Real Rating: 3.25* of five

Samuel Beckett's absurdist humor meets <I>The Truman Show</I> by way of Cat Valente's <I>Space Opera</I>, but streamed on Twitch.

If any of that didn't make sense, this might not be the read for you. Wait for the TV show. They'll dumb that down.

Humor is the most difficult thing to review, since you are guaranteed not to think what makes me laugh is funny. Likewise, I'm sure. Princess Donut the cat was a sarcastic, clueless hoot. And I hate cats!

This is a video game, so you know. It didn't originate as one, but it really hit the same cultural nerve.
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Boy howdy, did Dinniman hit an artery! A TV deal with Seth MacFarlane's company is the latest...before that the book's self-published editions sold well, his Kickstarter for deluxe hardcovers went past goal. There's something here that spoke to those under forty in stentorian tones.

I think you already know if you'll like this one, and I'm here to assure you you're right.

This was such a fun book, especially as a virtual dungeon crawler myself. But I think I would have enjoyed it regardless! I love Carl and Donut - the story, loot descriptions, and dungeon bosses all made me laugh and cringe and laugh some more. I also like Carl's ability to think outside the box when he approaches challenges.
I will be reading the next one as soon as possible.

Carl does not do drama.

He goes out of his way to tell us this. But he's stuck in it anyway.

Dinniman takes a not-so-subtle chunk of Hitchhiker's Guide and leaps us into a world all his own. This book is a wild race from beginning to end, and Carl & Donut never slow down. It feels like a favorite video game. And of course, the satire is thick. I mean, who doesn't want a platinum achievement box?!

"The ghost of Steve Irwin smiles down upon you."

Of course it does.

Aliens? Apocalypse? Reality TV? A cat named Donut? What is not to like here? Rhetorical question. This series is so FUN.

The most thoroughly entertaining sci fi fantasy of my life so far- has had me snort laughing and gasping for air, but also has serious messaging on humanity and what it means to be human. Goddamnit, Princess Donut is my favorite character of all time & I’m allergic to cats!

This is such a fun read. We open up with a recently single man begrudgingly caring for his ex girlfriend's cat and an extinction level invasion hits. He has just moments to decide his path and then we go on an adventure. The indie version of this series was advertised as RPG Lit and it really is. It takes you to a video game like world with lots of fun action, traps, fights, and more (all for the pleasure of their new alien overlords). This series is being rereleased in quick succession so I'm excited to read the new expanded stories as they release.

Do you like Alice in Borderland, D&D, Squid Game, the apocalypse, a palate cleanser, and a sassy cat? Then you have to read this.

I’m so glad I picked this one up! It’s insanely fun and chaotic, blending dungeon-crawling madness with a dark sense of humor. Carl is just your everyday dude thrown into an apocalyptic game world, and his snarky commentary and relationship with his cat, Princess Donut, had me laughing out loud more times than I could count. If you love RPG elements, high-stakes survival, and a protagonist who can’t catch a break, this is a ride you don’t want to miss.

The pacing is fast, the action is constant, and you’re thrown into a mess of hilarious situations that somehow get worse (in the best way). That said, the humor might feel repetitive to some, and if you’re not into game-lit or mechanics-heavy storytelling, it can feel a bit overwhelming.

But honestly, if you’re looking for something wildly entertaining with heart, sarcasm, and a loyal, sassy feline sidekick, Dungeon Crawler Carl is a must-read.

I paired this with the Audible version, and it was amazing. The production quality and the narrators add so much value to the book, as if you’re part of the world itself.

When I first heard of the name of the book, I thought it sounded a bit weird. I also kept hearing the praises of this book everywhere so I had to read it at some point.

I had not expected the book to be as funny and characters to be as rich as they turned out to be. The world in this book is pretty much a hopeless place but somehow the author manages to keep a sense of fun as he explores the world and the story along with the main characters. With the humor, the author also makes sure the story has enough heart so that you as a reader cares for it. By the end of this book, it wasn’t even about the plot for me anymore - I just wanted to spend more time with the characters.

I found this ok. I understand the hype and maybe super gamers would love this. I do love video games but the story itself felt insanely repetitive. Not much world or character building.

Brilliant and fun. The plot was creative. The banter between Carl and Donut was sharp and amusing. I'm going to read all of these right now.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is the first book of a litRPG series by Matt Dinniman. The story follows Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, as they're forced to fight to the death in a sadistic intergalactic game show. The characters are very likeable and the story is extremely creative. I was a little disappointed that the first book has no real ending of its own; it just ends and assumes you’ll read the next part. I would have preferred a smaller storyline to come to some kind of conclusion. Also, when the author says "sadistic" he means it. The bad guys are BAD, uncomfortably so. But Carl is a great character and easy to root for. Fans of litRPG and RPGs in general will love this book, and I can already tell the series as a whole will be amazing. (And dark.)

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group ; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

I have mixed feelings on this read, but it's definitely still a solid four stars! I tend to really enjoy the LitRPG genre, and this book has all the elements to tick those boxes. It very much has a sort of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy premise along with the RPG elements that will delight fans of both in general. My reduced star comes from the instances of remorseless violence against sapient beings (not every instance), and humor occasionally straddling a line between funny and punching down. This I think is pretty subjective though, so if those are not concerns for you and you like the genre, definitely give it a go.

