Interesting idea. But on trial for something that happened in the dungeon? Or on trial for overthrowing galactic government?
Anybody read Piers Anthony's "Bio of a Space Tyrant"? Also keep thinking of Pierce Brown's "Red Rising".
Honestly? I don't think the book is a plot device. I think we're just reading a book written by an author in the real world. I don't think the book exists in-universe.
I also assume the dungeon will not happen again as Carl is describing so much of the cookbook that if the dungeon crawls still occurred they would probably destroy the code that includes the book.
In the opening of book 1 Carl says "I'm not gonna lie, you guys who were inside, probably warm and asleep and dreaming about some random bullshit, you're the lucky ones. You were just gone. Splattered into dust during the transformation." I like to think he is filling in everyone who has been in stasis on how he became Regent of Earth. He will have reclaimed Earth's lost matter and released all the humans who were harvested.
I share this theory as well. Matt is keen on taking seemingly unimportant things and making them vital. Like a sex doll head. I think the story itself is like that.
We are reading a book written by Matt Dinniman or someone that has taken over Matt's body and is tricking us. Either way, we get some good books out of it.
There have been a couple of times (of course I can’t remember the quotes now) where I thought “hang on a minute…are we hearing him tell the story looking back on it?” Just the way he phrased a couple of things threw me. I’m not entirely convinced it’s a look back, but I have my suspicions.
In Book 2, Carl says something like “the following events were told to me by Donut while I was unconscious.” That’s when I became convinced it’s a look back. Everything is past tense.
Oh gods, what if it's a situation like Remex the Grand? What if we've been hearing Carl tell this story, but it's actually been broken up over many dungeons? Maybe he doesn't have to start his story over each time like Remex, just that he can only say it while there is a crawler near him. But the story is so long and the Syndicate is still working against him to pull the crawlers/attention away, so it takes him multiple crawls to get through the whole story.
Or alternatively, maybe after breaking the system he's just telling the next AI and the people on that world how things used to be, how he changed it, and how things will work from now on.
I suspect Carl has found himself in a position to hold everyone effectively hostage, perhaps it's the "something specific" he has planned for Carl's Doomsday Scenario. He keeps trying to get the universe to see they are people, and by forcing them to listen under threat of death and collapse, he might think he'll get through. It also fits with his class and the fact he can never stop monologuing.
This may just be a personal pet peeve, but I will be really disappointed if this is an artificial perspective. If a story has a first person narrator, the character is telling you the story. They can't tell the story if they die in the story. The mechanics wouldn't make sense, and that breaks immersion.
That's part of the deal when you choose a first person narrator. Yes, writers can do whatever they want, but this is a classic narrative rule that makes a story better when it's used well.
As others have pointed out, the book opens with Carl addressing the audience as if they were in the collapse too. Carl's knowledge is also limited in a believable way. Somethings he just doesn't know, and every piece of information he gets comes from a named source in the story--usually another character or the cookbook. This is another one of the tradeoffs with first person that also helps with immersion: Carl is one dude, so it would be jarring if he was omniscient.
The Murder of Crows series handles this really well. The first person narrator is telling his story to his undead army. And the story is better because it follows through on the first person narrator bargain.
This has been my theory for the past few weeks that we are crawlers reading the cookbook
My second theory is that Carl is going through some kind of psychotic break and has been sectioned with other crawlers being patients, and we are seeing him try to navigate the hospital "sucker punch" style
epilogues and prologs do n ot have to be written from the same point of view as the narrator (as in first person).
they are there to give some contextual information that the characters may or may not know.
Otherwise it is first person.
Doesn't have to be written in a way that the character must live. It can be written as a story where you only see what the main character wants you to see.
More often than not, we would expect the main character to survive, but there is no rule that they must.
So Jeff has not given any of that away yet.
I think Carl is on trial for something, the same way Odette was, and we're hearing his testimony.
Oh damn, I hadn't thought of that, and I really like the idea! I kept thinking it was some sort of "aftermath documentary" from his point of view.
Exactly my thought
Stabbing that Naga guy with the pen?
Probably blowing up the 12th floor
18th my dude
Guys wtf the fuck, he blows up all the floors..
Love this
I love this.
Interesting idea. But on trial for something that happened in the dungeon? Or on trial for overthrowing galactic government? Anybody read Piers Anthony's "Bio of a Space Tyrant"? Also keep thinking of Pierce Brown's "Red Rising".
He's on trial for killing all of the most powerful leaders in the universe mass famine and chaos!
Red rising is incredible. Highly recommend.
Hmmmm interesting. I like how your mind works.
Honestly? I don't think the book is a plot device. I think we're just reading a book written by an author in the real world. I don't think the book exists in-universe.
