The fifth book in the incredibly entertaining Dungeon Crawler Carl series is The Butcher’s Masquerade. It’s also the longest one in the series so far. It’s hefty, and there is a lot going on. There are a lot more emotional blows in this one, right from the off, the company running the crawl attempt to…
Category: The Book Shelf
Blockade Billy (2010) – Stephen King
Somehow I missed this one, so when I came across the fun little harcover (love that cover art) in a local used book store, I snapped it up. It contains the (too) short novella Blockade Billy and a short story called Morality. Morality was interesting it sees the disintegration of a couple’s relationship over a…
The Gate of the Feral Gods (2021) – Matt Dinniman
Book Four of the Dungon Crawler Carl series, The Gate of the Feral Gods, ups the stakes yet again. Carl, Princess Donut, and Katia find themselves in all manner of trouble, and not all of it is taking place in the dungeons. This level, the fifth, is comprised of bubbles. The crawlers have been spread…
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – William Kotzwinkle
So, I’ve been jonesing to re-read the 1985 paperback, E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet. I’ve had it since it came out, and have only read it once. I remember one scene in it, but that’s all I can recall. Since it and the original adaptation of the Melissa Matheson screenplay were written by…
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (2021) – Matt Dinniman
Book three of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series sees Carl, Princess Donut, Mongo and Katia enter the fourth level of the dungeon, as they continue to garner intergalactic viewers, sponsors, bounties and loot boxes. They find themselves in the Iron Tangle, an interweaving collection of train and subway lines with stations, rest areas, and oh…
The Midnight Train (2026) – Matt Haig
Matt Haig seems to have a predilection for tales about death and reimagining of one’s life choices to find a better way to live, love, and be well… better. I was given an advanced reading copy of Haig’s latest novel, The Midnight Train, but it sat for awhile on my To Be Read pile (like…
The Dog Stars (2012) – Peter Heller
When I heard The Dog Stars was going to be Ridley Scott’s new film, it moved up to the top of my reading list. I almost wish it hadn’t. I didn’t not like it, but the event that occurs on third into the book kicked my ass, so much that I almost decided not to…
The Martian Chronicles (1950) – Ray Bradbury
I’m pretty sure I read this book when I was in my tweens, after I was introduced to the miniseries based on the book. It was at the point when my parents were still bringing home movies for me to watch, before I started exploring my own love of film. I’m sure they simply asked…
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (2021) – Matt Dinniman
Book 2 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series picks up where the first installment left us, Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo the raptor have just made it to level three of the Dungeon World that was once Earth. It was converted into an 18-level dungeon, where the last survivors of the planet have to work…
Firefly: The Magnificent Nine (2019) – James Lovegrove
James Lovegrove takes us back out into the Black with his second Firefly novel, The Magnificent Nine. Once again, he has an ear for the dialogue and the pacing of the series and translated it nicely to a novel. As the title hints at, the story is a bit of a riff on the classic…
The Mind Reels 