Each floor of the dungeon in this series has a unique theme and rule set, and this is true for both floors included in this book, the 10th and 11th. The 10th is a racing format where the crawlers are split up and competing in insane race stages against teams of NPCs, and sometimes each other. Each race has a different rule set and severe consequences for anyone who comes in last. This is a complicated set up that can be difficult to follow at times, but it is offset a bit by the 11th floor, which is the titular Parade of Horribles, and is a rather simple concept. The AI that runs the dungeon continues to become more unstable, and external political forces also get involved to make this one of the most chaotic books in the series, and that is saying something. So has the story remained compelling, or has this series finally jumped the shark?

Are you ready for the Whateverpocalypse? These seven definitely weren’t. One morning two Harvard freshmen, one of them blind, an ex-con turned hermit preacher, a young office worker, a suburban juvenile delinquent, an rpg gamer, and an astrophysicist working at MIT find themselves all alone in a changed Boston. Boston is falling into ruin covered in wild vegetation and wandering wildlife while the weather moves from one extreme to another. They struggle to survive while seeking answers, but what little they find makes no sense and the whole time they have the uncanny feeling that they are not alone.

Koli and his companions finally arrive at the source of the signal they have been searching for, and in no way are they prepared for what they find. Sailing through the fog and coming upon what initially appears to be a giant metal wall in the water turns out to be a carrier ship larger than anything they could imagine. This ship, Sword of Albion, is a giant warship, yet it is inhabited by only a few people, and they are strange indeed. Lorraine and Paul Banner, who both appear to be friendly, and their son Stanley, who appears to be quite mean and very erratic. Paul is clearly a military man who expects to run an orderly ship and Lorraine appears to be a loving Mom doing her best to prevent her mischievous son from getting into hot water with his antics, yet it is obvious to Koli that something is not right with the lot of them. Lorraine is are also very interested in having Ursala upgrade her medical diagnostic unit so she can treat Stanley and correct some kind of genetic problem. Not sure if they are guests or prisoners, Koli and crew need to sort out the truth of the situation, or die trying...

Meet Adam. Actually, his name was originally something like Urrr but he’s going by Adam when we meet him, hungover and stuck behind a futon. You pictured a mysterious guy cleverly hiding a katana under a trench coat? Sorry to disappoint, but Adam’s just an average looking guy who drinks too much and occasionally remembers the good old days when fire was the latest invention. Unfortunately for Adam, it’s a lot harder to disappear in this modern world and scientists, cultists, and various mythological/supernatural others are tracking him down while he pursues an elusive woman who might also be immortal. Just like The Highlander franchise, present day action mixes with Adam’s memories of ancient times in these adventures.

Hell Divers has always been one of my favorite popcorn sci-fi series, one that definitely needs to be turned into a video game and/or TV series, but I must admit the premise is kind of ridiculous. Humanity turns the Earth into a nuclear wasteland (the most believable part) and the only survivors live in airships that fly above the nuclear storms, having done so for 250 years. It's a stretch to believe but I was willing to accept it for the insane environment it created for story telling. It worked really well, delivering an excellent series, even if it was a tad drawn out. Now Nicholas Sansbury Smith goes back in time and gives us a prequel that explains how and why the Earth was destroyed, and the role that ITC played in the whole affair. Does he finally offer us enough insight to make this whole premise believable?

The 12th book of the Cradle series finally completes Lindon's journey, which started long ago with Unsouled. Originally branded as someone incapable of becoming a sacred artist, Lindon's fate was impacted by one of the Abidan who set him on this path. But where does this path end? His decision to take on both the Dreadgods and the Monarchs and rid Cradle of this eternal battle may be more than he can handle. The remaining Monarchs have named Lindon a Dreadgod, and it is starting to look like that designation may be more factual than initially thought. One thing is certain, Lindon's fate will be determined in a short amount of time. He will either ascend to the heavens and join the Abidan in their war against chaos, or fail in his quest to save Cradle and become the most terrible Dreadgod of all.

Rae managed to survive the first book of the Time of Iron series, the universally hated character she inhabits originally didn't, but she greatly altered the lives of several characters including her favorite sociopath, the prophesied Emperor himself. She accidentally betrayed him to his death but it's okay because he still returned from the dead with his undead army and now plans to conquer the world with Rae as his wife. Ah true love, he doesn't trust her or believe anything Rae says but he'll decapitate anyone who insults her. Rae quickly comes to the conclusion that the sarcastic unpredictable sociopath isn't nearly as entertaining he was in the book but she feels guilty about his death and decides that finding him the right wife might help him find happiness. It might also have something to do with a god telling Rae that she's not worthy of being his wife but if she saves him from the second prophecy the god will send her back home. If she fails she'll just die horribly. If only Key knew about the second prophecy or knew what happiness was.

In The Mercy of Gods, the humans of the planet Anjiin became enslaved by the Carryx, and they didn't put up much of a fight. That's not surprising since the Carryx have been conquering other races for millennia, and their society is built on using conquered races as useful tools. If a race turns out not to be useful to the Carryx, then they simply eliminate them. Former research assistant, Daffyd Alkhor, now finds himself the leader of the human captives, but a role he achieved because he accepted captivity, to the dismay of many of the remaining humans. By betraying a group of human conspirators to the Carryx, Daffyd earned favor and established his leadership position; however, that came at a price since he alienated himself from the other captives in the process. He must now find a way to ensure that the humans remain useful to the Carryx, even though he is pretty much hated by all of them.

This series has really changed over the years and the original emphasis on Kaylin investigating crimes in a fantasy world, which usually ended with saving that world, has shifted to simply dealing with the world ending crisis. So her day job as a Hawk is mentioned mostly in regards to her absences, and mentions of the fief lord Nightshade, and her complicated feelings about him, see even fewer words than the Hawks. Until now, because Cast in Blood resurrects that story line when assassins attack Nightshade and the Lady of the Barrani with some kind of magical poison that might be a kind of Shadow. I’m remember the question at the end of book two. Will she be Erenne?

All four remaining Dreadgods have been awakened and are now rampaging across Cradle, threatening all inhabitants of the planet. As usual, it is up to the Monarchs to step up and offer protection to their citizens until the Dreadgods are once again slumbering. Unfortunately for everyone, Lindon now knows the Monarch's dirty little secret and he has concluded that the only long term solution to the Dreadgod problem is for the Monarchs to be gone from Cradle. With Eithan gone, Lindon is without his strongest ally, so how can he possibly hope to stand against both the Dreadgods and the Monarchs? Certainly not alone. But his remaining allies are not strong enough to fight Dreadgods or Monarchs, so they will need to grow in power as quickly as possible. If they do, then together they can stand as a team and do the impossible and forge a new future for Cradle.