Still one of the best books ever written. The new characters introduced are irreverent and awesome. The ghost concept is clever. The overall plot really, really works and keeps you wanting more. But If you think a great opportunity was missed in not having the first thing Carl do, is walk across the street from El Capital to La Casa del Ron y del Tabaco Cubano and take a few thousand cigars and spend the rest of his time smoking them Duke Nukem style and getting 99% of the guild smoking cigars and irritating the hell out of the other 1%, you are not alone. If you are worried that the final battle is being set up for the next book instead of finishing the next 9 levels of the dungeon, “a book each at least” you are not alone. (Like playing D&D, it’s much harder to make a good story with lvl 20 characters than with lvl 1.) If you are worried the plot armor is going from DHard 1 to FastnF10 levels, you aren’t alone either, (though there is an ongoing argument about this one that it’s always been ff10 level and hasn’t changed.) Our book club has spent many hours going over the DCC books and they are hands down our current favorites and 3rd overall all-time favorites right after HPMOR and Diskwrld. This book is worthy of several re-reads which is good because you will be angry the first read through when you think there are lots of plot holes you don’t understand until the second read when you are looking for and find the explanations and half explanations for most of them. Like all books in the series, we bought the paper and audio, (Jeff is a god level narrator,) and tried to support the cold reads, but honestly, it’s our least favorite of the series. There is so much going on it pulls you out of the story and makes us go back and try and figure out who, what, why, and how things, and people, and spells, and items, and politics, are intertwining. Most work out fine and are awesomeness incarnate, but some just don’t make sense to us or feel like they have been abandoned or lost. It feels like the number of impossible events is increasing to the point the plot armor is getting thick. Situations where the heroes are forced to turn on each other. (Being forced to turn on each other fits perfectly well with the plot and has been set up in the story but it still leaves you feeling icky and wanting more of them to be turned around on the villains; but we’re probably supposed to feel that way so just get used to feeling icky I guess.) Heroes blatantly lying is uncool. And most of all murdering another character because YOU think they would be better off for some Cthulhu awful, twisted reason is way uncool. We ALL hated that part of the story.

Spoiler Questions and comments?!!!! Stop reading now unless you have read the book and might have the answers or at least an opinion or of course you just don’t care about spoilers.

1. Why the hell would Mordecai hide the kids he saved?

2. Why the hell wasn’t Bonie hired and given access to the automaton and engineering tables?

3. Why the hell haven’t they hired craftsmen to build all the stuff they keep using? We mean how many hours did Carl waste building a 1-time use set of junk armor?

4. Why doesn’t he have more Big Daddy bombs and use them strategically? Like when trying to clear a battlefield of demons.

5. When will Donut finally have a come to Jesus moment and realize her annoying attacks on friends, allies, possible allies, and dogs is uncool.

6. Wouldn’t it have been a good strategic move to go on Plenty of Plenty?

7. It was smart and awesome Carl letting Sister Ines march into boss chamber alone if she wasn’t smart enough to at least try and scout out first.

8. Bomo wishing for the sledge was crap. Maybe funny but are they really that stupid?

9. Cthulhu but turning Paz into a card was brilliant. Deciding he must be destroyed without even summoning him to talk with him was a horrible thing to do. He is still Paz so bringing him back is a good strategy. If he isn’t Paz then he’s just another weapon. Either way tearing his card and killing him is murder and wrong and stupid. Not only that, but he also had the loot from a god along with his own loot. Why the hell wouldn’t you summon him to at least see if he could give it to you?

10. Keeping the slugpox was groovy.

11. Giving the NPC’s and Juicebox her own team to be belligerent was awesome, but shouldn’t Carl have found out if 2 armies can win faction wars? Or at least if surrender is an option before creating the 10th team?

12. Carl should have had one of the kids or a mercenary or someone transcribe the Bahama’s book in the guild instead of wasting his time.

13. Uzi Jesus is just…. F awesome lol.

14. Killing Astrid was just uncool. Was it supposed to be uncool?

15. Mr. Bones stated Author Steve Rowland had an eye regrown by a healer? So, can parts be regenerated if you find the right healer? Potion? Why does Tran have a wheelchair if you can regenerate with a healer? Katia?

16. The Molly Maguires history and usage is epic. Who is “She” that is teaching the AI about them?

17. Carl gave his word to Shi Maria that he would help her get down the floors. Then it became obvious he had no intention to. Not only does it suck he’s a liar but stupid, he put out to the whole universe that he doesn’t keep his word.

18. What does it mean to delete someone in the game? Is there a chance Empress D’Nadia is trying to help them still?

19. Carl had no freaking right to be upset Odette didn’t walk into a trap to be killed. Way uncool.

20. Good Hank um er we mean Good Carl was awesome lol.

21. That totem mystic card should have been used to cast clockwork triplicate on Carl If they ever get the chance.

22. Still think Ren would have gone down fighting instead of just giving up.

23. If Ren was giving up no matter what, Carl should have asked her if he could use the ring on her.

24. Carl should have told Ren that he needed her help to make them pay on the next floor.

25. Killing Quan was satisfying.

26. After betraying Sister Ines to help Katia, Carl saying they were friends rings false as hell.

27. NOT using Quan’s celestial cloak for the final battle is by far the biggest plot hole in this entire book. Not using it is just plain stupid.

28. It’s just too silly to think Carl 95% killed himself by sticking his head in an acid bath and didn’t lose his eyes.

29. The final fights are pretty cool but having to have multiple things happen perfectly to win is just to FastnF10. I guess we can assume the AI is cheating and helping make sure it all goes off perfectly and the exact item or person or attack works out at the last second, over and over again, but that’s also a cheap plot.

30. The previous crawlers fighting in Faction Wars and adding hundreds of thousands of mercs to the fight is epic. Too epic. Is everything going to wrap up in the next book? Or are we going to get to follow Carl for at least 9 more books? 12 more books? Hopefully a level or two will be split into 2 books each. It will be a challenge because at the power levels they are reaching in DCC, basic normal dangers no longer apply, and any peril must be created completely from scratch. It’s lots of work and most comics or books or anime at this level just up the power of the new antagonists, “You defeated Satan but look, his cousin Biff is here to avenge him and he’s twice as powerful even though there was no foreshadowing he existed you will have to repeat the exact plot again, getting the same items but even more powerful versions to defeat him!” Stay tuned for the next episode of (most any anime in existence) because none of what Naruto has done will be enough, but he will be luckily enough to have a lead lined refrigerator right there that will save him because….. well f^(&* you it will because we said it would!!!!!

31. We’re all buying merch and books and audio hoping that Matt will have the chops to pull this off. So far, the series is one of the best ever written. We pray to Cthulhu, “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn,” that Matt keeps well, and finishes strong, and is eaten last.