Ding…Matt Dinniman. you have achieved a new level. Reward, you are screwed, you don’t get a reward, other than agonizing over how you are going to top this one. Seriously I see some late nights, moments of panic and stress eating mongo’s weight in pizza for the next book. To be fair the set up going into the 9th floor is mouth watering and I cannot wait to see what you come up with, but first let’s talk about this book.
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, brought a few new aspects to the game. Want to make things just a little stranger, lets combine the dungeon and fighting mobs with a new card game mash up of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Not to mention they are separated again from all of their friends in a three part floor.
Part one, gotta catch them all get your cards and create a great fighting deck. Donut really gets to show of her cat cunning as she is the deck master here. But in a game made by aliens who didn’t really understand your planet you end up with some crazy and slightly offensive cards. Just think of all the mythos, cultures and religion to pull from and you come up with some bangers.
“It’s the Son Who Fell. The Sinner, Resurrected. The Bringer of Disease, Bringer of Salvation. The Ender of All Blasphemy. It’s the calamitous, rapturous, and ultimately hazardous master of the life-death boomerang. It’s Lazarus-A-Bang-Bang!”
Part two, Use your deck to beat the mobs and get a key. The AI might be falling apart a little early and playing by his own rules which leads to some pretty messed up storylines and monsters in the game.
Part three, where the pooh really starts to hit the fan. There are only so many keys and this is where they try to get humanity to turn on one another. Hard decisions will be made and Carl might get pushed to the brink.
There was so much happening in this. Katia and her ‘situation’ with a certain crown, the gods starting to show up more causing chaos, the head of a sex doll possessed by a spirit gaining power, The AI going off the rails, Lawyers getting involved, MaeMae (she terrifies me a little) and some more new players to the game. There was never a dull moment. Every time I think Matt Dinniman can’t outdo himself he goes and proves me wrong. Not only Juicebox putting her mark on the game, there are some factions on the outside that are starting to move their pieces into position. SO MANY THINGS!!!
Carl and Donut banter is still hilarious and well worth tuning in for.
“I didn’t realize you’d actually get that thing to work. Are you planning on growing a mullet as well? Are there any Waffle Houses between here and there? Maybe we can stop and get into a brawl, but only after you bounce a few child support payment checks first.”
I love them as a team and can’t wait to see how the next floor is going to work out. There are some big moves to be made and Carl has set the stage up nicely. Gah…how can 27 hours of audio just not be enough.
Narration:
With the addition of a few extra voice actors to make a couple of side characters shine this narration was even better than the others. Jeff Hays nails his performance again, he brings Carl and Donut to life and I love it. Travis Baldree and Patrick Warburton backed him up well on some of the side characters to really add some extra flavor to the performance. The addition of a few sound affects and my experience was enhanced by at least 1.5 stars.