Review by cheye13 - Carl's Doomsday Scenario

cheye13 's review for:

Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

2.0

adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This was a disappointment after book one. It definitely suffers from second book syndrome, even if this isn't a trilogy. Coupled with the lack of an end for book one, I'd guess this was supposed to be a part of the first book, but it got too long. That being said, it doesn't stand as its own book very well at all.

It falls back on a lot of gross fantasy tropes without poking holes in them or giving the reader a side nudge, like the first volume did. The humor doesn't land anymore because I don't feel like I'm in on the joke. If book one was laughing with me, book two at least felt like it was laughing at me. Also, the mechanics of the doomsday device got real convoluted and I didn't care enough to slow down and parse them out.

I still have hopes for the rest of the series, but I'd like to see the Carl from book one a little more. If the dungeon does indeed break him, I'm not sure I'll be interested for much longer.

Content Warnings