all things Warhammer, I ended up listening to Da Mad Dok on audiobook, which is easily the best way to enjoy this fantastic and fun novel.  Coming in with a run time just under seven hours, Da Mad Dok is a very easy audiobook to power through, especially thanks to the great narration of Harry Myers.  Myers, who has really impressed me with books like Day of Ascension and The Wraithbone Phoenix, has an outstanding voice for Warhammer 40,000 fiction, which really fits the over-the-top nature of the universe.  He is particularly good at doing ork voices, such as in Da Big Dakka, Warboss and Da Red Gobbo Collection audiobooks, so I was very happy that he leant his voices to Da Mad Dok.  Myers uses some very fun and excessively gruff voices to bring the various ork characters to life, and the multiple laddish tones he employs are very fitting and very funny.  I cannot emphasise just how good Myers’s voice for these outrageous figures is, and I especially love how he changes from his deeper voices for the orks, to the more petulant and squeaky voice for the grot characters.  There is even a cool voice he uses for one of the more intimidating and iconic members of the cast towards the end of the book, which sounds particularly epic thanks to some vocal enhancement.  This great combination of voices, as well as Myers’s entertaining overall narration was extremely awesome, and it really enhanced Flowers’s already fantastic story.  I honestly cannot recommend this Warhammer 40,000 audiobook enough, and it ended up being one of my favourite listens of the year.

Thanks to the outstanding humour and overall craziness of its characters, Grotsnik: Da Mad Dok was a truly wonderful Warhammer 40,000 novel that is very easy to fall in love with.  Denny Flowers excelled at showcasing both the orks in general, and the cruelty and insanity of the titular characters, and the resulting intense and exciting story was a true joy to listen to.  An overall exceptional read, I cannot wait to see what epic Warhammer fiction Flowers writes next.

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Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books9 Comments

Publisher: Head of Zeus (Audiobook – 5 December 2024)

Series: The Tyrant Philosophers – Book Three

Length: 21 hours and 39 minutes

My Rating: 5 out 5 stars

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One of the current top authors of all things fantasy and science fiction, the improbably imaginative Adrian Tchaikovsky, continues to greatly impress with his outstanding and epic early 2025 novel, Days of Shattered Faith.

I think it is fair to say that few fantasy and science fiction authors are as consistently prolific and entertaining as the relentless Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has been continuously putting out clever books over the last few years.  While he has written many intriguing series and standalone novels throughout his career, I am more familiar with some of his more recent works, including the novella Ogres, the gripping interstellar novel Alien Clay, one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels, Day of Ascension, and the hilarious and insightful robot apocalypse novel, Service Model (one of my favourite books of 2024).

While the above books are all quite exceptional, my favourite body of Tchaikovsky’s work has so far been The Tyrant Philosophers series.  A gripping, brilliant and highly amusing series, the Tyrant Philosophers novels are set in a cool fantasy world filled with magic, gods and demons, all with a fun Tchaikovsky twist to them.  With the first two books, City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds, both of which were amongst my favourite books of 2023 (with City of Last Chances being one of the best audiobooks of 2023) the series has really grabbed my attention over the last couple of years.  Much of it is down to the author’s clever narratives that work to expand this intriguing fantasy world through some interesting overlapping characters and events.  In particular, the series examines the dark impact of the Palleseen, a conquering army of fanatics who violently supress superstition and belief in the gods in the name of expanding their own worldview of perfection and correctness.  Both the previous books in this series were quite impressive, and I was very eager to read Days of Shattered Faith when it first came out.  While I have been delayed in writing a review for this book, it proved to be an outstanding read, especially with its rich and powerful narrative.

Plot Synopsis:

Welcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow’s frontline in the Palleseen’s relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world.

Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time.

As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she’s here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly – Gil to her friends – needs a second in the spectacularly illegal, culturally offensive and diplomatically inadvisable duel she must fight at midnight.

Outreach, that part of the Pal machine that has to work within the imperfection of the rest of the world, has a lot of room for the illegal, the unconventional, the unorthodox. But just how much unorthodoxy can Gil and Loret get away with?

As a succession crisis looms, as a long-forgotten feat of necromantic engineering nears fruition, as pirate kings, lizard armies and demons gather, as old gods wane and new gods wax, sooner or later Gil and Loret will have to settle their ledger.

Just as well they are both very, very good with a blade…

Wow, what an incredible read.  Adrian Tchaikovsky continues to deeply impress with his elaborate and intense narratives, especially as he expertly continues his Tyrant Philosophers series in his distinctive and creative way.  Featuring a complex plot that follows various damaged and self-serving characters as they navigate the attempts to influence and control a mighty city, Days of Shattered Faith was an addictive read from start to finish, and I loved how the entire novel came together.  A very easy five-star read, Days of Shattered Faith was one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of 2025, and I had such an exceptional time getting through it.

I really loved how Days of Shattered Faith’s story turned out, especially as Tchaikovsky managed to turn this into both a powerful standalone novel as well as a moving entry in the larger Tyrant Philosophers series.  This book has quite a complex and layered narrative to it, as it follows multiple intriguing characters through chaotic events that are about to overtake the city of Alkhalend.  Initially focusing on the two Palleseen characters, Sage-Invigilator Angilly and Cohort-Invigilator Loret, Days of Shattered Faith sees them as unlikely ambassadors in a city that mostly hates and fears the Palleseen and their attempts to subvert and control the world.  When the sudden death of Alkhalend’s ruler results in a brutal civil war, Angilly and Loret attempt to help the Palleseen supporting heir to retain the throne following a coup from his brother.  At the same time, various other figures in the city, including a familiar former priest and several unconventional doctors, attempt to survive the chaos engulfing their home.

Tchaikovsky does an excellent job building up a lot of complex storylines, details of the main setting, and character arcs in the first half of Days of Shattered Faith, all of which came into play in fantastic ways as the novel continued.  Following a large collection of complex character-driven storylines throughout the novel, Tchaikovsky moulds these together into a compelling overarching narrative, with these protagonists impacted by various major events.  This includes the brutal civil war at the centre of the novel, which completely changes the course of the narrative and sets several major characters down some compelling and dark spirals.  Due to the appearance of more Palleseen influence in the second half of the book, things in Alkhalend naturally go to hell in a variety of ways, especially when all the unconventional and imperfect methods of Angilly and her unusual Palleseen colleagues in Outreach are questioned and changed by her more by-the-book superiors, who also drop the subtle tactics when it comes to controlling the city.  This results in a darker, more intense second half of the novel, where every protagonist makes mistakes or experiences greater tragedy.  The author perfectly builds up the tension and suspense before leading up to the big revolution sequence where all the separate character arcs converge for the last time, which was as devastating and crazy as you would expect from Tchaikovsky.  Everything ends on a satisfying, heartbreaking note, especially as several characters find themselves in worse positions then when they started.  It will be very interesting to see where the wider narrative of the series goes from here, especially for the series’ recurring protagonist, but it’s clear that the events of Tchaikovsky’s universe can only get sadder from here.

