For those looking for something a little out there, I highly recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman. This book is part of a sub-genre of Fantasy called LitRPG. The description sounds crazy and the series is nuts, but super fun to read, with many laugh-out-loud moments. LitRPG books take the form of a role-playing game. If you've read Ready Player One, that is a prime example. In this case, our main character is Carl. He's watching his ex-girlfriend's cat one night when the cat, Princess Donut, gets out the window. Carl runs out of the apartment to chase after Donut and while they're outside, aliens collapse every structure on the planet. The only people to survive are folks that were outside at the time. The aliens invite the survivors to participate in the elaborate dungeon crawl they've set up below the earth's surface. In Hunger Games style, the dungeon crawl is televised throughout the galaxy. Here's the description from Amazon in case mine doesn't make sense:
The apocalypse will be televised!
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.
Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.
