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MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.75/5
Format: Kindle Whispersync
BOOK DESCRIPTION
A pantheon of forgotten gods. An old grudge between a talk show host, an heiress, and the man they shattered along the way. A rapidly deteriorating AI system. An inconvenient tiara upon the head of a friend.
It is bedlam on the eighth floor.
As management reels from the unexpected conclusion of the seventh level, the surviving crawlers stumble onto the eighth and find themselves scattered. It’s a map based on Earth’s final days before the collapse, where ethereal, intangible ghosts of humanity go about their lives, oblivious of the impending doom. Living amongst these ghosts are monsters based in Earth lore. “Legendary” creatures tied to the geographical location they inhabit.
Each team of crawlers is given a task: find and capture six of these beasts. The captured monsters will be turned into cards. Cards that can be summoned into battle again and again. The stronger, the deadlier, the better.
At the end of the floor, the bad guys will also have decks, and they will have some of the most powerful cards available. So it’s crucial to assemble the toughest squad possible.
But, like always, there is a catch. There’s always a catch.
As Carl and Donut know all too well, just because someone is captured, it doesn’t mean they have been tamed.
Her name is Shi Maria. She’s easily the most powerful monster in their area. If they want to survive, they must capture her. But she is no ordinary beast. She’s intelligent. She was once married to a god, a god who is now missing. Her special attack is known to drive one insane. They call her the Bedlam Bride.
MY REVIEW
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride is fantastic, I don’t think it was on the level of The Butcher’s Masquerade, but it is still a great addition to the series that focuses a bit more on the development of the characters. What makes this installment such a fun read is how Matt Dinniman mixes the “gotta catch em all” vibe of Pokémon and the deck-building of Magic: The Gathering with the tier system and buffing of the now defunct online card game, Rage of Bahamut. It’s a combination that is completely unique to anything I’ve ever read and it adds a new layer of what Carl and Donut have to face while trying to survive.
While Dinniman gives us this insane time on the 8th floor, I thought he did a great job of breaking it up here and there with some heavy emotional gut-punches. It was a smart way to show that there is still a toll to pay. On top of that, the memory version of Earth packed a emotional wallop that made me feel for Carl even more.
Needless to say, Carl and Donut continue to be phenomenal, easy to love, and continuously grow and improve with each novel. Katia fighting her own inner-demons, Prepotente adding some hilarious dialogue and intrigue to the plot, Mongo being the lovable Mongo. Mordecai constantly having to adapt to new species really helps with more hilarity, especially with his newest iteration and then Samantha and Quesar just take it all over the top. Not to mention all the other side characters that add even more depth to the story. Dinniman does a great job introducing new characters that elevate the story, I just love this eclectic crew.
The new faces in the crowd are from totem cards, the uber-popular among “crawlers”, Uzi Jesus. Yes, an absurdly popular, gun-toting manifestation of Jesus who provides brilliant, appallingly hilarious dark comedy and firepower. Sworn enemies Geraldo the kung-fu monk seal & Raul the meditative land crab make their forced pairing in Carl & Donut’s deck more memorable. Raul may have the best, most appallingly hilarious moment of the entire book. To round them out is Shi Maria, a ruthless, incredibly powerful, show-no-mercy Demi-god reaper spider.
“Did… did you just rip your dick off and throw it at me?” “I’m going to do it again if you don’t let me in.”
The best thing Dinniman could’ve done for us “crawlers” is add a story so far section at the beginning, and he finally did it! It’s not your average recap either. Even if you are binging DCC and feel like you don’t need it, Dinnimam writes it in a way that it’s actually detrimental to skip it. Why? Because like the story, it’s entertaining and hysterical itself.
One thing that sticks out the most, which has nothing to do with the plot, is the title. “Bedlam” is not a name that is used often, so I’m curious if there was an intentional nod to Robert McCammon’s The Queen of Bedlam. I’ve never read McCammon, and I know I should, but I wonder if there was anything else Dinniman included any other Easter eggs for him.
Jeff Hays is incredible, blah blah blah! Jk jk, but seriously, Mr. Hays has been killing it every single time and that is clearly not going to change. So what more can I actually say about the narration and the GraphicAudio level production of Dungeon Crawler Carl?
HOW ABOUT HAVING PATRICK FREAKING WARBURTON AND TRAVIS FREAKING BALDREE ALSO VOICE A CHARACTER! Not only do we get Hays being a one-man powerhouse, but Warburton, the voice everyone compared Carl’s voice to, actually lends his own voice to the project, talk about a win! But no, they didn’t stop there, they went out and got the legendary narrator behind the voices of Cradle and many other novels, including his own. All three were perfect and made for an unforgettable listen.