Tchaikovsky has a very distinctive and compelling writing style for the Tyrant Philosophers novels that coveys his elaborate and entertaining narrative in some unique ways.  Once again relying heavily on multiple perspective changes to tell his layered story, Tchaikovsky embarks on providing a deep and personal story, set around a large collection of compelling supporting characters.  The author excels at creating elaborate and complex backgrounds for the various characters, which are worked into the larger plot extremely well, especially as each character has their own unique motivations and damage.  All these varied story elements are well woven together into one complex story, and it was fascinating to see all the different figures react to the continually changing events.  As with the previous books, Days of Shattered Faith has a range of tones within it, as Tchaikovsky works hard to produce the right balance of intrigue, action, world building and dramatic and moving character moments, all of which are done perfectly and work to create an impressive novel.  The elaborate battle sequences pair well with the subtle and often forced betrayals of the various characters, while deeper personal troubles and dark histories lurk just beneath the surface.  All these sequences are well laced with the excellent and often cynical humour of the author, which really ties the entire thing together quite nicely.  I loved how so many complex scenes were made better by the sarcastic and realistic commentary of either the characters or the narrator, which worked to highlight the dark, and often absurd nature, of so many of the fantasy elements of the story.

As with the last two books in the series, Days of Shattered Faith works well as both its own distinctive, standalone narrative and as a continuation of elements and character-focused storylines from the previous books.  Due to how it initially focuses on an original group of central characters navigating an unfamiliar setting in the series’ wider world, new readers can easily come into this series without any real pre-knowledge of the other books.  However, as the story eventually grows to focus on several major characters from the first two novels, I think those readers who know the full story of these figures and the complex events they’ve had to navigate will end up appreciating the plot of Days of Shattered Faith a little more, especially as Tchaikovsky continues to torture a certain former priest with even more tragedy and hardship.  The author also features references to events from the previous books throughout Days of Shattered Faith, and readers will find it fascinating to see how certain decisions or plots from the recurring characters, such as some vengeful religious conversion in House of Open Wounds, had larger, devastating impacts on the wider world.

Tchaikovsky once again pulls together an elaborate setting for his compelling narrative, as while Days of Shattered Faith is set in the same fantasy world as the other Tyrant Philosophers novels, much of the action occurs around the newly introduced complex city of Alkhalend.  Loaded up with cut-throat politics, various conflicting religions, distinctive magic, and various otherworldly beings who have migrated from other realities, Alkhalend is an exceptional focus for much of the plot.  Tchaikovsky excelled at introducing the various unique elements of Alkhalend and its surrounding nations in the early part of the book, and it was fascinating to see how they impacted the plot going forward.  Alkhalend honestly had so many fun and quirky unique fantasy features, and this had to be one of the more memorable settings I have had the pleasure to see in fantasy figure.

Of course, as this book is set within the Tyrant Philosophers universe, Tchaikovsky had to once again include the Palleseen, who serve as the main antagonistic group in the series.  Ideological zealots often bound by their own rules and processes as they slowly and greedily try to take over the world, all the books in this series are dedicated to examining their methods and serves as a humorous critique of militarisation and empire building.  While the previous books have either looked at the Palleseen as an occupying force or at their weaponisation of magical medical practices, Days of Shattered Faith focuses on their diplomats and how they influence conflicts in lands outside their empire.  This ends up showcasing a new side to the Palleseen machine, especially as the empire’s diplomatic department, Outreach, is made up of more fluid personnel, willing to go outside of standard practices to achieve their goals.  It was quite entertaining to see the differing methods of this empire conflict with each other, especially when it brings some conflict between the various Palleseen characters, and it added some great drama to the second half of the book.  I loved once again seeing the dangerous bureaucracy and insatiable desire for more magical material turn the Palleseen from reasonable allies to controlling occupiers as the plot continued, especially as it perfectly influenced various characters to take a new course of action.

As I have mentioned a few times above, Tchaikovsky loaded this novel up with an outstanding array of complex or damaged characters who are the true highlight of the plot thanks to their collective dark histories and layered motivations.  The sheer range of different characters in Days of Shattered Faith is very impressive, featuring a great mixture of locals of Alkhalend, Palleseen visitors, and other memorable figures seeking refuge in the sandy city.  Much of the plot was focused around the two members of Palleseen Outreach in the city, Sage-Invigilator Angilly and Cohort-Invigilator Loret, whose unique take on diplomacy often causes more chaos.  Angilly was a great lead for much of the plot as a pragmatic Palleseen operative, who finds her loyalty compromised by her romantic connection to the city’s crown prince.  This doomed romance leads to all manner of trouble for both characters, and the various betrayals and eventual end resulted in some of the author’s more tragic writing.  Loret, on the other hand, was a great fish out of water in this novel as she attempts to learn the rules of diplomacy and understand the many facets of Alkhalend, all while keeping her troubled past a secret.  I felt that Tchaikovsky used Loret well as a good stand in for the audience to showcase his new city setting in more detail, while her eventual development and tragic past connected to the events of the previous book proved to be a particularly compelling, if bloody, part of the plot.

The rest of the cast are also impressive, including a couple of opportunistic Palleseen operatives who have less issues with exploiting the people of Alkhalend for their own means.  I also personally enjoyed the return of several familiar figures from the previous Tyrant Philosopher novels, including the unusual batch of former military doctors who made their escape in the previous novel.  While given less focus in this novel, Tchaikovsky still makes excellent use of these fugitive doctors, and it was interesting to see how the most junior member of the troupe got upgraded to a major character now he’s a little older.  Accompanying the doctors is character now known as Happy Jack, who readers of the series may recognise as the priest of small gods from the first two novels, Yasnic.  Now bereft of his original petty deity, Jack has now found happiness and contentment in Alkhalend, especially thanks to an unlikely doomed romance.  Of course, that happiness can’t last too long, and Tchaikovsky soon returns to torturing one of his best characters, ensuring he’ll be even more compelling in the next book of the series.  Throw in the many other unusual denizens of Alkhalend, which includes pirates, necromantic priests, scheming nobles, and even a giant frog god, and the cast of Days of Shattered Faith is impressive, especially as the author carefully balances the many alternating character storylines to create an overall outstanding narrative.  I cannot wait to see what awesome characters Tchaikovsky comes up with in the rest of the series, but I’m expecting some truly fascinating figures going forward.

While I did end up buying a physical copy of Days of Shattered Faith, I ended up listening to its audiobook format instead, mainly because I had such a good time with the City of Last Chances audiobook.  Days of Shattered Faith also proved to be an incredible listen, with the audiobook format deeply enhancing the complex plot and showcasing all the excellent fantasy elements in even more detail.  Coming in with a notable runtime of nearly 22 hours, I was able to get through Days of Shattered Faith quickly, especially with the outstanding David Thorpe narrating the story.  A veteran narrator who has lent his voice to many of Tchaikovsky’s audiobooks, Thorpe did an excellent job bringing Days of Shattered Faith to life, especially as his tones and voices matched the style of the author’s writing.  Thorpe really dives into the various unique characters loaded into Days of Shattered Faith, coming up with a range of fun and fitting voices.  I felt that these voices, as well as his excellent narration of the complex fantasy plot details of this novel, turned Days of Shattered Faith into a very enjoyable audiobook, and it was such a good format to enjoy this unique story.  Easily one of the top audiobooks I have so far enjoyed in 2025, Days of Shattered Faith comes highly recommended in this format, and you are guaranteed to have an amazing time listening to it.

