The Bookwyrm's Review of The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman

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Rating: 9.75/10 Stars

Synopsis

A pantheon of forgotten gods. An old grudge between a talk show host, an heiress, and the man they shattered along the way. A rapidly deteriorating AI system. An inconvenient tiara upon the head of a friend.

It is bedlam on the eighth floor.

As management reels from the unexpected conclusion of the seventh level, the surviving crawlers stumble onto the eighth and find themselves scattered. It’s a map based on Earth’s final days before the collapse, where ethereal, intangible ghosts of humanity go about their lives, oblivious of the impending doom. Living amongst these ghosts are monsters based in Earth lore. “Legendary” creatures tied to the geographical location they inhabit.

Each team of crawlers is given a task: find and capture six of these beasts. The captured monsters will be turned into cards. Cards that can be summoned into battle again and again. The stronger, the deadlier, the better.

At the end of the floor, the bad guys will also have decks, and they will have some of the most powerful cards available. So it’s crucial to assemble the toughest squad possible.

But, like always, there is a catch. There’s always a catch.

As Carl and Donut know all too well, just because someone is captured, it doesn’t mean they have been tamed.

Her name is Shi Maria. She’s easily the most powerful monster in their area. If they want to survive, they must capture her. But she is no ordinary beast. She’s intelligent. She was once married to a god, a god who is now missing. Her special attack is known to drive one insane. They call her the Bedlam Bride.

“Beware, beware. Beware the Eye of the Bedlam Bride”

Review

I've been a big fan of this series since the first book released. The idea that aliens would basically turn Earth into the setting for murder hobo Survivor centered on a guy wearing boxers with hearts on them and a leather jacket and a show cat that gains sentience just seemed so out there, but it was executed so well I was hooked from the first chapter. It didn't hurt that I listened to the audio version first, and that Jeff Hays and his crew at Soundbooth Theater productions did such an amazing job bringing this story to life. So, now we are on book six, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, and not only have the stakes been raised exponentially, as the ninth floor and it's faction wars approaches, but revelations about Carl, and the universe inside and outside the game, are coming fast and furious. Things are definitely not what they seemed, especially with the revelations about a key aspect of the story: The origin of the AI that runs the game. This book hit hard for me though with the revelations of Carl's past, and a relationship in his life that was a gut punch to me, having lived something similar. Things have definitely taken a darker turn.

As is a staple of this series, the world building is phenomenal. It changes in each book because it's basically the weirdest world size dungeon in existence, but in this case, the story takes place in Havana and the Florida Keys, with Carl and company having to deal with echoes of the past in the form of ghost images from before the collapse, and a whole new, more powerful generation of mobs as well, based on the very sketchy understanding by the aliens running the game of Earth's regional mythologies. So sketchy in fact, I'm shocked they didn't have Pikachu and Squirtle as mobs. I did like the way the author mixed in card based combat, along the lines of Magic the Gathering and Pokemon, but with some really fun twists. The best part? As the party leader, Donut has to be the one playing the cards, and it leads to hilarious situations. This element and the AI going rogue, which apparently happens every season, leads to some world altering events. 

The characters have become some of my favorites, not just in LitRPG, but in general. Carl and the rest are obviously dealing with PTSD from the trauma they have suffered in the dungeon, but are still continuing onward just to spite the bastards. Carl is just a fantastic character. His back story is finally revealed, and his attitude about life suddenly makes a lot more sense. I won't spoiler it, but lets just say Carl had it rough growing up, and that past literally comes back to haunt him in this book, although Carl is not the scared kid he was dealing with it the first time. He's a bent but not broken man, and can make the hard decisions to protect his friends and family, damn the consequences. When Carl says "You will not break me" about the game and system, he speaks from a place of living through some of the worst hardships in his life, and he knows he will do whatever it takes to bring the system down. it's admirable and frightening all at once. Donut on the other hand is still Donut, hilarious but always willing to back Carl up in the end. She is really starting to to grow as a character, and we see her much more aware of the feelings of those around her, and she is really starting to step up as the system tries to break her. While she has some flighty moments, she really steps up and swings for the fences when she needs to. I didn't expect so much growth from her. 

The secondary characters are excellent as always. Crawlers like Katya, Ellie and Louie are fighting their own battles in various locations, but their interactions and planning help through the safe rooms has allowed for a lot more planning and expansion of their shared areas, which will have big consequences in the faction wars on the ninth floor. As in previous stories, there are Easter egg characters as well, this time, instead of Grulkes ( frog men based on J.S. Grulke's Frog of War series)  this time it's A troll male stripper with the stage name The Author Steve Rowland, a fun jab at author S.L. Rowland, Author of the fun LitRPG series Sentenced to Troll. I always enjoy those kind of Easter eggs, it just adds a fun touch. The various NPC's turned into cards are also a lot of fun, Including a kung fu harbor seal, a neurotic crab mage, Uzi Jesus, which is just as crazy as it sounds, and Shi-Maria, a devastatingly powerful demigod with a woman's head on a Giant spider body, who has plans of her own in a bid to get to the next floor, plans that may have life threatening effects for Carl and his friends. She is easily one of the scariest characters the author has created in this series.

The antagonists are again the corporations and governments behind the Crawl, although now with the added menace of the AI going rogue, it brings a whole new level of threat to the crawlers, since the AI can alter reality itself, and it is definitely in a mood. More and more of these leaders are being seen though, and some old grudges have been revealed, and will have possibly deadly consequences on the 9th floor. It seems as though their carefully laid plans are becoming a shambles, and nobody knows what's going to happen next. There is one more true villain added to the story, but it is personal to Carl, and I'll let you discover this one on your own. 

The narration is performed by Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott from Soundbooth Theater, with appearances by Travis Baldree and Patrick Warburton, who is just perfect for this small bur important role. They really bring this story to life, They bring so much depth and emotion to a story that already had those elements built in, and honestly, this may be Jeff Hays's best work yet. He's my favorite narrator, and he brings his A game every time to these books. Every time you hear the words New Achievement, you know something hilarious is about to come, and his announcer voice is just epic. I recommend this version highly.

A lot of series would have some missteps or be getting a bit stale by the sixth book. This series is not one of those. In fact, the series just keeps getting better every installment, to the point is is easily within my top 3 series , not just LitRPG but any genre. If you like a story with great characters and world building, with a plot that is creative and has explosive action and quite a bit of humor, then this is the right series for you. I give this book my highest recommendation.