Carl is outside in his boxers trying to get his girlfriend’s cat out of a tree when everything with a roof on the planet is destroyed and the smaller number of survivors are made to compete in an intergalactic dungeon game similar to D&D. If this sounds kind of dumb, I described it correctly; it’s kind of dumb. It’s also fairly entertaining and has a good amount of heart. People who have played any sort of role playing game, like World Of Warcraft, will probably be extra amused.
I appreciate that hot take. First books, IMO, tend to be more formulaic. I’m currently reading and on book 5, and there’s been a number of times the author’s used strong vocaublary or literary devices that I’ve appreciated. The feel of the series has certainly made some adjustments, and it makes sense considering he’s at six and change years writing it at this point.