With even more crazy characters, distinctive fantasy elements, and a twisty and captivating plot, Days of Shattered Faith was another exceptional novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky.  A perfect continuation of the incredible Tyrant Philosophers series, Days of Shattered Faith had so many awesome elements to it, and I loved its complex story and compelling protagonists.  An outstanding read I loved so much, Days of Shattered Faith is one of the best fantasy novels of 2025, and I cannot wait to see how the rest of the series unfolds.  Indeed, the fourth book in the series, Pretenders to the Throne of God, is out in a few months’ time, and it is already shaping up to be another epic read.

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The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Publisher: Soundbooth Theater (Audiobook – 2 July 2023)

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl – Book Six

Length: 26 hours and 46 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The chaotic fun of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series continues in epic fashion with the ultra-impactful and deeply addictive sixth entry in the series, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, an exceptional novel designed to strike hard at the reader’s emotional heartstrings.

As you might have guessed from my recent flurry of reviews for this series, I am seriously in love with the Dungeon Crawler Carl books.  An impressive and surprisingly deep LitRPG series, the Dungeon Crawler Carl novels follow a collection of compelling characters as traverse a deadly fantasy dungeon created from the ruins of all of Earth’s buildings by aliens for intergalactic viewing content.  Set around a damaged protagonist and his excitable and now sentient cat, these books are deeply addictive, and once you start the series you really can’t stop.  Indeed, I literally just chain-read the entire series, with awesome books like Dungeon Crawler Carl, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, The Gate of the Feral Gods and The Butcher’s Masquerade all proving to be outstanding reads.  I loved these previous books so much, that I instantly started listening to the sixth book in the series, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, the first chance I got, and boy was I in for an incredible time with it.

After barely surviving the Butcher’s Masquerade and then witnessing the surprising end to the seventh floor, Carl and Princess Donut are exhausted and traumatised by recent losses.  However, they have no time for rest as they find themselves thrust into the dangerous eighth floor of the dungeon.  One of the most ambitious levels so far, the eighth floor is based on a map of Earth’s final days, filled with intangible ghosts of the humans who wandered the world mere weeks before the planet’s death.

However, this is not a perfect replica of Earth; instead these locations have been seeded with monsters and mythological figures based on twisted accounts of Earth legends, with each creature tied to the geographic area their folklore originated.  To complete this level, the crawlers are tasked with finding and capturing six of these monsters and turning them into cards, which can then be summoned to fight alongside their new owners.  Each team will need to find and convert as many powerful creatures as possible to create the best decks, especially as they will be forced to face off against mobs and other crawlers with their own cards.

Unexpectedly starting in Cuba, Carl and Donut navigate an unfamiliar location as they try to learn the new mechanics of the game.  Determined to get to the next floor, Carl and Donut endeavour to find the best monsters they can.  However, the stronger the monster, the less controllable the card, and Carl and Donut will soon have their hands full managing a strange array of summonable creatures, including the legendary demon Shi Maria, who has far more independence than they would like.  Can Carl and Donut survive this new floor of the dungeon, or will they finally be crushed by their dark secrets, troubled pasts and Carl’s slowly eroding sanity, especially once he looks into the eye of Shi Maria, the Bedlam Bride?

Just when you thought this series couldn’t get even better, Matt Dinniman amps up the intensity and complexity of his plot and characters a whole additional notch, with one of the more moving and powerful entries in the entire series.  The Eye of the Bedlam Bride was an absolute masterpiece that featured the author’s trademark LitRPG chaos, while really showcasing his impressive writing ability.  One of the best books in an already incredible series, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride was so damn good, and it gets a very easy five-star rating from me.

Dinniman pulled together another brilliant narrative for his sixth Dungeon Crawler Carl novel, as They Eye of the Bedlam Bride perfectly continued the long-running series storylines while also presenting its own unique adventure.  Thrusting the protagonists into a complex new level, Dinniman quickly showcases all the floor’s new elements, including a fun card-based combat mechanism that fits into the existing dungeon battle system surprisingly well.  While the pacing is initially a tad slower to ensure the readers fully appreciate all the necessary lore and gameplay details of this book’s plot, Dinniman quickly works to show that The Eye of the Bedlam Bride isn’t a filler novel between the pivotal fifth and seventh books.  This becomes especially clear during a major sequence that requires Carl and Donut to make a deadly choice while surrounded by several vengeful gods.  Dinniman also makes sure that a major secret from the previous book is brought into the light early, complicating protagonist relationships and presenting them with dark choices.  Dinniman swiftly follows this up with some very awesome sequences, such as Carl and Donut coming face-to-face with their most problematic card, demonic carnage in a night club, and problems from the wider universe caused by Carl’s ambitious and rebellious plots.

While all these early elements are great, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride hits its storytelling height about halfway through, as Dinniman amps up the emotional stakes of the narrative.  Forced to compete in a gruelling series of battles that test the unique fight mechanics of the floor, the protagonists find nothing but heartbreak as they near the end of the second phase of the level, including a truly horrifying and deeply personal big boss.  All this follows a series of impactful personal revelations for Carl, that hit his already fragile mental state hard and finally provides full context for character background elements that have been hinted at throughout the series.  This central part of the story was so damn heartbreaking, and you really must appreciate how Dinniman can make you laugh before loading up substantial sorrow and regret and producing some beautifully crushing sequences.  While these scenes are emotionally charged, I appreciated how Dinniman often tempered them with more heartwarming moments that show the connections the protagonists have built up during the series, and the author does some amazing character work in the second half of this book.

Everything perfectly leads up to the incredible final third of The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, as Dinniman raises the stakes as only he can.  With the protagonists forced to compete in a brutal third and final phase of the floor, events soon break down into pure chaos with undead hordes, demonic possessions, crazed gods and various rival crawlers all coming into play.  Dinniman keeps the story moving so fast in this last part of the book, as the protagonists dive into key battle after key battle.  I actually ended up listening to the last several hours in one day as I just had to see what happened next.  Following one of the most tragic scenes in the series, which nearly broke me, Carl and Donut race to save as many people as they can from the AI’s inventive endgame, leading to an all-out battle royal in the middle of Cuba.  I loved how so many story elements from the entire book came into play for the conclusion after some clever set up earlier in the plot, resulting in some very epic moments.  The ending was a brilliant mixture of humour, intense action, extra lore, and some particularly dark moments for the protagonists, which came together beautifully and ended the novel on a real high.  Throw in some last-minute reveals that really amp up the excitement for the next book, and this was pretty much a perfect narrative that is guaranteed to keep you hooked all the way the bloody end.

