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TL;DR: Worth every bit of hype, this was phenomenal.
Source: NetGalley! Thank you so much to the publisher! I also bought... three copies of this. I'm just saying. I loved it.

Plot: Carl luckily (?) escapes the apocalypse and ends up on a game show just trying to survive. Add a sassy cat and it’s a mess.
Characters: I loved all of them and will not be accepting questions at this time.
Setting: This was shockingly well drawn considering how simple and yet complex the Dungeon was.
Magic: There is no clearly magic system yet, but the System at it’s roots is very easy to understand.

Thoughts:

I’ve heard all the hype about Dungeon Crawler Carl online. As a reader of LitRPG I’ve seen every recommendation so when I saw this was getting a traditional release I thought, why not? Honestly I’m kind of mad it took me this long to get to it. I laughed and gasped my way through this and I’m already working on the second book. Consider me convinced.

The story is simple. Carl is out trying to catch his (soon to be ex) girlfriend’s pampered cat when everything around him is squished flat. A System message comes up and tells him the world has effectively ended. And to continue to survive he and the only 10 million or so people left, must go into the Dungeon entrances that are going to appear all over the world. From there a competition will begin. Those that survive and make it into the Dungeon are going to become ‘Crawlers’ and the entire thing is televised to the universe.

This is a funny book. Not ‘hehe’ funny, but Funny. Matt Dinniman is cutting in his humor too. We see clever jokes about the worst and mild of humanity, with reason. The System is going out of it’s way to make humanity seem gross and awful. That means while we’re laughing we have moments of stark and dark reality cut through. I was distraught over Carl’s first big boss.

This is a great book, I loved everything about it. The sassy and weirdly foot obsessed AI, the talking cat - did I mention the TALKING CAT? I have been trying to convince everyone in my life to read this - you should too.

6 out of 5 Gold Asshole Loot Boxes

If I had the sequel I would have immediately started it, that's how much I enjoyed this book. It's wild, it's absurd, it's pure insanity and I loved every second.

A middle-of-the-night alien attack completely obliterates the vast majority of the world in the blink of an eye. Carl and his ex-girlfriend's show cat, Princess Donut, are among the mere 12 million survivors left on earth. And they're in for the fight of their lives.

Another reviewer described this as LitRPG and yes, 100%. This is reading a video game play out. Carl and Donut start as level 1 players with various skills (as a prize-winning show cat, Donut's Charisma is off the charts), there are televised battles, an NPC who serves as their mentor, an intergalactic corporation serves as the big baddie, gaining a massive following can lead to much better loot boxes. A video game in book form. So, SO fun and I need book two now.

Wow what a fun book!!! I couldn't put it down and finished it over a weekend! Can't wait to read the rest of it!

The story is very video game like. Earth has turned into a massive dungeon for alien entertainment. Carl (the human) and Princess Donut (the cat) has to fight for their survival in the 18-level dungeon.
The book cleverly blends fantasy and video games, and it's filled with humor so even the item and achievement descriptions are fun to read!

I definitely recommend it for anyone who loves video games, or just want a fun read in general!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

I officially DNF this one at 20%. I enjoyed how this one kicked off, I was intrigued. But then one of the first side characters you meet is physically described as a rat. And you learn his name is Mordecai, which is a Jewish name. And I think, uh oh, is this rat Jewish coded? In the Jewish religion and history, Mordecai was a hero who helped Queen Esther prevent the mass murder of Jews. And so at this point I’m feeling uncomfortable, as there is a lot of antisemitic history of portraying Jews as rats (e.g., this was popular with Nazi propaganda). I continued reading and a few pages later, any hope I had about this character was quashed when Mordecai that rat advised the main character to have “chutzpah.” Chutzpah is a Yiddish word. So yes, this book has a Jewish coded character that is a rat-like species. This type of antisemitism is incredibly harmful because it’s more subtle. Many readers may not pick up on it. They will subconsciously associate Jews with rats and turn onward to the next page.

But still, I kept reading. I wanted to have a full picture of the book to review it. That was until a joke was made at the expense of special needs people. I don’t think comedy that puts others down is funny. This reminds me of 90s comedies that often crossed the line just to get a laugh.

And it’s not that this book was too gory for me. I read and love a lot of sci-fi and horror. But this was tactless and crude. And info dumpy. And the novelty factor wore off quickly, we get it, it’s like he’s in a video game.

I wasn't quite the right audience for this title. I did finish reading it and I appreciated the story.

Things I liked about the story: Princess Donut was a hilarious character, I love a talking cat and she didn't disappoint. There was a good balance between her doing Cat things and being strategic. I thought the AI giving Carl all those foot related items was really funny too. As well as the note about how he should stop complaining about not having pants if he ever wanted to have pants.

