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Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Carl and Donut descend to level 3 for more adventures. It's not quite as novel as Book 1 but still an enjoyable romp. They basically get stuck in one town and have to solve the quests of that one town. The AI continues to cheat. Carl gets to say Godammit, Donut a lot. Lots of things continue to happen in the larger milieu of the galaxy which has a direct effect on the dungeon crawlers. It's all very inventive. And since this book only got us through 1 level and there are 15 levels in the game, I think we are in for a lot more books. Book 8 releases soon.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm
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Just finished book 7.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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02-12-2026, 02:57 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2026, 02:59 AM by Dr. Ivor Yeti.)
(02-09-2026, 11:44 AM)Greg Wrote: Dead Hand Rule by Max Gladsone
I hope this book would finish the trilogy. I hoped in vain. But it was still a good read. This book mostly focused on Tana Abernathy and her attempts to find and stop Dawn before Dawn brings about the end of the world. I liked the introduction of the Knight and his infatuation with Debbie. I still think I might have to start over and read all the Craft books from the beginning because I'm lost a lot with who is who. I need Jax's backstory especially.
That being said, this another really good book in the series especially for the last half of the book when it is all mayhem. Everybody double deals. No one can be trusted. Some of the descriptions and depictions are very baroque.
And now I'm waiting for book 4.
Book 4 should finish this series.
(01-15-2026, 02:14 PM)Greg Wrote: The Shattering Peace by Joe Scalzi
Scalzi returns to the "Old Man's War" universe with the latest book. A decade since the last book, a tenuous peace holds between the three rival factions until a joint project colony abruptly vanishes. It's up to Gretchen Trujillo to go to the spot where the colony on an asteroid disappeared and find out what happened.
It's usual fare of Heinlein light from Scalzi. All the characters speak in the Scalzi snarky way. The book did start off fine and I was enjoying back in this universe but there was nothing really new here. The characters stumble along and then with a little Deus ex Machina the problems are resolved, sort of. Still threads dangling if Scalzi wants to continue.
100% correct. I was almost bored with the sameness of the characters and the endless “snappy” (immature) dialogue.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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Black Tide by Peter Temple
More with lawyer Jack Irish down in Melbourne. I'm really liking this Jack Irish fella despite getting lost in the plot. Or plots. There were 3 plots going on with a wealth of characters that I couldn't keep straight. Plus there is a lot of Australian slang to keep me on my toes. In the main plot, Jack needs to find Des's son Gary to find all the money stole from Des, so Des doesn't lose his house. Unfortunately, Gary has disappeared, on the run from an international group of very bad people that don't mind killing people to cover their tracks. In one of the subplots, Jack is still working with his horse racing pals to make money by finding unknown horses to bet on. Unfortunately, they go up against a group that might be fixing races via threats to the jockeys. This was the story I had the hardest time keeping straight. And finally, there is all the time Jack spends building furniture as part of his side hustle. The author clearly knows his carpentry because a lot of his descriptions about joinery are spot on.
This might be the last one I read because this the last one in the series the library has.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm
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The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
Oh, this was a good one. I don't know where I got the recommendation but thankfully I did. Originally, I thought the author wrote these gothic sapphic stories but it was not her. Instead I got this weird fascist fairy tale time loop story that sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. There are so many different tropes mixed into this blend of the book. It's starts with a historian looking for the earliest book about the life of Una Everlasting, the foremost hero of the Empire of Dominion. The book is necessary to clear up some of the myths surrounding Una's life. The historian lives a 1000 years after Una's death in a dystopia time under a government that lives to crush their enemies. Suddenly, the historian finds himself with the real warrior Una back in her day. He gets to see first hand what her final battle was like. To quote The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend"
There is much more to the story than that and it's very compelling. I had to read this book without pause until I was done.
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Future Boy by Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox gives a behind the scenes look at what it was like to film Back to the Future at the same time he filmed Family Ties. Spoiler: It was a grind but he loved it. Fox gives a brief background about how he got to the place of film both shows. He gives some good BTS stories. He talks about most of the cast with exception of Biff. From the tales in this, I can see why Crispin Glover wasn't asked back for the sequel.
It was a quick read but kind of light. He does talk about the Eric Stolz situation. The book was written quickly to tie in with the 40th anniversary of the release of the movie.
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The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman
Down to level 4 which is a giant collection of trains with various monsters on it. Carl continues to come up with ingenious ways to kill things. Donut the Cat continues to thrive. When the author gives an explanation that you really don't have to figure out what all the different train numbers mean, it gives you pause. There were a lot of trains. It was a bit confusing. But I find myself racing through the books to the end despite the absurdity.
And I bought this book and the next because the library is sending me books 5 and 6 next.
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The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman
Level 5 is upon. It's a world in a bubble. There are many bubbles with different themes but Carl is in the one with I guess a castle of sand guarded by a group of dirigibles. The sand sits atop a pyramid below it. There is also a lake of some kind. The job is to get all the castles in the bubble so the bubble opens allowing you to go and help other crawlers. As usual, I'm trying to track what is going but get lost. But, I am still racing through the book to find out what is going. The whole story is rife with imaginative monsters. The main NPCs in this one are camels who walk on two legs. But there is all sorts of strange things happening. I like that Carl is smart and has to figure things out.
But I still think the best part is the world outside the Dungeon which Carl also fights. Those are the battles I enjoy.
I just received books 5 and 6 from the library, so onward.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm
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