alien invasion – Mom Read It

Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman, (Aug. 2024, Ace), $30, ISBN: 9780593820247

Ages 14+

Folks, trust me on this one: it’s not listed under Teen/YA, but your gamers, your tabletop fans, your D&D crowd, your SFF readers, all will love this straight up hilarious, wild ride. Originally self-published, Penguin Random House finally got hold of this series and now we can all rejoice that it’s available on more shelves.

It’s the apocalypse, kinda: Carl is a guy going through a break-up when the world ends. No, literally: he’s in a tree, trying to catch his ex’s prize-winning show cat, when he sees his building just… crumbles. Every building is gone, and whoever’s left learns, via a message in the sky, that they’re the newest contestants on an intergalactic game show. Think Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets Running Man, and you’re on the right track. Carl enters a tunnel with Princess Donut – of course, he’s taking the cat with him – and learns that the two have to survive a fantasy-type dungeon, complete with power-ups, monsters, and other humans. And Princess Donut can talk now. Dungeon Crawler Carl is nonstop adventure with moments both gross and laugh-out-loud hysterical. Carl isn’t some meathead, blundering his way through a dungeon, nor is he super nerd guy; he’s an ordinary guy trying to keep himself, his cat, and maybe another couple of humans alive until the next level, at least. The book is part of a the LitRPG subgenre, with gamelike elements and full character awareness powering the narrative. I loved this book and can’t wait for the next two – luckily, Carl’s Doomsday Scenario just pubbed last week, and The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook is coming in October.

Last Pick: Born to Run, by Jason Walz, (Oct. 2019, First Second), $17.99, ISBN: 9781626728936

Ages 10+

In last year’s first volume of Last Pick, we encountered an earth under occupation by aliens who dragged anyone deemed “useful” away to an unknown fate, leaving the very young, very old, and disabled to endure the aliens’ cruel rule on earth. Sam and Wyatt, twin siblings, were separated when Sam was taken; Wyatt, her special needs brother, was left behind, and has since gone to work embedding himself with a resistance group of survivors: the very young, the very old, the disabled, the angry, the fed-up. Operating under moniker “Bird One” they find ways to throw casual little wrenches into the aliens’ day-to-day operations, and have something bigger in the works. Meanwhile, Sam is laboring offworld with the other imprisoned humans, forced into terrorizing other alien races in their overlords’ quest to rule. The only bright spot in her days is Mia, a fellow prisoner, whom Sam finds herself developing feelings for.

Most of this installment’s story works with Sam and his resistance group, including his own crush, a deaf girl named Harper, and a burgeoning alliance with one of the aliens. The aliens here are cruel, yet amusing because they’re so influenced by American pop culture, particularly Westerns. (Interesting: Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Osama bin Laden all loved American Westerns. Coincidence?) The resistance is ragtag, but never count anyone out: it’s the aliens’ overconfidence and belief that the survivors are “useless” that leaves them ripe for a butt-kicking by Bird One. Jason Walz is a solid storyteller, continuing to build on the world(s) he created in the Last Pick’s volume one. The storyline stays strong, developing characters introduced in the first book and bringing in new characters. There are unexpected alliances and underdog heroes, with something to appeal to everyone.

Both volumes in the Last Pick trilogy have starred reviews from Kirkus. Sci-fi fans, dystopian fans, and adventure fans will love this story.

Tag: alien invasion

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Trust me, it’s a YA Crossover

Last Pick: Born to Run continues the alien invasion story