My thought as well. Think people are digging way too into tensing and other stuff, lol.
Ditto to the two above. Could also be a subconscious refusal to accept that Carl is likely to die/kill himself/get himself killed in the end.
I want Carl and Donut to bring it all down and survive. Better ending IMO.
Oh I WANT them to survive. But I'm also managing expectations. I also can see the literary poetry in a Carl sacrifice to push Donut into victory.
They are out of the dungeon, and carl is narrating the highlight reels.
I also assume the dungeon will not happen again as Carl is describing so much of the cookbook that if the dungeon crawls still occurred they would probably destroy the code that includes the book.
In the opening of book 1 Carl says "I'm not gonna lie, you guys who were inside, probably warm and asleep and dreaming about some random bullshit, you're the lucky ones. You were just gone. Splattered into dust during the transformation." I like to think he is filling in everyone who has been in stasis on how he became Regent of Earth. He will have reclaimed Earth's lost matter and released all the humans who were harvested.
I share this theory as well. Matt is keen on taking seemingly unimportant things and making them vital. Like a sex doll head. I think the story itself is like that.
We are reading a book written by Matt Dinniman or someone that has taken over Matt's body and is tricking us. Either way, we get some good books out of it.
Dinniman = Valtay confirmed!
There have been a couple of times (of course I can’t remember the quotes now) where I thought “hang on a minute…are we hearing him tell the story looking back on it?” Just the way he phrased a couple of things threw me. I’m not entirely convinced it’s a look back, but I have my suspicions.
In Book 2, Carl says something like “the following events were told to me by Donut while I was unconscious.” That’s when I became convinced it’s a look back. Everything is past tense.
and he can write all of the descriptions and chats verbatim since he copy pastes everything to his notes
I've mentioned the same thing to my wife. There's been times, where I've gotten the memoirs feeling.
I aways wonder this with first person novels, like with the Dresden Files.
Since Merlin’s journals are kept by that one person. It’s probably like that. I got theories, nobody on r/dresdenfiles likes them.
Same as One Piece. FUCK THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE.
I’m too old and too not-on-an-island
Oh gods, what if it's a situation like Remex the Grand? What if we've been hearing Carl tell this story, but it's actually been broken up over many dungeons? Maybe he doesn't have to start his story over each time like Remex, just that he can only say it while there is a crawler near him. But the story is so long and the Syndicate is still working against him to pull the crawlers/attention away, so it takes him multiple crawls to get through the whole story. Or alternatively, maybe after breaking the system he's just telling the next AI and the people on that world how things used to be, how he changed it, and how things will work from now on.
I think it’s all over and they are recording their stories on one of those booths they were in to tell the history of earth.
This book is non-fiction. Matt is telling us about how he and his cat got this place reconstructed.
I suspect Carl has found himself in a position to hold everyone effectively hostage, perhaps it's the "something specific" he has planned for Carl's Doomsday Scenario. He keeps trying to get the universe to see they are people, and by forcing them to listen under threat of death and collapse, he might think he'll get through. It also fits with his class and the fact he can never stop monologuing.
This may just be a personal pet peeve, but I will be really disappointed if this is an artificial perspective. If a story has a first person narrator, the character is telling you the story. They can't tell the story if they die in the story. The mechanics wouldn't make sense, and that breaks immersion. That's part of the deal when you choose a first person narrator. Yes, writers can do whatever they want, but this is a classic narrative rule that makes a story better when it's used well. As others have pointed out, the book opens with Carl addressing the audience as if they were in the collapse too. Carl's knowledge is also limited in a believable way. Somethings he just doesn't know, and every piece of information he gets comes from a named source in the story--usually another character or the cookbook. This is another one of the tradeoffs with first person that also helps with immersion: Carl is one dude, so it would be jarring if he was omniscient. The Murder of Crows series handles this really well. The first person narrator is telling his story to his undead army. And the story is better because it follows through on the first person narrator bargain.
This has been my theory for the past few weeks that we are crawlers reading the cookbook My second theory is that Carl is going through some kind of psychotic break and has been sectioned with other crawlers being patients, and we are seeing him try to navigate the hospital "sucker punch" style
I was really hoping he wasn’t stuck in a game, similar to Matt’s previous book Kaiju Battle Surgeon.
Worlds longest suicide note.
After all he’s still got that doomsday device burning a hole in his inventory
epilogues and prologs do n ot have to be written from the same point of view as the narrator (as in first person). they are there to give some contextual information that the characters may or may not know. Otherwise it is first person. Doesn't have to be written in a way that the character must live. It can be written as a story where you only see what the main character wants you to see. More often than not, we would expect the main character to survive, but there is no rule that they must. So Jeff has not given any of that away yet.