Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #2) by Matt Dinniman
Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl #2
Published by Ace on January 6, 2021
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 371
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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"The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin."

The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game.

Read if you like:

• Science fiction
• Video games
• Reality TV
• Dark humor
• Action
• Adventure

My thoughts:

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, the second book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, takes everything that worked so well in the first book and adds to it. Readers who enjoyed book one will not be able to put this one down.

The character development in this was phenomenal and I truly hope that continues in future books. While Carl and Princess Donut are the main characters, there are a whole host of secondary characters that appear to have quite intriguing stories of their own. Readers do start to see more of that in this book but it’s clear we’re only just scratching the surface. Donut and Carl may be the most well-developed so far but even their stories still have mysteries that I would love answers to.

The story had me on the edge of my seat and it never slowed down. This one introduced a ton of new features of the dungeon such as quests, reality TV shows, new creatures, and more. I found myself hooked on the different quest storylines and I hope there are more to come on future levels. They added to the videogame feel of the book that I have come to adore!

Also, I have to mention how much I love the system AI. It’s so sassy and I never know what it’s going to say or do next. It’s obsession with Carl continues to grow and it adds a bit of hilarity to a sometimes extremely serious story.

Overall, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario is another wonderful entry in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I am thoroughly invested at this point and can’t wait to see what terrors await Donut and Carl in the next level of the dungeon.

TL;DR

I didn’t think it was possible but Carl’s Doomsday Scenario may be even better than Dungeon Crawler Carl. The character development was phenomenal. The plot is full of twists that I could never see coming. It’s fast-paced and extremely fun. It’s very cohesive as a series but does a great job creating and completing individual storylines. This is quickly shaping up to be a new favorite series of mine.

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