I have only recently discovered this genre, and of course this series. It’s absolutely the best, and shakes up the formula with each book to stay relevant and not become stale. This book utilizes the Magic the Gathering/Pokémon theme for the dungeons 8th floor. After finishing book 5 last month, i was super excited to see this book only a month away. This book started much slower than previous novels. There just wasn’t much carrying over from the previous book due to the floor skip. The result is that I had to re-invest in this book to get onboard with the story. It’s not long however, before the book gets into overdrive, and suddenly I am hooked.
Once the action starts, it doesn’t let up with the tension. It keeps building and while it ends in the most spectacular of ways, While the book does end with the completion of the 8th floor, it leaves a heaping lot of unresolved drama going into the 9th floor, and the next book. None of the previous books ended with so much unresolved and such high stakes cliff hangers. I think this is the biggest let down for me. I really want to know what happens. If your reading this review with book 7 already published, I admire you. For now, I am very disappointed. The added tension at the end makes me feel that Dinniman is nearly the end of the series. If the next floor ends with its natural conclusion, I don’t see much room for an 8th book, and definitely not a 9th book. I think I am okay with that and I am on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next novel.
Once again, Sound Booth Theater knocks it out of the park. They are definitely the best at dramatizing audiobooks. I have listened to other companies that dramatize audio books, and Sound Booth definitely has the best balance of sound effects, unique voices and the read word. Sandman put me to sleep with its monotone delivery.
Patrick Warburton was an absolute treat. His voice really stands out and made for some of the funniest moments, especially with the crab scene. That was worth the price of the audio book alone. I don’t know how, but I really hope to see him in book 7. Soundbooth needs to hire Patrick to narrate one of their products.