…Hmph! More like, "Watch out, Hunters—you won't know what hit you!" Princess Donut's court continues to turn every dungeon they enter into absolute chaos, and Level Six is no exception. Carl has a certain flare for working - technically - inside the rules*, while still managing to make all of the showrunners' plans blow up (literally) in their faces.
In Book 5 of Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, The Butcher's Masquerade, the Crawlers find themselves in a vast and dangerous jungle called "The Hunting Grounds," soon to be set upon and hunted down by Hunters, aliens from off-world who pay exorbitant amounts for the ultimate rush: participating in the Crawl, hunting the Crawlers for sport, fun, glory, and profit...
...I should have started with this, but you've been reading the series so far, right? I mean the title clearly says this is Book Five. You wouldn't just jump into a series that far in, right? If you haven't read the series, stop here and go do that. Start from the beginning. If you have been following the series... then you undoubtedly adore Mongo, right? What's not to love about Princess Donut's stalwart dinosaur companion? He's cute, he's strong, and he loves to kill, kill, kill! Well, if you liked having one Velociraptor Mongoliensis around, you'll just love having a pack of them! And hey - is our Mongo growing up? Will he have a love interest? ...Or will Carl and crew be done in by a pack of wild Velociraptors and a T-Rex** in a tutu? Stranger things have happened in the series so far.
While the entire series so far is a thoroughly enjoyable blend of action, comedy, mystery, suspense, political intrigue, and clever strategy, this installment had a couple of points that really made me ponder a societal system where such violence is theater and the willing participants could be basically just action stars... or even just hired hands earning their living. Deep stuff. Pass the popcorn.
In this latest installment, even more than in the previous ones, the Crawlers are really starting to work together, which has got to give an edge to the Crawlers. However, Level 6 is designed to test everyone's temper and restraint. After the Hunters and Crawlers have been viciously going at each other, all of the Hunters and the 50 top rated Crawlers have to attend a mandatory party in the High Elf Castle, where there will be food, alcohol and, let's see... what else... oh, right... prizes based on how many kills you got up to that point in the level... What could possibly go wrong? The party is, in fact, The Butcher's Masquerade - a very powerful and rare divine spell that can only be cast by the most elite priests - and only once, even for them - creating a powder keg of a ball. If the peace is kept for the entire duration, the one who cast the spell gets a boon from their deity... which may just be immortality***. However, if the peace is broken, the one who breaks the peace is immediately sent into the void... and all the safety protocols are off, with enemies standing right next to each other. Sounds like a good time, am-I-right?
This one is a rollercoaster. Good times, sad times, mysteries half-solved, some Crawlers lost and a whole lot of rules-lawyering. Now, with real lawyers! The AI is unraveling, the showrunners have lost control and are just praying the audience stays hooked and the sponsors keep throwing money at this trainwreck of a dumpster fire. Carl has been putting his explosive efforts and guerrilla tactics into throwing monkey wrenches into the Factions' attempts to prepare for the upcoming Faction Wars on Level 9. On this level, that means disrupting their ability to get their hands on weapons and items that the Hunters capture from Crawlers. Not even the number crunchers are safe!
I can understand Carl's anger at the Factions coming for Faction Wars, since it's all fun and games for them, given that there are safety protocols in place that protect them from actually dying. They die in the game and they're simply no longer able to play. ...I mean, sure, it would be possible to turn off the safety protocols and even the stakes, but that would take a majority vote to do so... by the corporations funding the Factions. And that's not likely to happen... right? Right, Carl? Right?
Prepotente, our brave little goat boy, truly comes into his own in this book. With his Intelligence stat boosted, he not only holds his own against the Hunters, but plays a key role in the Crawlers' survival at the Masquerade. He even joins Princess Donut's party for a bit and takes the lead of it, for reasons that are his own.
Katia strikes out on her own, determined to hunt down and end Eva. Sticking with Carl and Donut would only slow her down - too much chaos, too many mandatory quests. This is something she has to do alone. Donut is, of course, bummed to be separated from Katia, but the time apart gives Katia and Bautista time to discover each other, which is nice. We learn that Katia's coping abilities might not be as good as we thought... and perhaps that caused her some distraction or slowed her down a bit. At any rate, when she is taking Eva out and the action comes to a head, Eva's shot of retaliation will have dire consequences later in the series.
I really enjoyed The Butcher's Masquerade. It is my favorite in the series so far. My previous favorite was The Gate of the Feral Gods, which was the previous book, so they seem to be just getting better as they go. Nice job, Matt!
As I mentioned earlier, this printing of the series includes a section on the behind-the-scenes goings on that seem like they are leading up to something deeper in the dungeon. This time, we get a few more details on what's up with Gary the Goblin. Also, we come to find out that things aren't quite what we thought in Gary's life, these days. No, they're a bit worse. And the llamas aren't the only splinter group in the Pineapple Cabaret.
But, you'll see. Because surely you're running out to get your hands on The Butcher's Masquerade at this point, right? If you've had interest enough to get this far, you definitely need to check it out. It's really, really good. Well, I'm off to start reading the next one...
* ...as far as the AI and showrunners know...
** Well, actually, she's an allosaurus, given that she has three fingers, not two.
*** ...but, no one's actually sure, as it's never actually succeeded yet.