I didn't realize that this was the first of a series so I was a little frustrated when the story ended after Carl reached the third floor of the Dungeon. It felt like the story was just barrelling along and then the ending was really abrupt. I was expecting some kind of twist ending when I was 80% through the book and it just kept going. I suspect the LitRPG genre just isn't for me. I'm a big gamer and I love to play video games but I found it really tedious to read about all mobs and details on stats and weapons bonuses.

It's the apocalypse and Earth is the entertainment for the universe. There's a few people left and to survive they'll need to make it through the game. Can Carl survive? Oh, and he's got his ex-girlfriend's cat with him, for better and worse.

It's Dungeon Crawler World and if you're megastar good, you might just survive in this game for life.

This is probably the weirdest book I've ever read. and I've read Tender is the Flesh.

I don't think I'll be picking up any other books in this series. I tried....

thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Description Provided by NetGalley
The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman—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.

Includes part one of the exclusive bonus story “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.”


Where do I begin with this glorious work of modern literature? I will start with the rabbit hole of how I found Dungeon Crawler Carl. Lately, there has been an upswing of some of my favorite reviewers desiring self-published fantasy works (also known as Indie Fantasy). (Please stop by the second floor of the Main Branch if you would like more of these Indie Fantasy books to read; I have a lot of recommendations for you). This search along with the growth in popularity of Indie Fantasy, met with the desire to try out LitRPG, found me at the doorstep of Matt Dinniman (who is now one of my favorite authors of all-time). So, when I found out that Dungeon Crawler Carl got picked up by Berkley Publishing Group, I lost my mind. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy to review all those delicious extra scenes and share the love of one of the greatest series ever.

Going into this review I think it’s important to define what genre of book this is, especially for those of you who haven’t heard of LitRPG. The people over at urbanwriters.com sum up LitRPG as,

“LitRPG (Literary Role-Playing Game) is an emerging genre of fiction that combines the experience of digital role-playing games with traditional narrative plotlines. It weaves a story around a protagonist that consciously immerses themselves in a virtual world to follow the quests and challenges set by the game realm.

It is not to be confused with choose-your-own-path storylines or novels that expand the lore of existing RPG games.

Instead, imagine you are the spectator to someone playing as their World of Warcraft avatar, witnessing their progression through in-game campaigns while observing their development through visible statistics such as health, agility, strength, or intelligence.”

I don’t want you to read that and get overwhelmed, confused, or immediately tell yourself that you will hate this; this is so much easier to read and more magical than you think. Reading through the inventory, stats, and instructions wasn't overwhelming at all and I found myself looking forward to them because it added so much to the world, characters, and dialogue.

So, I decided to go for broke and pick up this book about a man in his heart undies with his amazing, show-winning Persian cat running around a dungeon under the surface of an obliterated Earth because the only thing to lose was not finishing the book. As of writing this blog, I am currently on book 6 of a, hopefully, forever book series that I now would give my left pinky toe to forget and re-read. Yes, it’s definitely that good.

I am a slow reader and was able to read these a week per story. That says a whole heck of a lot (ask my coworkers). Carl and Donut are the main event in this story full of laughs, galactic political sabotage, and life-threatening events. This story is designed to keep you laughing and shocked and what surprised me the most is how invested I would get with these characters. Author Matt did a phenomenal job writing this to make you laugh and cry. Even though Donut and Carl are the main show, the audience is also introduced to an overarching storyline that is full of intrigue, murder, and real-life feels. The addition of the extra scenes adds even more intrigue to the plot that’s happening behind the scenes; I appreciate the extra chapter so much as a reader and lover of Carl. Also, the fact that the AI (the artificial intelligence running the game/dungeon) is its own character makes this a deliciously layered tale.

You’re going to experience loss and pain all while belly laughing yourself to the floor, and I recommend this story to someone who is looking for it all. The fact that there is so much intrigue and mystery behind this story right alongside the weirdness of it all is such a fantastic combination. It's like a salty and sweet snack, chocolate covered bacon, if you will. It is very dungeons and dragons had a love child with your favorite video game and that baby grows up to be crazy and make questionable choices with potty humor.

Just try it. You are going to love it too.

For more book recommendations please tune in to Off the Books with B&S on any of your preferred podcasting platforms; new episodes air every other Thursday.

Bethann

Honestly, I'm chomping at the bit for the next Matt Dinniman book now. Dungeon Crawler Carl and his cat Princess Donut are EVERYTHING. I loved this book. Trying to not over sell this one. But it's so fun. I think this will really scratch that Ernie Cline/John Scalzi/Andy Weir itch for people and I'm here for it.