I honestly feel that The Eye of the Bedlam Bride was one of the best-written entries in the entire Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and frankly I am still not over every single amazing moment of this book.  Dinniman achieves so much in this impressive novel by simultaneously changing the rules of his own game while also providing the deepest examination of his complex protagonists yet.  At the same time, he makes a novel that most authors would have turned into a filler entry into one of the series’ most impactful books.  I was really impressed by how the author chose to further amp up his various storylines and character arcs in this book, and Dinniman perfectly carries on the craziness of The Butcher’s Masquerade while building up the oncoming calamity of the seventh book and the long-awaited Faction Wars.  Naturally, this means that The Eye of the Bedlam Bride is best enjoyed by those who have read all the previous Dungeon Crawler Carl books first.  Still, for those who are determined to dive in here, Dinniman provides enough context and flashbacks to ensure you can easily follow what’s happening, and there is even a fun summary at the beginning.

This sixth novel in the series brings back all the impressive humour, intense action, and great LitRPG elements that made the previous Dungeon Crawler Carl books so damn good, while also bringing in some impressive new features, primarily a fun new battle element.  I must admit that I wasn’t too sure that the card system of this level, which on paper sounded like a crazy combination of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, was going to work.  However, I should never have doubted Dinniman as it fitted in amongst the usual chaos and over-the-top scenes perfectly.  Dinniman does an excellent job introducing and then exploring this system throughout The Eye of the Bedlam Bride it proved fun to see the characters adapt to the new rules.  There is some great progression in how these cards impact battles, and each fight with them gets increasingly hectic.  I really enjoyed how big and crazy battles with these cards could get, especially towards the end, and you won’t see protagonists facing off in card duels with gods and demons anywhere else.

There are some additional excellent elements to The Eye of the Bedlam Bride that also enhanced the epic story in some interesting ways.  This includes a haunting new setting of the book, the ghost-filled replica of the pre-dungeon Earth, which really amplifies the feeling of despair and loss that many of the characters feel.  Dinniman continues to also feature a compelling array of LitRPG elements in this novel, and you really find yourself getting drawn into the minutiae of stat updates, item benefits, spell effects, and so much more, as the author cleverly works it into the narrative.  A lot of why these RPG features are so fun is due the chaotic humour that infests every single page of this hilarious book.  The book’s comedic elements are so effortlessly funny and feature a great mixture of sudden outrageous moments with realistic reactions, the insertion of the book’s reality television elements into life-and-death struggles, often inappropriate jokes from the massive and fun supporting cast, and an array of reference focused commentary on all matters of the dungeon.  While some of the comedic moments get a little out of hand: “I need a baby seal”, they all work beautifully in the context of the book’s clever plot, and I laughed myself silly so many times during this book, including at how the day was saved thanks to, let’s say, “crab meat”.  I’m also as appalled as a certain velociraptor that some of the funniest, if weirdest, moments of the book occurred in Chapter 69.  However, what makes The Eye of the Bedlam Bride particularly good is the way in which these comedic elements are well matched by darker, tragic moments, which allows for quite on overall powerful read, especially when it comes to the characters.

Dinniman went above and beyond when it came to the character development in this book, with a particular focus on series protagonist Carl.  After several books laden with hints about his past, we finally get Carl’s full backstory, which really goes to show just how damaged he is.  Dinniman does an outstanding job showcasing this background in several powerful scenes in The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, and I really appreciate how it built on the subtle foreshadowing from the previous novels.  This existing trauma was further enhanced in this book, as Carl also finds out multiple new revelations about his family, including several that had been kept from him (which simultaneously shows just how bad a girlfriend Bea really was).  Throw in his anger and guilt from being one of the few survivors of Earth, and the trauma from all carnage he has witnessed in the dungeon, and Carl really isn’t in the best headspace for this book, and that’s even before the titular Bedlam Bride gets hold of his mind.  As such, there is a lot of dark moments for Carl to unpackage throughout this novel, and Dinniman perfectly captures his protagonist’s continued struggle to remain in control.  This deeper dive into Carl’s psyche produced some of the best scenes Dinniman has so far written in the series, and I really appreciated how these darker moments were well matched by the revelation that Carl now has a true family with Donut and his new friends.  These relationships kept him relatively sane in this book, and allowed him to remain the resilient, if explosively inclined, straight man of the book.  Dinniman also works to showcase how despite his issues and reputation, Carl has become a bit of a legendary figure for his fellow crawlers, and the big sequence at the end where he is able to convince them to follow one of his craziest plans, was just amazing.

While most of this book’s focus is on Carl and his history, the rest of the characters in The Eye of the Bedlam Bride also get their moments to shine, and you continue to appreciate just how awesome the ended cast of this series is.  This includes the other main protagonist, Princess Donut, Carl’s now sentient cat who provides much of the humour in the story thanks to her over-dramatic reactions, silliness, and feline superiority complex.  While Donut is the comedic relief of the main duo, she still has a lot of serious moments in The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, especially while serving as the emotional anchor the spiralling Carl.  Donut is also dealing with her own grief and sadness, especially after the tragedies of the previous novel, and there are some heartbreaking moments where you see her trying to push that down.  Despite her issues and immaturity, Donut role in the plot, especially as she controls the cards during most of the battles, and you get to see her tactical genius in full display.  There are some super sweet moments with Donut in this novel, and I really love how well Dinniman continues to feature the bond between her and Carl as the true heart of this series.

In addition to Carl and Donut, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride also features multiple other key members of the Dungeon Crawler Carl cast, and it is very impressive how much you care for so many of these figures.  This includes Katia, who, despite leaving the team in the previous novel, still has a major impact on the plot.  Dinniman perfectly revisits some key revelations from the end of the previous novel, that adds additional complexities to her relationship with Carl and Donut.  The protagonist’s mentor, Mordecai, also has a key role in this book, especially as you finally get the full context for his tragic past.  This background adds some additional drama to the main story, especially when Carl and Katia find themselves caught in the same feud between forces outside the dungeon that he did.  There is also a certain sweetness to Mordecai’s story in this novel, especially when you find out he’s caring for several NPC children, in ways very contrary to his usual gruff disposition.  Dinniman also perfectly brings back the various members of Carl’s guild, who form a surrogate family with each other, and whose appearance in one scene was one of the most heartwarming moments in the plot.

Other characters of note in The Eye of the Bedlam Bride include the possessed sex doll head, Samantha, whose insane declarations, unhinged actions, unsettling abilities and crazy general demeanour make her one of the funniest characters in the series.  There is also an array of over-the-top monsters and creatures that the protagonists encounter and turn into cards.  These include Uzi Jesus, a kung-fu seal, hilarious caricatures of Carl and Donut, and a crab who must overcome his ‘performance issues’ to save the day, just to name a hilarious few.  These comedic monsters were well contrasted by Shi Maria, the titular Bedlam Bride, whose dark actions amp up the intensity of this book in some powerful ways.  I also must mention a couple of recurring crawlers from previous novels who reappear in dramatic fashion in the final third of the novel, allowing for some of the book’s best moments.  One of these character ends up having one of the series’ saddest moments, and I frankly am still not over how brutally raw and tragic that whole sequence was.

