Dungeon Crawler Carl: A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure Paperback – September 21, 2020

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman was so much fun to read! I devoured this book in 2 days.From page 1, Carl lets you know exactly who he is, and he doesn't disappoint. No matter what terrible choices he's given, or what absolutely ridiculous odds he faces- he handles it all his way. He's smarter, more perceptive, and more creative than he, Donut, or the AI give him credit for, and he always kept me wondering how he'd handle each obstacle.The world building was topnotch, everything unfolding organically - the reader taking it all in at the same time as Carl. All characters, even monsters, have depth that poor Carl just barely scratches the surface of, and he's torn between sympathizing or straight up murdering them. The system AI is snarcky and had me laughing out loud, startling those around me several times.I love Donut, she behaves precisely the way I envision a cat in a monster dungeon would behave. The interactions between Donut and Carl are fantastic, but the way they work so well together is beautiful. On a related note, Carl's catchphrase is currently my favorite hero catchphrase of all time.Even if you've never played an RPG, D&D, or read this type of book before, Matt doesn't bog you down with lists of rules or "game play" functionality- maybe 2 paragraphs here and there as Carl reviews what he recalls from his stints playing those type of games or going over his understanding of things that have happened so far. So everything flowed well and didn't detract from the story - it was neatly embedded.True to video game RPGs, the fights are bloody, gory things. Carl doesn't dwell on the details, but the reader gets some interesting descriptors and comparisons when things go down.I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes fantasy, has ever enjoyed playing an RPG or reading a choose your own adventure book- except it's poor Carl choosing- or being voluntold, and you're just along for the ride. Remember, he's just a regular guy without pants, with a champion Persian cat, trying to survive the televised apocalypse. All for your entertainment, so enjoy.

I Loved this book. It was hilarious and gave me the laughs that I needed during a stressful time. Carl gave me Harry Dresden vibes. 4.5 Rounded upCharacters: 5/5 - The characters in this book was so so good. They were fictional, even fantastical (a talking cat named Princess Donut??) but also incredibly relatable. Weirdly enough they kept having me ask myself “What would you do in this situation?” Mordecai was the best guide for Carl and Donut. Loved him, can’t wait to read more.Atmosphere/Setting: 5/5 - I loved the atmosphere and settings here. With LitRPG books, I’m never sure when I start them if we’re going to get just 1 level or the whole game or how it will play out. I’m glad that we got a few levels at least - and while they were similar, they also had distinctive differences.Writing Style: 5/5 - Loved Dinniman’s writing style in this book. It was easy to follow with great pacing. Funny yet also made you think. It was just the right amount of ridiculousness.Plot: 5/5 - At the bottom line, the plot was about Carl and Princess Donut’s survival. However, Dinniman also injected social commentary through gameplay. I thought it was brilliant.Intrigue: 4.5/5 - As much as I loved this book and its characters, there were (just a few) times when my brain did zone out a bit. That was probably a me thing - it’s been a long stressful year so far (I know, it’s only March!) but I had to note that here. Additional note to my note, although my brain zoned out and wandered a few times, I was never confused when it came back.Logic: 5/5 - The way that Dinniman used the LitRPG model and Carl (and Donut) learning the game as they are “playing” it - helped the reader along amazingly. We learned along with the characters, but not in an academia … lecturey sort of way. It felt natural, and helped everything make logical sense.Enjoyment: 5/5 - I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more in this series, which I am now drastically behind on.Audiobook Narrator: 5/5 Jeff Hayes did an AMAZING job at narrating this audiobook. I don’t know how he managed to do it but he gave different voices for all the characters - and there are a lot. And never got them mixed up. His pacing in his reading was great and easy to follow, and I could probably have read this book just through the audio alone.Total = 39.5/8 = 4.9

This book is like potato chips, once you start you can’t stop! You understand it’s a story that you won’t remember for the rest of your life, it’s not a masterpiece or anything, however you will have a good time.I am reviewing this after having read already 4 of those books. The story is the typical litRPG, our protagonists are brought in a dungeon unwillingly and they have to fight through while getting stronger.The main difference / characteristic of this story is that the MC is accompanied by his cat which can now talk and has a very amusing personality - the duo is what makes this book work.Moreover, it’s written for adults so there is violence, explicit language, sexual jokes (though it does not dive into sex) and adult humor.I am pretty sure some people will laugh - I did not, but the jokes were amusing. They were not really dumb or anything, so you have fun reading this.The pacing is not super fast on the first one but it gets better later on. There is much to explain and it takes time. There are plenty of skill descriptions and it can get slow/tedious at times. Still, there is combat and leveling and you won’t really get bored.The backstory is weird and you only get hints at start - that’s fine, you get enough to work with.After having read 4 of those books I can say they are highly addictive, but not memorable. If you are looking a series to spend your time happily, then this is for you. It’s an honest series and a respectable 4/5, have fun!