Thank you netgalley

You know this is going to be brutal from the beginning. By pure luck, Carl is outside when all the buildings on Earth collapse, killing everyone inside. Now, unfortunately, he has to participate in a brutal game he didn't sign up for if he wants to survive.
There are so many things that make this great. Princess Donut, his ex-girlfriend's cat, is his sidekick and a force in her own right. The action is nonstop. But for me, the best thing about this story is the constant and neverending snark. When the story is this brutal, humor is necessary, and the jokes and cultural references are on point.
I highly recommend this, and I have to say, I got to listen to the narrator, and the narrator makes this already hilarious and fastmoving story even better. Thanks so much to NetGalley for introducing me to this wild world.

I had not heard about this book so I didn't know it was a reprint and that it already had several volumes in the series published. I'm glad to be introduced to this zaniness! The author definitely caught the feeling of a video game with nonstop action and rewards. I was worried at the beginning since I'm not a gamer, but luckily you can still enjoy the adventure without having experience in leveled gaming yourself. I did enjoy the D&D-like elements of race/class and skills which again, were clearly explained to made it easy to understand. Of course, I loved the relationship between Carl and a cat named Princess Donut, which was true perfection. Without that banter, I might not have finished the book because I'm not typically a fan of the blood and violence. However, I probably will pick up the next in the series since it ended before they made it to level 3 and I'm curious how the adventure continues.

I also listened to the audiobook and it was incredible! I didn't catch this when it came out in 2020 so I'm glad it's being re-released. At first glance I wouldn't have thought I would like it, but a friend recommended it to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will definitely keep reading the series!

I really liked the way this one started, and was sure I'd stumbled on a new favorite series. It's tough to find snarky humor that is paired with clever plots, and the opening promised that in spades. Unfortunately, it lost me fairly early on and I never found my way back in... I suspect I'm just not into gaming enough to get this one - there are a lot of things that felt like inside jokes and humor that I was JUST not quite catching. It got to be a struggle to keep going, and then it wasn't fun anymore. I'm just not the right audience here - but if you are, I suspect it's a fabulously fun read!

This book was recommended to me by a friend at work that said he had a blast reading it. So of course I had to see what it was about!
This book was a hoot! I loved the characters, I laughed at a lot of parts, just so out there and a fun book to read!

Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl isn't exactly a new release, per se, despite the upcoming release by Penguin Random House; rather, it's an indie publishing hit that's been successful enough to catch the eye of a major publisher, who's giving it a trad publishing release, hoping to widen the book's audience. And, as someone who hadn't been all that aware of it before this, let me tell you: it's a good idea, because if the rest of Dinniman's stuff is as entertaining, funny, and imaginative as this one, Dungeon Crawler Carl deserves to be the first of many big hits to come. The titular Carl here is a Seattleite who finds himself thrust into a dungeon alongside his ex-girlfriend's cat, fighting to survive and to entertain a massive, massive audience of viewers. What follows from there is equal parts goofy comedy, video game satire, Hunger Games-riff, and something else lurking underneath, occasionally rearing its head and showing that there's a darker core to the series that we can't quite see yet. In general, though, Dungeon Crawler Carl is a lot of fun, from the increasing focus of the dungeon on our hero's feet to the dead-on jokes about video game achievements, all while still telling an exciting story that manages to have some real stakes, both for our heroes and for a larger (but ever dwindling) human population. And hey, if you enjoyed it, there's already five more books in the series waiting for you (written in only four years), which can only help Dinniman as he hits the ground running with this new version of his book.

I've never read anything quite like this before and I'm glad I gave it a try. I see this appealing to a lot of people who enjoy gaming and role-playing games. I still haven't decided if I'll read the other books in this series, I think it will depend on my mood at the time.

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I got an eGalley of this from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I had high exceptions and was super excited to read this book...and they were all exceeded. I have been reading a whole bunch of really amazing books lately and this one was right up there with all of them. This was incredibly hilarious and entertaining and I absolutely loved every minute of it.

When Carl's cheating girlfriend's (soon to be ex girlfriend) prize show cat literally goes out on a limb, Carl steps out into the cold winter night wearing his boxers, a leather jacket and his (ex) girlfriend's pink crocs to rescue the cat. He does rescue the cat but then the world literally collapses. Yes, every structure in the world is suddenly a flat pile of rubble and Caril is freezing and being subjected to an announcement by an alien race. Any survivors can try to make a go of it on the surface or they can delve into the newly formed dungeon to win their freedom. Well it's cold and Carl is in his boxers, so when the Dungeon entrance appears it's nice and cozy and warm so in Carl and Princess Donut (the cat). How was Carl to know what he was getting himself in to? Or that the world-reknown show cat, Princess Donut, would have better stats then he does in this odd game?

