I’ll be perfectly honest, I don’t really love LitRPG but the hype for Dungeon Crawler Carl got to me. All those glowing reviews can’t be wrong! So when the publisher reached out with a NetGalley link, I hit download like I was the fastest book nerd in the west.
The story begins with the titular Carl trying to wrangle his ex-girlfriend’s show cat back inside on a cold winter night whilst clad in only boxers and a leather jacket. Right as Carl is securing the lauded and very fluffy Princess Donut, every structure of any kind (buildings, cars, probably even tree forts) slams flat into the ground and the remaining people receive a message straight to their brains: Earth is now under the possession of some alien conglomerate and the humans get to compete in an eighteen level dungeon crawl, that’s being televised to billions of beings around the universe. Carl and Donut head to the nearest dungeon entrance, if for no other reason than to not get frostbite and become Crawlers.
What follows is an absurdly hilarious and ridiculously violent traipse through the first two floors of the World Dungeon. Donut is awarded a pet biscuit upon entry that allows her to become truly sentient and very, very vocal and she’s now a Crawler in truth rather than just Carl’s pet. The duo face down goblins, slimes, grotesque low level bosses, and even other Crawlers and all the while they are becoming more and more popular with the viewers who are tracking their every move. While the dungeon is a game of survival, it’s also a popularity contest because the more followers a Crawler gets, the more likely they are to get a sponsor and a sponsor means valuable items that will allow them to survive. If Carl and Donut can reach the end and complete the eighteenth floor, they can theoretically get Earth out of the alien’s clutches. Not that there’ll be much left.
LitRPG reads very much like a transcript of a player’s actions in an open world video game. There are checkpoints, rest areas, bosses, leveling up, and even loot boxes and even ways to sort of ‘break the game’ that get patched out. I haven’t read much in this subgenre, but I really enjoyed Dungeon Crawler Carl. It had a breakneck pace that made it a completely addictive read, purely because I could never begin to guess what the next chapter would hold. It was a novelty to me. Because of this, I’m planning to check out the second installment when it’s available. This series was self published originally, but was picked up by Ace with the traditional publication beginning in August 2024.
*Review scheduled to post August 22, 2024.

4 stars, <a href="https://reviews.metaphorosis.com/review/dungeon-crawler-carl-matt-dinniman/">Metaphorosis reviews</a></p>
<p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: large">Summary </p>
<p>Aliens have come to harvest Earth, and everyone who isn't killed is invited to join a dungeon crawl for the entertainment of Earth's new owners - and a chance to win control of the Earth itself. </p>
<h3>Review </h3>
<p>There’s not a lot of surprise in <em>Dungeon Crawler Carl</em>. The initial premise is odd, verging on farcical – aliens kill almost everyone on Earth and many of the rest enter a newly generated dungeon. There’s what I hope is a nod to Douglas Adams at the start (if it’s not, it’s a ripoff), and Dinniman mines a similar light-hearted comedic vein. Greg Costikyan’s <em>Another Day, Another Dungeon</em> also comes to mind, though the parody here is of video roleplaying games.</p>
<p>Once the setup (which I found a bit rocky) is out of the way, Dinniman takes the initial premise pretty much where you’d expect, with in jokes about RPGs and inventory, and fairly stock characters. But while he’s doing the expected, he does it in quite a fun way. For one thing, he does the ‘right’ things: this is not one of those horror movies where no one picks up the dropped weapons; when Carl sees a takeable object, he takes it, and Dinniman gets him to do fun things with them.</p>
<p>There are some moments of discomfort – does he really need to kill all these innocents just for points? – and Dinniman moved a little more quickly past them than I thought warranted. But most of the action and commentary is timed and delivered quite well. It’s fun, funny, a quick read, and I did find myself interested to go on to the next volume (and apparently there are six in total).</p>
<p>I didn’t go in with high expectations – humor is hard to pull off consistently – but Dinniman does a good job here, and I look forward to continuing the series.</p>
<p style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #cc0000">I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.</span>

In an instant, almost all life on earth ends when a catastrophic event smashes every man-made structure (buildings, houses, vehicles) into the ground, atomizing everyone trapped inside and transforming into an 18-level subterranean labyrinth. WTF?⁣
⁣
There are survivors, but those who do suffer a stranger fate. That includes Carl, a grizzled, down-on-his-luck former marine, and his ex-gf's competitive show cat…the aptly named…Princess Donut. She will play a big role (DAMMIT!), but to spoil that would spoil much of what makes DCC so damn fun.⁣
⁣
Because Carl, Donut and others are offered an opportunity to save the planet: Earth has been chosen as the next location for the new season of the deadliest game of ‘Survivor’ ever played: THE CRAWL, aka the biggest intergalactic reality show of all time, a Hunger Games-esque competition where the living battle scary monsters, deadly obstacles, and each other. Those who make it thru all 18 levels of the labyrinth will save Earth from total annihilation.⁣
⁣
You still with me?⁣
⁣
I know. Wtf Jordy.⁣
⁣
It’s bananas. It’s unhinged. It’s ridiculous. It’s my 5th favorite book of the year. DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL is the most delightfully out-of-left-field thing I read in 2023, so good that I even made an exception to the “must be published in 2023 to make my Top 10 list” rule to show it the love that it deserves. The 6th DCC book was released this year, so it kinda counts…also a testament to the critical and commercial success of the series is that not only are there 6 books in the series so far, but that they all sit comfortably at the top of the Amazon sales charts (it's the BEST audiobook I've ever listened to). It's impressive what Dinniman has done here, crafting an incredibly rich world and a wild mythology (think HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE meets SQUID GAME), while balancing humor and heart and thrills, and also exploring themes of class, race, and capitalism.⁣
⁣
If you want my advice. Stop reading this review and just get yourself a copy. I was a skeptic myself at first, but believe me when I say this is my most reliable recommendation of the year. Enjoy the ride, Crawlers!

LOVED THIS BOOK!! Mostly just super annoyed that I'm going to have to wait so long for the sequel. Loved the combination of super nerdy D&D/gaming lore (but accessible) with the modern snark and ridiculous asides. This book feels like it was written directly for my personality.