“When Big Things happen on such a large scale, it’s easy to forget sometimes that these Big Things are also happening to the little things in the world.”
Well, it was quite inevitable that I was going to enjoy This Inevitable Ruin, right?! I mean, we’re now seven books deep into this madness and I am honestly running out of original things to say in these reviews at this point, but I had a blast once again and that is all that really matters. This was Carled Up in the best way possible.
Throughout the entire series, there’s been this huge build-up to the notorious Faction Wars, and now we have finally arrived at the ninth floor in This Inevitable Ruin. Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting, but Dinniman delivered. There’s no denying that a lot of the intricacies of the politics (both inside and outside the dungeon), crazy action and the larger implications of the lore reveals went in one ear and out the other for me, but I think it’s a testament to the strength of Dinniman’s character work that I still get so much enjoyment out of this story despite feeling quite lost and confused the majority of the time.
For me, the core cast of the Princess Posse is still the big emotional anchor of this series, and I love how these characters are constantly growing physically stronger but then also become more emotionally vulnerable with each new challenge they have to face. Moreover, I really enjoyed how the side cast got to shine through the inclusion of some non-Carl POV chapters, and especially the presence of the previous crawlers and former cookbook authors was a true highlight of This Inevitable Ruin for me. I think this instalment really features some of the most memorable and emotionally impactful character moments in the series so far, which is exactly what kept me hooked amidst all the intense, overwhelming action.
Now, anyone who is still saying that DCC is just a fun easy breezy braincandy read is just straight-up lying. Dinniman is juggling a shit ton of balls at this point in the series, and it’s grown so far beyond the zany, comedic litRPG romp that it started out as in book 1 (even if some of the crude, zany humour is more hysterical than ever before). I mean, my brain really had to work, and I was not totally ready for it.
We’ve got world building and political intrigue more complex than most epic fantasies I’ve read, and the level of emotional torture and skin-crawling gore is more disturbing than anything I have seen in any horror book before, but somehow it kinda works? Also, the rogue AI who just gets more and more diabolically unhinged as it breaks its bonds remains one of my favourite aspects of this series, even if it also scares the shit out of me sometimes.
And sure, there were definitely moments where I felt the excessively long page count of This Inevitable Ruin and got a bit exhausted trying to process it all, but luckily Jeff Hays’ engrossing narration just carried me through anyway. That said, as much as I enjoy these phenomenal audiobooks, I think I really need to do an eyeball re-read/immersion read one day to take in all the intricate details of this story that have gone over my head and to fully appreciate Dinniman’s wild imagination and incredible storytelling skills.
Ultimately, the highs of This Inevitable Ruin more than outweigh the ‘lows’ for me (if we can even call it lows, they’re more just little personal preference quibbles), and I am so invested at this point that I will happily devour anything DCC related. I can’t believe I have to wait for the next instalment now, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. This series is an absolute shitshow, and I love it all the more for it.