This book was amazing. It is hilarious, unexpected, with strangely heartwarming moments, an odd foot fetish and a premise that is crazily believable. There was never a dull moment in this book, things just kept getting more and more intriguing as I read. There were also many times where I was laughing so hard I almost peed myself and my husband was looking at me oddly asking what my problem was. Then I would try to explain to him what I was reading and he would just shake his head and say "Uh, okay I'm glad you are enjoying yourself." I am totally going to buy this series on audiobook and make him listen to it at some point.

I don't even know how to explain this book. If you like RPGs or post-apocalyptic survival reads with a lot of dark humor, then this is the book for you. The premise is super well thought-out and the surprises keep coming. The magic/gaming system combined with the corporate exploitation is spot on. This is so much hilariousness and irony in here it might kill you. This can also be pretty gory and gross at times, so heads up if you are squeamish.

I don't really know what else to say about this. After reading it, I immediately acquired the rest of the series. Not something I normally do because I've been burned by that before, but in this case OMG I need the whole series. I need to be part of this strange intergalactic dungeon crawl where the cat has higher charisma and strength (but lower constitution) than anything else in the room.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I think this is my favorite read of the year so far. Which is really saying something since I have read a lot of amazing books recently. Do you like fantasy adventure with a dash of apocalypse, a heap of gory foot stomping, and an incredibly capable cat? Well then this is the book for you. I loved it and plan to read the second book shortly.

If you would have told me previously that I would enjoy a book that was more game based I would have told you you’re crazy. Now I love games. But this is not the type of book I normally read. YET I was intrigued!. I had a blast with Carl and Princess Donut! This is a fast past, hilarious and action packed read that I didn’t wan’t to put down! Starting off in the regular world we find Carl going out side to get Princess Donut back from her quick adventure outside when all heck breaks loose. Now he finds himself in an alien invasion that has basically taken him and the whole world hostage and place in a survival intergalactic game show where he must survive, dungeon style, in a video game like manner. With states, classes, and everything you would expect This was a read that has me wanting to the devour the whole series immediately!
I thought all the characters were awesome. I loved the ones that Matt Dinniman wanted me to, I disliked the others that you knew he didn’t want me to. His writing is phenomenal and caught my attention immediately. I really can’t wait to read the others! All in all 5 stars from me and I can’t wait to see where the series goes!! Will Carl be the first to WIN?

“Goddamnit, Donut!” is my new favorite catchphrase.
I wish I had read this books many years ago. It is so good and there are so many more in the series already. I love that it is getting more attention at a traditional publishing level now, in addition to the popularity it already has as an indie book!

Carl and Princess Donut are hilarious and their characters are full of heart. I loved every second of this dungeon crawl and enjoyed the RPG elements utilized in the storytelling. The concept of the story is a lot of fun (and very tragic) and the world of the dungeon just builds and builds. I absolutely love the world and the “why” behind how this is happening. The characters are all interesting and nuanced, yet also are able to easily have some common ground against the giant alien conglomerate that rules everything - and it makes for some fun exchanges.

The parts that had me literally laughing out loud the most were probably some of the achievements that Carl and Donut earn from some very terrible things that happen in the dungeon crawl.

FIVE STARS

Seriously, you need to read this right now!

Thank you to @ACEbooks and @BerkleyBooks for my eARC from @netgalley! All thoughts are my own.

So many thoughts are going through my head about the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and its first book. First off, I loved it and am totally addicted to it. I was lucky enough to get a bag with an important catchphrase from the story, but now I want a T-shirt, coffee mug, and any other merchandise that someone thinks to put it on. I want everyone to stop me and ask me what it means so I can tell them about the series they need to read.

What did I love most?   That's a tough one, but it's probably Donut because that hilarious cat is the heart of this series, infusing it with a unique charm and humor that sets it apart from any other story.  The dynamic duo of Donut and Carl delivers laugh-out-loud moments, glorious snarky dialogue, and so many thrills.  Individually, the characters are interesting, but together, they are simply remarkable.

Do you need to be a gamer to appreciate this story?  As a self-confessed gamer, it's hard for me to say definitively, but I believe it's a story that all can enjoy. While some humor might resonate more with those familiar with RPG-style games, the story is crafted to be accessible to all, offering a unique blend of snark and action.  It's a genre-bending tale that defies expectations and has something to offer everyone.

If you're a fan of high-octane thrillers with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and you're ready to dive into a wild world brimming with fantasy and sci-fi elements, then this book is a must-read. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride of a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, eager to turn the next page!