Let’s face it, we all love bubble wrap. Something about popping those tiny little AirPods is soooo satisfying. Then comes along the Syndicate to destroy everything, even this simple pleasure, because in book four of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, The Gate of the Feral Gods, Carl and Donut (along with all the other crawlers) are stuck in a series of little bubbles on a giant plain, exactly like bubble wrap. The crawlers need to pop their bubbles, but instead of a quick, satisfying squeeze, they have to find and conquer four different castles held by four dangerous bosses. So much for relaxing and satisfying, I’m never going to look at bubble wrap the same way again, and I doubt you will either. Thanks, Matt Dinniman, for ruining that simple pleasure.
[Warning: My review of The Gate of the Feral Gods contains some spoilers!]
Here we go again
Another book, another level. This time, instead of a snarled mess of train lines, the crawlers have to defeat four castles inside their self-contained bubbles in order for the stairs to activate. Each bubble is broken into four quadrants (one for each castle), and the crawlers can’t leave their starting quadrant until they defeat their castle. If all four castles in your bubble are cleared, then the stairs to the next level open up, and so does your bubble, allowing you to travel to other bubbles (assuming they have also been popped).
There are hundreds of bubbles, and the crawlers are “randomly” scattered around each of them, but somehow Carl and Donut land in a bubble full of extremely low-level crawlers. If they have any chance of surviving the fifth floor, they’re going to have to bring these sorry crawlers together, unite them into a group, train them up, and lead them to victory! Easier said than done. But Carl and Donut have done a lot of impossible things in the last few weeks. Besides, what choice do they have?
Carl and the NPCs
Carl is already pissed at the Syndicate. He hates what they’re doing to the people of Earth, and he hates that they’ve done it over and over again all over the universe. He’s also started to realize that what they do to the NPCs is just as horrible. The companies treat them like they’re toys, erasing memories, planting false ones, and killing them left, right, and center. But they’re not toys, they’re actual, real, biological creatures. They may have been created in a lab, but they’re sentient creatures, and what they’re being put through isn’t right.
In The Gate of the Feral Gods, Carl really is moved by how horribly the NPCs are abused by the Syndicate, and he snaps. In his Anarchist Cookbook that he received in the last round, there are lots of notes from past crawlers who are similarly overwhelmed by the horribleness of not just the crawlers, but the NPCs’ plight. It breaks the other crawlers. But Carl just keeps repeating his mantra, “They will not break me. I will break them.”
They will not break me. I will break them
And then he makes a plan to do just that. If his plan works, it will not only help the NPCs and the crawlers in this dungeon but might just stop the game completely, forever. Planning is difficult because not only is every moment of his life recorded and broadcast to the universe, but his chats are no longer private either; those are also being broadcast to anyone willing to pay enough for the honor of being a stalker. The only safe place is in his head.
At first, he thinks he has to do everything by himself, but eventually, he realizes that he isn’t as alone as he thought. He has Donut, who is maturing at an incredible rate and growing into a kind and compassionate person. And he has Katia, who is proving to be much more capable than anyone, especially her, thought she could be. But that’s not the end of his support. Almost everyone he meets sees his compassion and wants to try to help him. And there’s his mysterious sponsor, who is willing to dump huge amounts of money into benefaction boxes to help advance his plans. Obviously, someone else wants to end the dungeon crawls, too. But are they really on Carl’s side? He has to make sure he can really trust those around him because the stakes aren’t just his life; it’s the entire universe.
There’s a lot going on in The Gate of the Feral Gods
I had a feeling from the first book that the series would go this way. Carl is a compassionate guy who wants to save everyone. The entire concept of the crawl just goes against his very core being. And the mysterious Agatha (still mysterious, we don’t learn anything new about her yet) hinted that there was a bigger conspiracy going on. Five levels in, Carl can’t handle the way the Syndicate treats everyone they consider “less than”. He is filled with the need to burn it all down (like all good anarchists are).
Passing each level still makes for exciting reading, but seeing Carl’s larger plan starting to take shape is even better. You can see him developing empathy for everyone stuck in the dungeon, not just the crawlers. His realization of the true enemy and his decision to bring the fight to them is powerful. And the moment when he snaps and fully commits to saving everyone, not just himself, not just his party, not just his friends, and not just the other crawlers, but EVERYONE, is even more satisfying than bubble wrap. And when he slowly begins to realize that the other people stuck in the dungeon are willing to help and support him, that’s another satisfying bubble pop. And when he sees how much they respect him for what he’s doing, POP. Donut’s “of course” attitude about it is another POP, but one with some humor, like when it blows out the side and makes a long fart noise instead of a hard snapping noise.
Overall, The Gate of the Feral Gods has a lot going on. It is the turning point of this series when Carl takes the “I will break them” half of his mantra to the next level. I can’t wait to see him tear the Syndicate apart! If you haven’t started reading this series yet, all I can say is “Why?”.
Rating: 10/10
The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman is available now!
Learn more about the book at the official website for the title.
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