Book Blog #404: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

 

Title: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

Author: Matt Dinniman

# of Pages: 524 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Adventure, Dystopia

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Welcome to the Gun Show! The top 10 list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face. The Iron Tangle. An impossibly complicated subway system built out of the world's subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away. But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly useless book. Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon.

Review: This might be my favorite DCC so far in the series. 

I saw this book was actually the lowest rated in the whole series on Goodreads, with many reviews citing the train concept as being a drag. Dinniman even puts a disclaimer at the beginning of the book saying that the train system is complicated and that it's a puzzle for Carl and co to figure out, not the reader. I will say that the train system didn't affect my interest in the book (and if you go in aiming to have a surface level understanding, it should be enough to follow the plot). However, if you need to have a warning that your book is hard to understand, it might be a sign that something should be done about it (maybe add more visuals or focus only on the most important parts of the complex system). 

Trains aside, what really stood out was how the plot showcased a lot of returning characters! This felt like a turning point in the series where there's enough character and world building and now the books can focus on interpersonal relationships, teamwork, etc, which is something I really love to read about. Even though there was less crass humor and Moredecai was MIA for large parts of the book, the amount of returning characters and their interactions still elevated the book enough to be engaging.

Would recommend this one if you're already invested in the series!

Book Blog #403: The Tenant by Frieda McFadden

 

Title: The Tenant

Author: Freida McFadden

# of Pages: 344 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet. Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she? Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets... Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

Review: This was an EXTREMELY fast and easy read. 

This is my first McFadden book, and it's clear that she knows how to write for the masses. The writing style is quite simple and very plot-focused (definitely not some literary masterpiece). The story is told in from a couple point of views (for the most part in series) in first person present tense, so you are along for the ride with Blake in figuring out why his life is going so wrong so suddenly. Usually I strongly dislike first person POV switching, but since the different POVs weren't intertwined, this actually didn't bother me. 

I'm not a huge fan of thrillers (this was meant to be a daytime-only read for me), but I was glad to find this was scary in the sense that weird events happen in Blake's life that the reader doesn't find out how it happened until later. There's less explicit "thrilling" scenes compared to Verity (e.g. no freaky lady jump scaring the main character by staring at her), although the concept of strange events happening at home while a couple lives with a random new person is coincidentally very similar. It also reminded me a bit of the Black Mirror episode Bête Norie (but based in reality), so the story's premise is nothing super original. 

I was totally expecting to not be entertained by her books (since she's so popular with The Housemaid series, I was bracing myself for an overhyped read). However, I was pleasantly surprised that I incorrectly guessed the twist, and I couldn't put the book down (read in <1 day). 

Something I didn't like is how the characters wouldn't follow through with logical solutions (e.g. if you're bothered by loud noises and can't get them to stop, why not try wearing earplugs or doing something else within your control? If you're broke, why insist to talk to someone in person rather trying first to call them and save the drive out as a backup plan?). The story also relies on the miscommunication trope which is always frustrating. The very ending seemed rushed; didn't really need the epilogue. 

Overall a very light (but still somewhat thrilling) read; would recommend it to people who already like the mystery-thriller genre.