While all these above characters are amazing in their own ways, my favourite character in this series remains the dungeon’s System AI.  Despite never physically appearing, the AI has a major impact on the plot, and you are constantly bombarded by its unique humour in the various descriptions and summaries it provides to Carl and the reader, often full of weird and hilarious references.  So many serious or threatening moments are turned into comedic gold by the AI’s inappropriate commentary, and anytime it provides input to the plot, you are guaranteed to laugh.  While the AI has been fun the entire series, it gets even more unhinged in this novel as it gains full sentience and takes full control of the.  Determined to continue the crawl on its own dramatic terms, the AI starts making things even weirder for the characters, throwing in its own twists and changes.  Dinniman does a wonderful job showcasing just how insane the AI is at times, including with some very worrying inclusions in its usually informative descriptions.  There are also some hilarious scenes where the AI interacts directly with the characters, including one brilliant moment when he responds to Carl’s feedback on its descriptions in a particularly petty way.  All this, and more, allows the AI to really standout in this book, and it is a testament to how good Dinniman is as an author, that a disembodied voice is one of the best characters in a series loaded with exceptional and extremely complex figures.

As with all the previous Dungeon Crawler Carl novels, I ended up listening to The Eye of the Bedlam Bride on audiobook, which is honestly the only way to enjoy the author’s fantastic and chaotic narrative.  Coming in at nearly 27 hours in length, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride was one of the longest audiobooks in the series, but you frankly don’t mind as every second you spend listening to a Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook is so much fun.  I honestly powered through The Eye of the Bedlam Bride in no time at all, especially the concluding several hours, and I still love how audiobook format brings out all the book’s humour, tragedy and excitement.  A lot of this is down to the series’ awesome narration, which in the case of The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, includes an extended voice cast.  While there are a few voice actors for this particular audiobook, Jeff Hays remained the principal narrator, voicing nearly all the characters and the plot descriptions.  Hays is an incredible narrator, and I loved the sheer range of epic voices he brings to bear throughout the audiobook, all of which fit their associated character perfectly, with associated accents and clever tonal changes.  This includes an excellent reuse of voices for previously featured characters, while the various crazy new cast members featured in this book were also extremely cool.  My favourites for The Eye of the Bedlam Bride remain Princess Donut, who gets autotune in this audiobook to help with her singing (the sound effects for this were brilliant), and the AI running the dungeon, as Hays matches the unhinged energy of the cracked computer and conveys this insanity to the listener with amazing enthusiasm.

In addition to Jeff Hays, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride also features three other actors who voice small roles in the larger audiobook to great effect.  The most notable of these is actor Patrick Warburton, who was an awesome addition to the experience.  Initially voicing the flashback voice of Carl’s father in several heavy scenes, Warburton did an outstanding job of breathing life into a harsh figure we’d only had glimpses of in the previous books, and his appearances here had some real menace to them.  Warburton also gets to have some fun when he plays a secondary character later in the audiobook with some brilliant levels of enthusiasm.  Narrator Travis Baldree was also hilarious with his appearance in The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, voicing a giant crab who becomes one of the protagonist’s cards.  Featuring a comedic accent and some very over-the-top lines, Baldree was just amazing, and I loved the interactions he had with Hays and Warburton’s characters.  Finally, Soundbooth Theater regular Annie Ellicott returns to voice an entertaining character in a concluding skit, which was very amusing on a variety of levels.  I really loved how well these outstanding extra voice actors were fitted alongside Hays’s impressive main narration, and it allowed for a great overall listen.  Throw in the excellent sound effects of the series, some of which alter Hays’s voice in clever ways, or places a voice role into the background of a scene for some interesting ambience, and this was an exceptional audiobook that I loved so damn much.  There is honestly nothing better than a Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook, and I must once again recommend this format with all my heart.

With a particularly impressive and powerful plot, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride was one of the best books in the already incredible Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and author Matt Dinniman outdid himself when it came to diving into his damaged protagonists.  A highly inventive and captivating novel that I just couldn’t stop listening to, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride was Dinniman at his very best and you are guaranteed to have an exceptional time with this novel, and you will, like me, instantly dive into the next novel of the series, This Inevitable Ruin, just to see what happens next.

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The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday6 Comments

Publisher: Soundbooth Theater (Audiobook – 19 March 2021)

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl – Book Three

Length: 16 hours and 54 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Matt Dinniman’s elaborate tale of carnage and comedy continues with the third entry in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, another exceptional and highly addictive novel that I could not get enough of.

Those familiar with this blog will know that I recently discovered the sheer insanity that is Matt Dinniman’s epic Dungeon Crawler Carl books.  An outstanding LitRPG series that sees Earth demolished by aliens and turned into a massive, multi-layered fantasy dungeon that the surviving humans need to fight through and descend, all in the name of reality television, the Dungeon Crawler Carl novels are an incredible collection of books with some amazing depth to them as they follow two of the more explosive dungeon crawlers, the gruff Carl and his now sentient cat, Princess Donut.  I powered through the first two books in the series, Dungeon Crawler Carl and Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, in no time at all, and both were epic five-star books.  Due to how incredible these first two books were, I just had to continue the series, and I instantly started listening to the third book, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, as soon as I finished off Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, and boy was it something special.

After the cataclysmic end to the third floor of the dungeon, Carl, Princess Donut, their dinosaur pet Mongo, and new party member Katia have arrived on the fourth floor.  This new floor opens all manner of changes for the crawlers, with sponsorship programs, advanced living quarters, new crafting areas and a leaderboard, all needing to be considered by Carl and his companions.  At the same time, the difficulty of the game is ramping up, and this new level is far more complicated than anything they have faced before.

Known as the Iron Tangle, the fourth floor of the dungeon is a mass of interwinding subway tunnels and stations built from the world’s pillaged railway systems.  Tied together in an elaborate knot, thousands of different lines populate this level, filled with random subway and train cars loaded with monsters.  To survive and find the stairs to the next floor, the crawlers need to work out the elaborate puzzle of the Iron Tangle, including which areas are safe, where the monsters are coming from, and what trains can be used to get to important destinations.  However, the dungeon’s creators have populated this floor with all manner of nasty surprises, surprises designed to swallow all the crawlers they can find.

Faced with a seemingly impossible puzzle before them, Carl, Donut and Katia will need to work with all the crawlers on the floor if they want to decipher the mystery of the Iron Tangle.  Only by coming together can the remnants of humanity survive the horrors before them and find a way to continue descending to the bottom of the dungeon.  But can Carl trust his fellow crawlers, especially now that he has a bounty on his head and a potential traitor in his own party? 

Wow, wow, wow!  I honestly didn’t believe that the series could get even better than the awesome first book, but Dinniman once again proves me wrong by producing a particularly elaborate third entry that I once again fell in love with.  Featuring a clever and memorable new scenario, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook was an exceptional continuation of the series, bringing back all Dinniman’s great characters, complex RPG elements and insane humour, and producing a particularly special story with it. This is another incredible Dungeon Crawler Carl book that gets a well-deserved five-star rating from me.

Like the previous entry in the series, the plot of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook covers the protagonists’ attempts to journey through a single level of the dungeon, in this case the massive fourth floor, which is made up of an elaborate tangle of monster-filled subway tunnels.  Thanks to The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook having a longer length than the previous novels and not requiring any substantial introduction material, Dinniman is able to spend a substantial amount of time fleshing out the exploration of this level, and the primary focus of the plot focuses on the characters trying to find the various tricks of the Iron Tangle.  While the narrative of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook is a little slower paced than the previous entries in the series, you soon get engrossed in this complex adventure narrative, especially as there is the usual fun humour, cool character dynamics and the inevitable explosive solutions to all the problems the characters encounter.  Dinniman also spends time expanding on some of the background character plots and wider universe narrative threads that give greater context to the events of the dungeon.  While these parts aren’t as prevalent as in the original novel, you still get some interesting continuation of the wider conspiracies and issues surrounding the crawl and the whole series, which come into play in some compelling ways.

