Quick Synopsis – A man. His ex-girlfriend’s cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

Song This Reminds Me Of – It’s the End of the World – R.E.M

Publication Date – Sept. 21, 2020

Content Notes- This is a lit rpg novel and there is a lot of gore and violence. There is a death of a child and mild drug use.

Other than some salty language, there aren’t really any other glaring content warnings.

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – Folks, it finally happened. I have a 5-star read. This book made me laugh, it made me cringe, it made me fall in love with a sassy cat, and afraid of an AI with a foot fetish. This book was honestly just fun, a great science fiction novel with a pretty original concept. It turns out that Earth was seeded by an intergalactic agency eons ago, and now that company has come to collect. Every being that was under a roof has been crushed as buildings were pulled underground to create a massive dungeon world. All other beings can choose to remain on Earth’s barren surface or take their chances in the dungeon.

Carl just happened to be outside trying to capture his ex-girlfriend’s prize-winning cat, Princess Donut. Carl also happens to be barefoot in his underwear and leather jacket when his apartment building is sucked into the ground, and an announcement is made that he can either remain above ground or take his chances in the dungeon. Carl scoops up Princess Donut and makes the choice to enter the dungeon. Once inside, he discovers that it truly is a dungeon crawl, and aliens all over the universe are tuning in to watch what’s left of humanity try to survive.

This book really has it all. There’s fun video game-style achievements and loot boxes. The characters are fun to follow because Carl doesn’t lose his humanity. Some of the dungeon “monsters” are sentient, and Carl doesn’t just blindly murder opponents. He’s a thoughtful crawler, and he’s focused on keeping his sanity intact. There are also interesting behind-the-scenes politics going on. Throughout the game, Carl discovers more about how the game is supposed to work, who the corporations and governments behind the game are, and how to survive.

Carl is really an everyman character. He isn’t an overpowered super-secret agent who has all this training that allows him to sail through the game. He’s an almost 30-year-old man with his very charismatic talking cat just trying to survive. I’m definitely going to be following this story.