This one was a little bit harder for me to actually put together. I'm going to contradict myself a little bit here. I actually think this is a better book than Doomsday Scenario, which I gave a four to. If I were to go back and restructure all my reviews, I would probably drop Doomsday to a three star as well. But I don't do that, so this is landing firmly at a three. It falls exactly into my Valid tier.
I know we're coming to the end of this series. The author said we're looking at two more books to finish it up, and I foresee books nine and ten being one complete final arc. That means this book is a lot of setup. A lot of getting ready for the next thing. The pacing is kind of breakneck in the beginning in terms of what's going on, but there isn't a lot of substance. It takes a while, but true to form, the last 150-ish pages are where things get real and you go, whoa, okay, this is what we were here for. But even that wild finish feels like it's mostly there to set up the next book.
This book is definitely a needed change of pace from the sprawl of Faction Wars. We needed a contained, direct floor, and we got exactly that. The core setup is essentially Twisted Metal mixed with Mario Kart. You are racing to the finish, and if you lose, you either die or get really impeded for the next race.
Because of the design, the heats are quick. It didn't feel as connected to the emotional side as other things we've seen. However, you do still get some great setup with the people they meet along the way, and you really see how these characters are grasping with morality and how far they have to go.
The endgame has officially begun. We're getting massive lore drops regarding the AI and the reality of the level bosses. We also finally get a look at how the galactic audience and the sponsors are handling the chaos. Watching the wider universe react to the fact that they are losing control of their own twisted TV show adds a great layer of tension.
But the execution of the lore is a mixed bag. The title of the book, A Parade of Horribles, refers to something that happens, and they use it to just flat out tell you what is going on. It's cool because now we know exactly what's happening, but it's not really that creative. In previous books, there were better ways we figured things out if you just put the pieces together. And the pieces are definitely there in this book. If you pay attention to the little side conversations, you can still piece together what's going to happen. Just smacking you in the face with a direct explanation was only okay.
That's not the only place the storytelling felt a little too convenient this book. Way back when they got to pick their character races, Carl chose Primal. Primal is now center stage of everything going on, and it's not being mentioned at all. Like, hello? Are we not supposed to remember that? It was kind of a big deal when he picked it. Now we're hearing all these things about the Primals, and no one is talking about the fact that Carl is one. Kind of weird. I'm sure it's going to come to the forefront in the finale, but it's annoying right now.
The heavy lifting with me liking this book is the characters. After seven previous books, you're going to love Carl and Princess Donut. They're still the core of this, but everyone around them shines too. Louis, the strippers, Samantha, Elle, and Imani are all great. Prepotente is a pretty big part of the group now, and it's incredibly rewarding to watch him and Carl continue to get closer as Prepotente gives in more and more.
Mordecai is feeling the heat too. He is usually the anchor, but with the endgame approaching and the floor moving so fast, you can feel how much the stress is getting to him. We're really narrowing down the cast in this one. With the endgame approaching, it feels like we are stripping things back to a core group, which is definitely needed so we can actually focus in the proper ways.
The problem with the story getting this big is that we are so enveloped in this world now. A lot of the little things that people love about this series are kind of missing. We are not getting as many achievements or gamey situations. I get it because of where we are, but some of that stuff is missed.
Also, a lot of the things that Carl has in his inventory and that these people have just picked up have gone by the wayside. You know they are all going to come back. You have to be paying attention. But it feels like those non-exploratory elements are being purposely held close to the chest for the next two books.
There is nothing standalone about this book. You absolutely cannot walk into this without full context. It might be one of my least favorites structurally because it is so heavily focused on setting the board, but it delivers the exact lore needed to start closing out the series. Even with my gripes about the info dumps, I am still all in. I definitely recommend it for everyone who is already along for this ride.
