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!