Winging It on the Iron Tangle

Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo are joined by their new teammate, Katia, on the fourth floor. The Iron Tangle is a maze of subways and railroad stations underground. Not only do Carl and the gang have to figure out which stop leads to the exit, but they now have targets on their back. What’s worse is that Mordecai got put in time-out for his violent behavior, which leaves the gang without a source of information for most of the game. How are Carl and the gang going to survive without Mordecai’s help?

What was it like for Carl and the others not to have Mordecai’s advice during the game? It forced the group to improvise things on their own. One of the big ideas that Carl had was to create a massive text group with as many crawlers as possible, so that they could keep track of monsters and safe areas in the game. It helped create a collective of people focused on survival and sharing their information. It helped Carl and the other crawlers realize that working in groups toward a common goal was better for their survival than facing the dungeon alone.

Carl realizes that working together for a common goal was threatened in his group. Katia had informed Carl that Princess Donut got a backstabbing prize for her and Carl, and she is worried that Princess Donut is going to use it to kill them. Even though Carl was scared to talk to Princess Donut about it, she assuaged his fears by informing Carl that she got rid of the prize for hurting him and Katia, and that she values loyalty above everything else. It was at that point that Carl realized how much Princess Donut had grown during the game. She has developed analytical skills and can express herself better than expected. It makes Carl realize that he can trust Princess Donut no matter what and that she feels the same way about him. 

In regard to trust, Carl and the gang distrust the company behind the game even more: Borant Corporation. First, they got rid of their publicist, Zev, in order to reeducate her and reassigned them to a stricter publicist who limits their freedom of speech and that of other journalists as well. They also find out how cheap the game is. For example, the corporation didn’t have enough money or manpower to help clear the trains that crashed on the railway. It just causes more crashes and builds up along the track. 

The Borant Corporation’s cheapness also affected the NPCs. They would erase the NPCs’ memories and implant new ones to make sure the NPCs continuously work on the rail lines and not take breaks. It was heartbreaking to see NPCs like Madison and Brandy come to the realization that none of their lives were real. It is exploitative. Borant doesn’t care about the mental and physical well-being of their workers.

Overall, I really liked the book. It is one of my favorite books this year because the world-building is fascinating. We learn more about Borant Corporation and their shady business practices. It makes you wonder if they are going to be able to continue the game or have to forfeit due to money issues. I also love the character development of Princess Donut and Carl. Princess Donut is learning how to think and express herself more. Carl is using his ingenuity more by creating a messaging system so that Crawlers have a better chance of survival. He realizes that he can’t save everyone, but he still wants to try to even the odds for his fellow survivors. I can’t wait to read what happens next!