It took me a while to get started on this series. But I finally decided to give it a go, and I am so glad I did! It took a few minutes to get going, but thankfully, there wasn’t an over abundance of exposition. Once the story gets going, it never stops. I love how the plot unfolds a little at a time, all the while Carl and Princess Donut are simply trying to stay alive and “level up.”
And speaking of Princess Donut, I was really nervous about how she’d be written. I love cats, but the idea of a pampered show-cat as a companion / co-dungeon crawler had the potential to be extremely annoying and toxic. Thankfully, Donut is neither of those things. In fact, she is AWESOME! She is totally what you’d expect of a spoiled “princess” cat, while being both likeable and downright hilarious. Her actions which cause Carl to burst out in his soon-to-be famous catchphrase are irritating to him, yet hysterical to the reader. And hey, what’s not to like about a cat that can shoot the spell, Magic Missile, out its eyes?
As for secondary characters, there are a more than I expected. A few have an air of mystery about them, some are downright hateful, but thankfully they do not overstay their welcome. And not all meet happy, or even hopeful endings in this first volume. In fact, I would best describe this story as a “Dark Comedy.” It is very funny, laugh-out-loud in a many places, while also unafraid to go down very dark paths. It pulls no punches on the graphic violence either. This is definitely not a book for “sensitive readers.” While there is some social commentary, none of it is ham-fisted, nor does it ever feel like the author is trying to force any sort of messaging on the reader. That is the mark of a good story-teller.
Overall, this was an awesome read that I could not stop listening to. The story is brilliant, as is the narration and effects. I’m assuming Jeff Hayes does all the voices, as no one else is listed in the credits. If so, he has a very impressive vocal range, able to span genders and species. You actually believe Princess Donut’s voice is coming from a pompous, talking, female cat! Jonathan Waters and Amy Landon are two other voice actors that come to mind with such a broad range.
I do hope this series keeps its momentum and doesn’t run out of steam (which one series I recently cut short unfortunately did). This first volume does an excellent job of laying the groundwork, with just enough lore / world building. Can’t wait to see what Carl and Donut receive next in their achievement loot boxes!