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The first boss fight really bugged me. I think the series has a lot going on that people overlook, though, including self-avowed fans... much like there's a lot of right wing "fans" of Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. Now that DCC is as political as them, but you know.

oh idk, DCC is pretty political??? like I'm sure there are lots of people who read it without noticing. A Federalist Society member also once told Courtney that the Beyond books were her favorite. Lots of people miss the point. 🤣

It has some pretty specific stuff to say but also I felt while reading it that Dinniman was pulling punches a fair amount of the time. Although if we want to discuss "books that are political????" apparently Andy Weir thinks his books, including "Project Hail Mary," which involves all the

Exactly my experience, and I just started book 5 lol. I think book 1 was clumsy in a lot of ways, but the series really finds itself.

Judging by the "when is book 2 coming out" date at the end of the audio, these first ones were written quite a while ago so it's actually pretty interesting (?) that our current tech overlords/AI nightmare hellscape has only made the political commentary increasingly awkwardly on point.

I can absolutely see how people are both enjoying them just as fun books without thinking about them that deeply, but also how there is a lot to discuss within them about the Hunger Games-esque nightmare of our current reality.

also now I've read a book by a man in 2026 so stop calling me a misandrist.

The further you go in them, the more the story is about something else - the Hunger Games sort of aspect becomes unavoidable and there is some amount of 'what does it mean to be a person'. It feels around book 4/5, there is a significant turn in where the story is going.

I’ve seen a decent number of people bounce off the series because of the first part of book one, and yeah, that first boss fight does just feel sort of mean at first. Without adding spoilers, the purpose of it all does become clear pretty quickly after that.

We were talking about it in the group chat, and I feel like if the gym bro had been first I would have responded to it entirely differently. Also the narration added a layer of "do I have to listen to men talk like this in my own kitchen" that was hard to tolerate in 2026. LOL

The first book feels like a critique/parody of reality TV to me. Although I might have a different perspective if I re-read it now that I'm up-to-date in the series. The entire series is about imperialism, appropriation, and resource exploitation.

honestly, I feel like all of those themes are pretty strongly there in the first book too! (or maybe I just think too much lol)

Very possible. It's been a hot minute since I read it and he starts hitting you over the head with them more and there's less of the reality tv aspect as time goes on.