I started the book yesterday and I’m about 20% in. While it is entertaining, I am wondering if it just keeps going on in the vein of finding a scary creature, killing it in a gross way, and a short time of safety before it starts all over again. I can see the appeal for a lot of readers, but I think I need more of a personal and human emotional element. The main emotions here have been fear and relief. Do deeper emotions come into play or is it pretty much simply a video game/hunger games mashup? I’m just trying to figure out if it is a book for me or if I should cut my losses and move on.
Edited to clarify.
by Imaginary_Ladder_917
12 Comments
> I think I need more of a personal and human emotional element. The main emotions here have been fear and relief. Does more of that come into play
That’s a “yes.” Read it or not, but it’s a hell of a series.
There is a lot of fear/relief, but elements of the worldbuilding, lore and scope continue to progress. I have found it interesting gaining context and understanding of the world. But I also think it’s amusing too.
I was on the fence about continuing after Book 1. Felt the same way. That was fun and entertaining, but 6 more books of it?? I continued and reached a point where I knew I was going to binge read the whole series. Without revealing too much, the cat gets less annoying and the characters to develop where you have an emotional connection to them. It takes time though. The books get better and better.
I DNF’ed it about 80% of the way through because it really is kind of the same thing over and over. It’s like if a video game was a book. It was funny and clever, just not for me.
Yes, keep going, especially with the other books. There is a much larger story going on with personal and human emotional elements. It really ramps up in Book 2 and 3
Your recommendation is not very enthusiastic! If you get tired of Carl, consider The Murderbot Diaries, which I’ve found entertaining and fun in between heavier reading/ listening.
When I was young, I was a purist about finishing every book I started. But time is our finite resource. You have 168 hours per week, and maybe 4,000 weeks if you are lucky. And I don’t owe my time to a book that isn’t right for me. So I generally give a book an hour or maybe fifty pages, and if it isn’t pulling me in or speaking to me, I stop and move on to a different book. Some books that I think I should like, I set aside and try again in a few years. Others, I get back in circulation so their readers can find them.
So I didn’t know if I should finish the first book. It was okay, pretty humorous, but not really blowing me away. As it goes on, it build relationships between characters and pulls back to reveal more of the world and a larger narrative emerges than just survive the dungeon.
If you’re entertained and enjoying it, keep going. If you’re finding it a chore or a slog to read, it’s ok to stop. Life is too short and there are too many good books to keep reading something you’re not enjoying.
NO! It is awful.
I’ve read almost every book in the series. They are exactly how you describe. Find bad guy, kill in very gross way. Get New magic item. Find next bad guy.
Books 5 and 6 seemed like they were literally copy and pasted from each other. Or maybe it was 4 and 5. It’s hard to tell the books apart because they’re all nearly identical.
Book one is a lot of that. Book two onwards more of the bog story comes in and it gets amazing
No, I think this series will be a waste of your time. Characters dying are the emotional bits some commenters here are talking about. Its pure entertainment. I finished the first book, and may pick up the second, only because Im intrigued about the overall goings-on with this tournament and big company and such.