While the first half of the book is very awesome and has some great moments, it is the second part of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook that really ensures that readers will come away from this novel particularly happy.  Starting with a fantastic and particularly bloody rescue sequence when Carl and his associates attempt to save a bunch of trapped fellow crawlers and initiate a group stand against the horrors of the Iron Tangle, the plan swiftly breaks down in some particularly memorable ways, with the entire dynamic of the dungeon changing in a single moment.  Other great scenes, including a confrontation between Carl and one of his main enemies in the dungeon, also add to the general drama of the novel, and I love how these complex moments, as well as the entire plot of the second half of the book, perfectly flows from the great build up Dinniman featured in the first half of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, as well as a multitude of other great plotlines the author has been building up throughout the series.

This impressive narrative eventually leads up to the big and massively destructive conclusion of the book, which was a perfect end to such a captivating novel.  Dinniman cleverly builds up the tension in the lead-up to this finale, and you know that the other shoe is about to drop in a big way.  When it does, Dinniman does not disappoint, forcing the protagonist into some elaborate life and death scenarios, including one particularly epic showdown.  I really loved how all these intense and action-packed sequences came together, and you are constantly on your edge of your seat as you wait to see what happens next.  The protagonist’s various creative plans and failed solutions in the face of these over-the-top scenarios really add to the outrageous entertainment value of the book, and I cannot emphasise enough what an awesome conclusion The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook had.  The author also cleverly sets up the events for the next book, with several hints at key moments to come, and you are left eagerly waiting for even more of the series, especially after seeing how crazy and intense things got in this novel.

Dinniman did another outstanding job writing this third Dungeon Crawler Carl book, and I really appreciated how he brought the same energy and level of excitement to The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook.  The reader is once again treated to an amazing amount of complex action, intriguing LitRPG elements, captivating character growth, and the author’s outstanding humour, which equates to a particularly gripping and intense read.  I liked that The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook had a much more effective pace than the second novel, and the entire journey through the floor was very well set out and quite captivating.  While the labyrinthine nature of the Iron Tangle is a little hard to follow at times, I think this worked well in the context of the story, as it helped to underscore the confusing puzzle that the protagonists had to solve, and you really have to appreciate the sheer inventiveness that the author threw into this distinctive fourth floor.

As with the second novel, I felt that people interested in trying out this series really shouldn’t start with The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, and instead they need to read the preceding novels first.  While this third novel does have a bit more internal recapping, as the protagonist thinks back to key events, Dinniman does drop the reader into the story immediately after the closing moments of Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, which will confuse most new readers.  The author again builds on the cool LitRPG elements of the previous novels, adding in even more classic gaming features that the protagonists, and through them the readers, need to keep in mind as the book progresses.  All these features have an effective introduction so that anyone can understand their impact, no matter their experience with RPGs, and Dinniman works them into the wider plot extremely well.  As always, a lot of the dryer LitRPG elements of the book are made a lot more entertaining thanks to the over-the-top explanations, clever jokes, and the general insane manner in which the protagonists utilise them, and those reader’s with less interest in stats, abilities or equipment, will still have fun with the scenes focussed on them, especially as they feature some of the book’s funniest lines.  The rest of the novel also features a great comedic tone, and I laughed so many times throughout The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, especially as Dinniman keeps upping the ante with the plot and forcing the protagonist into even more ridiculous scenarios.

This great humour is well balanced by the often more serious character moments that Dinniman does a wonderful job inserting into the story.  Most of these revolve around the perspective character, Carl, who serves as the voice of the entire story.  A sarcastic, gruff and scarred figure, Carl serves as an excellent everyman protagonist for the series, and you soon get very attached to him, especially as he attempts to be the dungeon’s hero and save everyone he can.  The author builds up some really moving storylines around Carl in this third book, and I loved seeing his continued growth as the team’s unofficial leader, as his accurate insights and tactical ideas really move the plot along.  There are some very dramatic moments loaded in as Carl encounters the various dark sides of the dungeon, and I loved the big anti-authoritarian aspect to the character that Dinniman is expanding upon, especially as he witnesses more and more of the dungeon’s cruelty.  The inclusion of the titular Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, a secret in-game book that gives him hints and ideas to survive in the dungeon, was a fun twist, and I loved how it gave him even more explosive ideas, while allowing the author to explore his rebellious side even more.  Despite being a mostly serious figure, there is still a lot of humour around Carl, mainly from him being the straight man in a very ridiculous place, and you have to love his very reasonable reactions to some of the weird things he witnesses.  Dinniman also continues the very funny trend of having Carl gain a well-deserved reputation of being one the craziest crawlers in the dungeon, mainly due to his tendency of solving all his problems with explosives, and there is a lot of entertainment in seeing Carl’s various plans go further off the rails than intended.

In comparison to Carl, sentient cat Princess Donut is the fun face of the team, and it’s impossible not to love her various antics and over-the-top attitudes.  Her many entertaining quirks, including her obsession with fame, hilarious insights into humans, her long-running grudge against all Cocker Spaniels, her relentless use of all-caps in chat mode, and her general cat-like personality all add a lot of amusement to the novel, and you have to love the odd-couple relationship that forms with Carl.  So many of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook’s funniest sequences result from Donut’s antics and Carl’s subsequent reactions, and this novel would not be as entertaining without her.  Despite mostly being a comedic figure, Donut does get some serious interactions with the other characters, which help to showcase her character growth and protective nature.  Her occasional vulnerable and honest discussions with Carl really highlight their bond, and she has one of the best moments in the entire book when she overreacts after a friend is hurt.  I really cannot emphasise enough what a great character Donut is, and I really love that Dinniman decided to make this hilarious sentient cat one of his main protagonists.

I also must mention the newest member of the protagonist’s party, Katia, a shy woman who has taken on a shapeshifting race that allows her to act as an effective tank.  I must admit I wasn’t too certain about Katia as a character at the start of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, due to her understated personality and somewhat random introduction and inclusion to the team in the second half of the previous novel.  However, Dinniman steadily builds up her complex personality as the book continues, and thanks to the continued support of her new party, as well as Carl’s various attempts to hack her race features, she becomes quite an effective crawler, gaining a lot more confidence.  Her unique abilities and likeable personality nicely compliment the already existing team of Carl and Donut, and they end up becoming a well-balanced trio thanks to her inclusion.  The author also sets up an intriguing storyline around Katia’s conflicting loyalties between her previous party and the current group of Carl and Donut, which come into play perfectly during one of the novel’s big moments.  Katia ends up becoming quite an awesome part of the book thanks to these scenes, and I loved the excellent new dynamic she brings to the series.

