Tag: book intro

First Lines Friday – 11/09/2026

Posted on by

First Lines Friday… but fun. That’s today’s spec, per my Sunday Summary update. When I published that, I had absolutely no idea what to post. Honestly, until I started looking tonight, I still didn’t! 😂 In terms of book selection, I couldn’t pick anything too serious. Honestly, that criteria rules out my reading list. I don’t have anything light-hearted or humorous left. There wasn’t much to begin with, to be fair. That’s not my style of reading… 

However, I’ve been hearing about a series that fits the bill. I read and reviewed something somewhat similar last month. So, I think there’s a good chance I might enjoy this series. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s take a look at book one in today’s First Lines Friday, and hopefully my idea of fun is the same as yours! 

The transformation occurred at approximately 2:23am, Pacific Standard Time. As far as I could tell, anyone who was indoors when it happened died instantly. If you had any sort of roof over you, you were dead. That included people in cars, airplanes, subways. Even tents and cardboard boxes. Hell, probably umbrellas, too. Though I’m not so sure about that one. 

I’m not gonna lie. You guys who were inside, probably warm and asleep and dreaming about some random bullshit? I’m jealous. You’re the lucky ones. You were just gone. Splattered into dust during the transformation. 

Dungeon Crawler Carl – Matt Dinniman 

Genre: Contemporary fantasy 

Pages: 446

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Dandy House

Publication Date: 02 Oct 2020

Goodreads – Dungeon Crawler Carl

The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series—now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

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.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

My Thoughts…

LitRPG fantasy meets humour in Dungeon Crawler Carl. I confess, I’ve been reading great things about this book and series lately, but been largely ignorant of the idea behind the series. It’s only that it keeps popping up in my feed from other content creators that I thought I’d nose at the book and see if it met my intended criteria. 

With a Coast Guard veteran and a talking Persian cat for protagonists, it’s clear this book doesn’t take itself too seriously. The plot is ridiculous and outlandish, but why the heck not?! 

I recently enjoyed reading Dungeons and Dimwits, a book heavily inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and also very light-hearted and funny. My enjoyment of the gaming overlap with that book makes me confident I’ll enjoy Dungeon Crawler Carl. I have also read that the two protagonists have a fun dynamic between the two. Princess Donut (for avoidance of doubt, the Persian prize-winning cat) has the type of personality commonly attributed to cats and one I can appreciate. She takes no messing. Does what she wants, doesn’t care if you don’t like it. 

Although funny, my research indicates this book does have a dark sense of humour and can be taken as a micky-take of society as it is now. 

So, right up my alley! The question is, is it yours? Have you read Dungeon Crawler Carl? If so, let me know your thoughts either way – I’d love to hear more about this series! 

signature

Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | Goodreads | Threads | YouTube

First Lines Friday – 12/06/2026

Posted on by

***Today’s First Lines Friday contains an affiliate link to Amazon if you wish to purchase today’s featured book. If you follow this link, I will earn a small commission from that purchase at no cost to you. 

If you wish to obtain a copy of the book based on this post, I would really appreciate you following this link and showing my content some support by making your purchase.***

 

In today’s First Lines Friday, I’m specifically looking to feature a book on my physical, unread TBR. In last week’s Sunday Summary, I set out my intention to look through my bookshelves for such a book.

There’s a wide spectrum of genres and authors on the list. I had no agenda in terms of any particular book to feature. Rather, I nosed through what I had until I found something interesting. 

I’m pleased with today’s pick. It’s a pretty topical non-fiction, and I’m keen to get to it soon whilst it’s still relevant. 

Let’s take a look at the opening, then check out the details of the book! 

 

After picking up this book and reading these first few words, you might be wondering if a human wrote them.

That’s okay. I’m not offended.

Two years ago, that thought would not have even crossed your mind. But today, machines are generating articles, books, illustrations, and computer code that seem indistinguishable from the content created by people. Remember the “novel-writing machine” in the dystopian future of George Orwell’s 1984 and his “versificator” that wrote popular music? Those things exist now, and the change happened so fast it’s given the public whiplash, leaving us wondering whether today’s office workers will have jobs in the next year or two. Millions of white-collar professionals suddenly look vulnerable. Talented young illustrators are wondering if they should bother going to art school. 

 

 

Supremacy – Parmy Olson 

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 336

Audience: Adult

Publisher: St Martin’s Press

Publication Date: 10 Sept 2024

 

Goodreads – Supremacy

Amazon Purchase Link 

 

When ChatGPT was released, the world changed overnight. Even as we all played with the new toy, a very real danger was quickly coming to light: that untested automations would undermine our way of life insidiously, sucking value out of our economy, replacing high-level creative jobs and enabling a new, terrifying era of disinformation.

It was never meant to be this way. The founders of the two companies behind the most advanced AIs in existence – Open AI (ChatGPT) and DeepMind (Bard) – started their journeys determined to solve humanity’s greatest problems. But they couldn’t develop their technologies without huge amounts of money – money that Microsoft and Google were more than happy to give them, in exchange for the most powerful seats at the table.

From award-winning journalist Parmy Olson, Supremacy is the astonishing, untold, behind-the-scenes story of the battle between two AI companies, their struggles to use their tech for good, and the dangerous direction that they’re now going in. Featuring a cast of larger-than-life characters, including Elon Musk, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Peter Thiel, Supremacy is a story of manipulation, exploitation, secrecy and of ruthless, relentless human progress – progress that will impact all of us for years to come.

 

My Thoughts…

A book around AI and the race between two huge companies to commercialise the new technology is a very topical read. With this in mind, I’m keen to pick up Supremacy by Parmy Olson whilst its message is still culturally relevant. Especially as technology moves on so fast, the topic quickly falls out of current events and into history in the blink of an eye. 

I’m interested in this book from two angles. The first is the business aspect of both Microsoft and Google competing with each other to get to market, or provide a better product, first. The second is from the perspective of wanting to learn about AI. How did two tech giants endeavour to make such a huge project? If you have played with artificial intelligence in any way, shape or form, you’ll see that it’s already pretty comprehensive. Sure, it still has its flaws, and it should be taken with a pinch of salt. However, when you consider the scope of knowledge of the average person versus what information is at your fingertips now using tool like ChatGPT or DeepMind, it’s impressive stuff. 

Personally, I’m not so sure the likes of AI will threaten jobs as much as this book suggests. I can only hope it is a scaremonger and that AI becomes a tool to make our jobs easier, rather than a tool to replace humans. Jobs will look different for many, but not become absent in all cases. 

I’m also excited to dive into this topical read as it’s a book on my physical TBR. I’m making an effort to get through my physical bookshelf and therefore that makes Supremacy an ideal candidate to pick up soon.

Have you read Supremacy or any other AI non-fiction books lately? If so, do you have any recommendations? If you are intrigued to read Supremacy with me, don’t forget you can use this link to grab a copy for yourself.

Thanks for reading today’s First Lines Friday!

signature

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Threads| YouTube