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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 9855671" data-attributes="member: 8461">I just finished The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, the sixth book of Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl saga, and with the possible exception of the first novel, I think this is the best book of the series so far.At this point, Dinniman seems to have near-totally given up on his previous tendency to make the environment be a major point of engagement for both the characters and the readers. Instead, he switches things up to changing the way that battles are fought, using (of all things) a card-based system which operates alongside the usual method of combat rather than supplanting it.I was initially a bit hesitant about that, as I could easily envision the story getting lost in the intricacies of its alternative combat mode the same way it had previously for the local environment. But I was pleasantly surprised by how that didn't turn out to be the case; instead, Dinniman uses the card system largely as a backdrop with which to advance further developments of plot threads and interactions between characters.And wow, do those areas of the book deliver!Multiple plot lines are advanced here, and a large number of characters either undergo new changes or are killed off. We also get answers to several major questions, along with several startling revelations, to the point where we actually get glimpses—not hints or suggestions, but actual glimpses—of how the series could end. Of course, that things never unfold in the way that's expected is a major theme of this story, so I doubt that what we're seeing is how things will actually play out.One thing that I have to mention here is the tone. This series has always had a mixture of the wacky and the morose, as the zaniness of the dungeon overshadows the horrifying nature of how it was formed and what that means for the people—crawlers and NPCs alike—who're trapped inside it. But here, it dials that mixture up to eleven, with several parts that felt Deadpool-esque in their somehow managing to pull off rapid-fire changes between "so irreverent it's hilarious" and "so poignant it's heartbreaking," which is exceptionally hard to do, and yet succeeds.That said, this isn't completely without fault. For one thing, the pacing feels somewhat off, with this book's major emotional climax occurring two-thirds of the way through, which makes the last part (which is still intriguing for its plot advancements) feel a bit flat in terms of what it means for the main characters. Similarly, the final enemies faced don't receive the build-up they deserve, being introduced very shortly before their appearances, which takes some of the punch out of their fights (especially following the much more personal battle that happens earlier in the book).Overall, however, this one is very much a case of Dinniman being at the top of his game, and the result is a lot of fun. For anyone who's a fan of the series, I think you'll have a great time with this entry into the saga.</blockquote>

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