For sensitive readers this book contains intense graphic violence; references to rape, incest, and cannibalism; death; and body horror.

𝐃𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋, 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘯

Alright, listen up. There’s a 𝐂𝐀𝐓 named 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐓… and she shoots ✨ 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐒 ✨. From her 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒.

So yeah, I obviously loved this. I had no idea it was already such a big thing, but I’m so glad I stumbled upon it! I saw it on NetGalley, thought it looked ridiculous but fun, and figured, why not?

It’s like 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘩𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘺 meets 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘯𝘦 meets 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴. You’ve got an apocalyptic setting, the overwhelming sense that you’re just a tiny part of a vast, mysterious universe, and you’re forced into a deadly game of survival in front of a massive audience. Oh, and it’s basically an 18-level, impossible-to-win video game.

The book is undeniably a good time, but it also carries a certain weight. It strikes the right balance, taking itself seriously enough to make the absurd feel relatable and human. I’d recommend this to pretty much everyone, but beware, it is part of a larger series!

One of the most cinematic reading experiences I’ve ever had. Every time I went back to it I felt like I was dropped right back where I left off, like a save point in a video game, and I was completely ensnared.

Carl is a sympathetic hero who is able to recognize the silliness of his horrific situation and make the best of it. Donut is truly a spectacular sidekick (don’t tell her I called her that) and at times a great foil for his seriousness.

I definitely made room on my upcoming tbr for the rest of the series.

Here's how I would reccomend it to people: LitRPG is certainly the way to classify this, I can't imagine picking this up without some familiarity with tabletop or video game RPGs. If you like either of these this, great, the book will be enjoyable to you and the jokes will make more sense.
Because that is basically what this book is about, the character gets dropped into such a scenario, becomes less of a person, just another variable for the book's system to control.
If you liked Baldur's Gate 3, you may like this book. I rather look forward to picking up the sequels, to see if the RPG system fades more into the background.

This was awesome! I'm really glad that this author got a chance to be traditionally published. I also saw him speak at a panel during DragonCon 2024 which was SO cool--he seems like a really cool person and I would love to pick his brain about character. This book was really unique and really compelling. The world and idea was really original, and I loved the concept. I cannot wait for the next installment to come out in hardcover so I can snag my own copy!

i haven’t had this much fun with a fantasy book in so long, obviously i love fantasy and i think a lot of them are good but they aren’t fun! this concept was so unique and unlike anything ive read recently.

This book was a campy, hilarious, and a wild ride! For lovers of dungeons and dragons and video games. This book will speak to your gamer heart! This was the first in the series and I cannot wait to continue to see the battles our main character gets himself into.

This is such a delightfully absurd book that also has a disturbingly dark side. This was my first LITRPG novel (Literary Role Playing Game for my fellow olds: these are stories set in games, often virtual reality, or worlds with game-like elements.) I haven't gamed since my college years in the 80s, but I still love a good competent character solving an array of challenges.

Carl is watching his ex-girlfriend's prize show cat Princess Donut during a snow storm when the cat escapes into the cold. When he dashes out to rescue her, suddenly all human structures on Earth are destroyed, utterly crushed. An alien announcement declares that all remaining humans may enter a newly-created enormous dungeon and compete for survival on an intergalactic game show. Carl is freezing while holding Princess Donut; he's wearing a jacket, his underwear, and a pair of too-small pink crocs. Not seeing any other valid options or shelter, Carl decides to take his chances in the dungeon and things get crazier from there.

I loved the humor and banter in this one, and I've never coveted a cat the way I covet Princess Donut. A lot of the situations get very dark and gory; it's basically a kill-or-be-killed situation they find themselves in. The book is fast-paced and action-packed, highly entertaining. You definitely don't need to be a gamer to enjoy this, but I think it would give an added dimension of interest.

Thank you so much Ace Books for sending me this book!

Do you have a twisted sense of humor that can laugh about humanity’s death knoll? Are you either a cat fan or a cat hater (either one will work)? Most importantly, do you play RPGs? If so, you will love Dungeon Crawler Carl.

If not, you will probably think it is a repetitive and violent piece of garbage.

So what did I think about Dungeon Crawler Carl? I switched back and forth between both viewpoints. In the beginning, I was entranced with the epic world building. And, of course, a talking cat named Princess Donut. At about a third of the way, I was definitely feeling the repetition. There are only so many times you can watch Carl kick and squish his way to victory with his bare feet. Eventually, I realized that this was a mashup of the old Schwarzenegger movie Running Man and the Hunger Games series. With more snarky humor. By the cat.

Can you suspend any sense of reality and enjoy this book? I don’t know. I’m not even sure whether I enjoyed it. However, I definitely enjoyed the author’s warped sense of humor so you might too. 5 stars for originality even though it is based on two familiar sources. Again, this review, as well as the book it is based on, is a conundrum.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ace for providing me with an advanced review copy.