There were some points during this story that I was a bit confused about how the trains worked. But then there was this line from Carl in the book, “It felt like the person who designed this let it get away from them a little. I hoped the same person wasn’t in charge of designing the 5th floor.” This line made me laugh out loud because I felt like it was the author, acknowledging that it was complicated and also joking because he is also in charge of designing the next floor.
I love it when one character speaks for the reader and says, “I don’t get it. What does that even mean?” Then another character explains it more clearly and it all makes sense. So clever! The way the author uses Katia and Carl to explain the rail system felt so natural. It honestly made me appreciate the writing that much more.
Overall, I really like how much the other characters started to shine in their own rights. The way their personalities and habits have been developed over time, across this series, has made them feel so real and memorable. And of course the narration really brings this story to life. I continue to be amazed at how many different voices Jeff Hays can pull off.
In this book we are getting a better sense of the political machinations outside the game – no spoilers.
Finally, the “commercial” at the end, after the epilogue, made me laugh. We got to hear a little bit of Donut’s speech on cockerspaniels, recognizable snippets from the other Crawlers, and Carl, reading “some guy’s blog about audiobooks.” Very meta and amusing.