Aside from these main three characters, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook features a really impressive supporting cast, especially as Dinniman brings back a lot of awesome characters from the previous two novels.  This includes Donut’s pet, Mongo, a giant velociraptor who was once again a fun addition to the plot.  While Mongo does get used a little less in the book thanks to the compact train cars of the setting, he made an impact when he did appear (especially to a certain gnoll) it is very entertaining to see Donut finally able to ride him.  The group’s manager, Mordecai, was once again perfect as the reluctant and exasperated mentor figure, who plays off the personalities of the main protagonists perfectly.  One excellent scene in the book ended up limiting Mordecai’s role in The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, which serves as an effective handicap for the protagonists, while also hinting at Mordecai’s traumatic past, and I look forward to the author expanding on that in the future.

This lack of Mordecai also allows for the author to feature a lot of additional characters, which fits the giant group teamwork focus of the plot, and it was fun to see some of Carl and Donut’s acquaintances from the previous two books return here, especially as several have changed in some very entertaining ways.  I need to highlight the return of antagonist Frank Q, whose big scene with Carl was one of the most powerful moments of the novel, especially as Frank seemingly gets his revenge.  Other previously mentioned antagonists, including some introduced outside the dungeon, are brought back here, often in a big way, and their interactions with Carl are always quite destructive.  Dinniman also focuses on an array of NPC characters in The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, and the dark plight of these poor figures helps to showcase both the protagonist’s empathy and the twisted nature of the entire dungeon process.  Finally, I again need to mention the hilarious AI who runs the dungeon, as the disembodied figure is easily the most hilarious character in the series thanks to his unhinged descriptions, brilliant references, and the twisted way he manipulates the crawlers to get the funniest result for the audience.  I love how Dinniman showed how the AI is starting to crack a little, especially when it begins rebelling against the corporation running the game (how dare they appeal the AI’s decisions), and I laughed so hard at so many things the AI said.  All these characters, and more, were very entertaining to follow, and I love the many rich character arcs and moments that the author cleverly inserted into the novel’s plot.

I have been having an absolute blast with the Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobooks, and I didn’t even hesitate in choosing to also listen to The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook on this format.  Unsurprisingly, this was another exceptional listen as the audiobook version of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook really helped to highlight all the best aspects of the book, including the great action, amazing characters and brilliant, over-the-top humour.  Coming in at nearly 17 hours, this was the longest Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobooks yet (they only get even longer from here), although I still managed to power through it in very quick order.  A large reason this audiobook was so good was because the very talented Jeff Hays once again impressed as narrator.  Thanks to his zany voices Hays makes this audiobook truly come alive, and I love how perfectly he inhabits all the crazy and complex characters featured within this book.  There is an outstanding array of accents, parody voices, and over-the-top tones from Hays in this audiobook, and all the voices were a lot of fun, especially for some of the big or exaggerated monsters.  I again need to highlight his excellent voices for Carl and Princess Donut, and it’s just amazing how he can embody both very divergent characters.  I also loved the voice he used for the system AI, especially as Hays brings out all the disembodied figure’s sass, anger and sadistic comedy with his reading of the announcements, especially when the AI gets freaky or mad.  This Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook also features the voice of Youtube personality The Critical Drinker, who voices a minor character in a well-done, if unnecessary, inclusion.  I felt this entire audiobook came together pretty damn perfectly, including the very funny ad for Soundbooth Theater thrown in at the end, and I honestly don’t think I would enjoy this series nearly as much if it weren’t for these fantastic audiobook productions.  I plan to listen to all future Dungeon Crawler Carl novels on audiobook, and I know I am going to have so much damn fun doing so.

With yet another explosive story, loaded with great characters, clever RPG inclusions and the author’s outstanding humour, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook was extremely epic, and I could not get enough of it.  The best book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series so far, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook was ultra-impressive, and Matt Dinniman did an exceptional job bringing everything together.  I enjoyed this novel so much that I once again decided to start reading the next book in the series the moment I finished this one and then continued after that.  As such, I am currently in the middle of the fifth book in the series, The Butcher’s Masquerade, after loving the fourth book, Gate of the Feral Gods, and both are incredibly awesome and so much fun.

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Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday8 Comments

Publisher: Soundbooth Theater (Audiobook – 6 January 2020)

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl – Book Two

Length: 11 hours and 28 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After falling in love with Dungeon Crawler Carl, the first book in the epic Dungeon Crawler Carl series, I have decided to continue diving into this incredible series of adventure, friendship and adversity, with the second novel in the deeply impressive LitRPG series Carl’s Doomsday Scenario.  Dungeon Crawler Carl was so damn fun, and I chose to start reading this awesome sequel the very moment I finished the first book in the series.

The dungeon crawl to determine the fate of planet Earth has begun, and it is already the highest rated show in the entire galaxy.  However, the games have only just began, as the human crawlers who survived the training levels of the game now must contend with the horrors of the dungeon’s third level. 

The unlikely team of the pants-bereft hero Carl, his now sentient cat, Princess Donut, and Donut’s pet dinosaur, Mongo, have already survived great adversity in their initial forays through the dungeon, but now the game is starting to get even more chaotic.  Starting off the level with the ability to chooses new races and specialised classes, Carl and Donut have some serious upgrades to face the full horrors of the dungeon, and they are going to need it.

This new level of the dungeon, known as the Over City, is the sprawling ruin of a once vast city, laid low by a devastating calamity.  Many creatures still haunt the now destroyed streets, including the horrifying remains of a once popular circus, while in the seemingly safe town they use as a base, murdered prostitutes rain from the sky as part of a malevolent scheme.  However, while Carl and Donut face all manner of monsters and mayhem tackling these horrors and the quests that lay behind them, the greater danger may lay outside of the dungeon, as old and new enemies from the alien races descending on Earth are determined to make Carl’s journey as difficult as possible.  Can these two unlikely companions and their pet dinosaur survive the carnage to come, or is their doomed crawl through the dungeon about to come to an end?

Well damn, now that was a really impressive follow-up to the first book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.  Carl’s Doomsday Scenario was an outstanding novel from Dinniman that ups the craziness and ensures that you are still absolutely hooked on its brilliant storytelling, intriguing LitRPG elements and awesome humour.  I frankly couldn’t stop listening to Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, and I have to give it another five-star rating for how much fun I had with it.

Dinniman came up with another great story for Carl’s Doomsday Scenario that continues right after the events of the first book in the series.  One of the shorter novels in the series, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario avoids any recap material and instead jumps right into the plot, which covers the entire time the protagonists spend on the third level of the game.  Cleverly bringing in some cool new elements at the start, the protagonists are soon grinding through this new level.  The plot mostly focused around two of the quests that the protagonists choose to participate in, one involving a cursed circus, and the other involving a sinister plot of sacrifice and murder in one of the floor’s main towns.  Dinniman plays through both major plot elements in a similar manner to quests from a particularly deranged RPG game, and you soon get invested in both the scenarios, and the protagonist’s unusual or explosive ways of dealing with the situation.  Both major quest lines involved carnage, exploration, a dash of mystery, and an array of intriguing new characters, and allow for the protagonists to keep getting stronger and more experienced.

