You Will Not Break Me

Carl, Princess Donut, Katia, and Mongo are back in The Gate of the Feral Gods. They have entered the fifth level. All the crawlers have been broken up into different bubble cities. Each bubble has four levels. Each level has to be conquered for the bubble around the city to be popped and enter the stairwell for the next level. Carl and the gang like working in groups, but their plans hit a snag. The other crawlers in his bubble are extremely behind in experience and level points. As the levels grow harder, will the dungeon finally break Carl, or does he have a couple of aces up his sleeve?

One of the things that I have loved in this series is how the characters have grown during their experience in the dungeon. The last book dealt with Carl trying desperately to save everyone. However, in this book he realizes that he can’t save everyone and focuses on those he can save, which is a hard pill to swallow. He tries to instead focus on the people that he can reach. He trained the crawlers in his bubble and used the chat feature to coordinate with other crawlers on how to escape danger or offer NPCs and crawlers his safe room as a place to hide. 

However, we see that Carl’s personality takes a dark turn. He takes more and more advice from The Anarchist Cookbook, which has the notes from previous crawlers. Due to the book, he is making bolder plans and carrying out crazy stunts that could get himself and others killed. He is also taking a stand against the Borant Corporation. In the last few books, Carl has constantly chanted, “You will not break me.” He hates how the corporation is treating all the crawlers and NPCs, and does different acts to craftily try to take down the industry. He realizes it will be difficult and dangerous, but he is adamant about making Borant pay.  

We also see changes in Princess Donut. We see her becoming more intelligent with each passing book. She uses her charisma to charm everyone who is around her, helps with planning attacks, and learns to socialize with other crawlers outside of her group. She also has high emotional intelligence. She is able to tell when there is something wrong with Carl and confront him about it. 

The reality show aspect of the dungeon crawl is very enlightening. The crawlers’ lives are monitored 24/7 except for when they are in the bathroom, which means they hardly have a moment to themselves to express their thoughts freely without repercussions. Carl and Princess Donut face censorship with their new PR agent while Zev is gone. She is constantly in their ear about how they portray themselves and making sure they say nothing bad about Borant Corporation. They are forced into marketing products for the Borant Corporation and have to promote the company line about the product instead of giving their real opinion (Princess Donut’s reaction to having a doll made in her image was hilarious). The crawlers in general are forced into storylines planned by Borant and the AI system against their will.

The book is an entertaining commentary on reality television today. Many reality shows are scripted. They have producers behind the scenes instigating fights with groups of people in order to create storylines. Also, reality stars have sponsorships and deals to help promote their show, which mirrors Carl’s and Princess Donut’s situation in the book. It makes you wonder how much of reality shows is real or fake in the book and in life as well. 

Overall, I really liked the book. Seeing Carl and Princess Donut’s growth is amazing. It makes me wonder, with Carl setting his sights on a dark and dangerous action, if Princess Donut will stay along for the ride or find his plans too crazy and leave. I am excited to read book five to see the crazy shenanigans that Carl and the others get into next.