Rating:😼
Dungeon Crawler Carl is a series by Matt Dinniman. I have the strong sense that I’ll be reading all of these - eight of them are out so far - so I’ll put some thoughts down book-by-book in this post as I go.
Book 1: Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020)#
Finished August 2026
Dungeon Crawler Carl (DCC) starts off so strong. One day at ~2am Seattle time, Carl is forced outside in a snow storm when his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, jumps out the window in the middle of the night. Carl stomps out to fetch her wearing only underwear and a leather jacket when suddenly all spaces with a roof over them, like buildings, tents, etc., collapse rapidly into the ground, crushing those within them to death.
We learn that a set of intergalactic megacorporations and an institution named the Syndicate have chosen to “reclaim” the minerals from Earth. As part of the Indigenous Planetary Species Protection Act, surviving humans are given a chance to reclaim their minerals. The Borant Corporation has chosen the reclamation option of a World Dungeon: an 18-level underground Dungeon has been constructed under Earth’s surface, and surviving humans may enter it in order to attempt to reach the bottom floor.
The World Dungeon is part of a mega-popular Survivor-like reality TV show. The dungeon is full of enemies, bosses, items, skills, crafting, level-ups, rules and dynamics, like a combination of a role-playing game like D&D and a video game like World of Warcraft. The victories and deaths of “crawlers” are broadcast to the universe. Participant view and follower counts are tracked, introducing a social-media influencer element to the whole thing as well.
Carl enters the dungeon with Princess Donut the cat, who receives an enhanced pet biscuit that gives her above-human level intelligence and the ability to speak, upgrading her from Carl’s pet to fellow dungeon crawler in Carl’s party.
From there, Carl and Donut navigate the first two floors of the dungeon, leveling up their abilities through defeating mobs, killing bosses, and gaining items. Through creative tactics like influencing a goblin horde to make them a makeshift motorbike for transport, defeating a rolling pig-ball boss through wedging it between a table and ceiling and poking it with damage-compounding throwing stars, escaping a powerful Rage Elemental through a clever teleportation scheme, and watching many of their friends and enemies die in gruesome ways, they gain a strong following and get to go on a number of game shows to discuss the game and promote their popularity.
Dinniman does an excellent job balancing the wackiness of their situation with the seriousness of the death and destruction around them. Most of the time, the book is hilarious and engaging, with Carl and Donut working together to get out of another wild situation, but there are moments of trauma and reflection throughout that ground the book in the gravity of the moment. There’s also clearly allusion to a vast set of political and corporate politics that will be sure to permeate the plot throughout the next seven books.
I loved the book! It felt like the reading equivalent of watching someone play a video game on youtube. I love Donut’s mannerisms - she’s such a pompous, curious, particular and overconfident creature, while at the same time being a total fraidy-cat. I’m excited for the following seven to come.