These quest-focused sequences are well balanced by an array of events that tie them into the larger series story of the protagonists playing the dungeon game.  The protagonists become involved in several events outside the dungeon which helps introduce long-term antagonists and hints about some of the future obstacles to come.  You also get some interesting updates about some of the recurring characters introduced in the first book, many of whom are clearly going to have a bigger impact on the story in the future.  All these elements blend well into one cohesive and exciting plot, and I loved how well Dinniman balanced the various unique story elements and kept making the overall narrative of the series even more elaborate.  These plots all come together for Carl’s Doomsday Scenario’s big finale, which was as hilariously epic as possible.  Dinniman really ramped up the tension for this final part of the book, and you are constantly on the edge of your seat as you wait to see who survives and how.  An epic story that perfectly continued the overarching Dungeon Crawler Carl narrative, while also providing some very memorable moments that allows Carl’s Doomsday Scenario to stand on its own.

I loved how Carl’s Doomsday Scenario came together, although I must point out that you really need to read Dungeon Crawler Carl first.  The plot of Carl’s Doomsday Scenario directly continues from the events of Dungeon Crawler Carl, and you could honestly combine the two to get one long novel without any issues at all.  Indeed, this story does feel a little like a bridging novel between the introductory first novel and the heavily plot laden third book, although it still works well to tell its own fun story.  While the point-of-view protagonist does recap some events in his head as the story unfolds, new readers trying to start at this second book would likely get lost in some of the plot details.  As such, this is definitely a book for those who plan to read the series from start to finish, and those that are will find that Carl’s Doomsday Scenario features all the very best elements from the initial novel, including a ton of great action, some unique LitRPG elements, and the continued side-splitting humour that made Dungeon Crawler Carl so much fun to get through.

Dinniman makes excellent continued use of the first-person perspective to paint a compelling picture of the protagonists’ journey in this second book, and you really get drawn into Carl and Princess Donut’s adventures as a result.  Thanks to the fact that they are experiencing all these scenarios for the first time, readers with all manner of LitRPG or RPG experience can easily enjoy this novel, and the author does an amazing job combining the more elaborate RPG elements into the larger exciting narrative.  There are a ton of great new elements added in for this book, with things like class and species decisions, quests, elite NPCs, towns and more, adds some additional complexity to the plot which helps to make the story even more interest.  These extensive LitRPG features are perfectly enhanced by the author’s comedic writing, and there are so many great jokes thrust into the story.  This humour is well supported by the book’s overall outrageous nature, and all the over-the-top scenarios the protagonists encounter can be exceptionally funny at times.  Thanks to how well Dinniman writes and combines these elements together, I was so invested in every part of the book, and it was fantastic to see the entire narrative unfold and watch the protagonists evolve with the game.

As with Dungeon Crawler Carl, the emotional heart of Carl’s Doomsday Scenario lies in the partnership between Carl and Princess Donut, and it was fascinating to follow these two unlikely heroes through the dungeon.  Carl continues to be the gruff and over-exasperated central character through whose eyes we see the story unfold.  A tired figure still reeling from the death of his planet, Carl continues to grimly stay alive for Donut’s sake, while also becoming more enraged at the full evils of the dungeon and the corrupt alien corporations controlling it.  I really enjoyed the practical and often quite clever way he addresses the dungeon’s many challenges, and Dinniman does a good job showcasing his evolution as a player, even though he still mainly resorts to explosives and crazy plans.  Indeed, Carl starts to develop a somewhat well-deserved reputation as a reckless figure, which is quite entertaining.

While Carl is the stoic centre of the plot, Princess Donut is the comedic heart of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and you just have to love her entertaining persona.  Despite being sentient, Princess Donut is still very much a cat in nature and bearing, and it is hilarious to see her exaggerated personality clash with the more subdued nature of Carl.  Her ability to get them into all manner of trouble with her fun-loving ways and lack of caution adds some great entertainment to the plot (Goddammit Donut!), while her love of attention and popularity perfectly plays into the reality television nature of the dungeon game they are in.  Donut is an outstanding personality foil to Carl, and this allows for some very entertaining moments as a duo.  However, while on the outside she is still the same silly and haughty cat you came to love in the first book, Dinniman has started to showcase Donut’s hidden depths, and there are some great moments when you come to realise that the cat is growing up and become more mature.  A lot of this lies in the heartwarming relationship between Carl and Donut as the two continue to become a true team.  I love some of the scenes when Carl and Donut are vulnerable with each other, especially when they are close to death, and you realise just how close they’ve become and how much they mean to each other.  This connection provides some amazing moments throughout Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, and you continue to become extremely invested in these two’s adventures.

Aside from Carl and Donut, there is an array of additional awesome characters featured in Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, including a combination of figures from the previous novel and some new great characters.  This includes Donut’s pet velociraptor, Mongo, who continues to grow into an even more dangerous killing machine.  Despite some continued teething troubles about Mogo’s inability to control himself, Mogo grows into a key member of the team, and that intense scene where he defends Donut from harm cements him as a wonderfully beloved pet.  The team’s NPC tutorial guide, Mordecai, gets an extended appearance in Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, becoming Donut’s reluctant manager, and I loved the fun mentor role he adds to the cast, becoming the team’s voice of reason, which is often ignored by the protagonists.  Dinniman also adds in an interesting third member of the party later in the book, who gets an effective introduction, even if they don’t play a major role in the plot this time around.  Throw in an array of determined fellow crawlers, aliens who often have beef with Carl, and some complex mobs and NPCs whose unique stories the protagonists get dragged into, and the cast of Carl’s Doomsday Scenario was so damn epic and really enhanced the overall story.

As with the first book in the series, I chose to listen to Carl’s Doomsday Scenario on audiobook, which is frankly the very best way to enjoy this incredible novel, especially as the having the crazy story and the antics of the characters read out is so much fun.  Coming in with a run time of 11 and a half hours, this is one of the shorter entries in the series, and I managed to finish off this audiobook in a few very entertaining days.  I deeply appreciate the fact that Jeff Hays continues as the narrator of this second audiobook in the series, as he really impressed me with Dungeon Crawler Carl.  Hays has an amazing array of elaborate voices that perfectly fit so many of the unique characters featured in this novel, and he carries over several of the key tones from the first audiobook for the recurring characters.  His voices for Carl and Princess Donut are particularly good, and I love how effectively he still captures their complex personalities, including Carl’s frustrations and anger, and Donut’s comedic over-excitement and infectious personality.  His best voice still probably remains the system AI running the dungeon, as the sheer amount of excitement, sarcasm and comedic timing Hays brings to reading out the AI’s notices is so damn good.  Throw in a cool array of new character voices, as well as some modulated tones for characters who have changed race or attributes, and this was such an impressive listen that will have you laughing like crazy.  I cannot recommend the audiobook format of the Dungeon Crawler Carl books enough, so do yourself a favour and make sure to check them out.

My newfound obsession with Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series continues unabated as I powered through the second book, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, in no time at all.  an outstanding sequel that perfectly continues all the amazing story elements from the first book, while adding even more layers to the elaborate scenario.  Fast-paced, constantly entertaining, and with some impressive emotional depth to it, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario was particularly awesome, and I had an absolute blast reading it.  Indeed, I loved it so much that I once again instantly dived into the next book in the series, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, which is proving to be just as incredible as its predecessors.

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