Synopsis
They call it Faction Wars.
The ninth floor.
Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal… It all makes for great fun and even greater television.
After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.
Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.
As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.
For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.
If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.
This is it.
This is what they’ve been fighting toward.
This is war.
This inevitable ruin.
Review
I think I can honestly say that the Dungeon Crawler Carl (DCC) books by Matt Dinniman are the most insane, bonkers, unpredictable books I have ever read. I mean all that in the best way possible. I didn’t read the first one until March 2024 but by June I had devoured all six of the LitRPG books in the series. I couldn’t wait for the Jeff Hays-narrated audiobook (which releases next week on 2/11), so when Dinniman put out This Inevitable Ruin on Kindle in early November, I gobbled it right up.
I felt This Inevitable Ruin was one of the best of the series when I read it in November, but I didn’t want to be victim to recency bias, so I wanted to wait a bit. Even after a few months, I’m still confident now that Dinniman put together a wonderful addition to the DCC universe, which is no small feat considering all the tendrils the story has at this point. (The Butcher’s Masquerade is still the tops for me though. That one went on my Top Ten list for 2024.)
One of my biggest complaints with the LitRPG genre — in particular Progression Fantasy — is the repetitive nature of the story. JIMMY kills a bunch of goblins and levels up. Here’s all his stats. Oh no…more goblins. He levels up again…even more stats…even more goblins…stats…goblins…stats…
Some of these Progression Fantasy books can get to the point where I wonder “When will it ever end? The protagonist can do no wrong and just keeps leveling up forever. Starts very satisfying, but suffers from diminishing returns.
That’s one of the genius aspects of Dungeon Crawler Carl. Each book utilizes a different component to RPG and video game play. That hasn’t always worked in my opinion as the 6th book didn’t work as well for me primarily because of the card aspect (ala Magic or Pokemon cards), but I’m sure some fans loved that book. The latest book has taken all that has come before and piled it all into a faction war between the “crawlers” and many of the galactic power players. But it only works because of all the care that Dinniman has taken in the first six books to feature wildly different characters and plot lines. It really is amazing he can keep it all straight with all the various buffs Carl and Donut have received over the course of the game, let alone the secondary characters.
Speaking of Donut, I was dubious before I started, but you’ll never believe that an award-winning Persian cat will nestle into your very soul to become one of your favorite book characters. Would I die for Princess Donut The Queen Anne Chonk? I don’t know, but the fact I have to even think about it says a lot. Honestly, there is a scene in This Inevitable Ruin that brought tears to my eyes and it was all due to Donut. I love that cat.
I know I haven’t said much about the plot, but if you are interested in this book, you’ll want to start with the first book. And if you start with book #1, I know it won’t be long before you’ve consumed all the rest of the books like a cicada feasting on nearby vegetation after emerging from a 17-year sleep. This is a fantastic book that is as good as it is because Matt Dinniman put so much work and care into this entire series.
This Inevitable Ruin was released in print in early November 2024 and releases on Audible this coming Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
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