Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Reviewed by Julie Nutt, Communications Specialist
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy - LitRPG
Suggested age: Adult, Young Adult
What is this book about? Carl is an average guy living an average life with his ex-girlfriend’s cat (Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk) when they’re thrust into the intergalactic game show Dungeon Crawler World. After all of Earth’s structures are obliterated with all living beings inside, the survivors must enter the bizarre dungeon below Earth’s surface. Armed with special skills and equipment that they gain along the way, Carl, Donut, and Donut’s pet velociraptor, Mongo, team up to brawl their way through the dungeon levels filled with traps, tricks, monsters, and other Crawlers out to kill or be killed.
My review: I came into this book/series knowing nothing at all about RPGs (role playing games). What’s a LitRPG, anyway? (It stands for Literary Role-Playing Game.) As I heard other readers discuss the characters and storyline, I knew it was right up my alley. There are gaming references that go over my head, but I don’t feel like you need to be a gamer to appreciate the humor and wildly colorful dungeon citizens.
I think that reading the print books would be much less entertaining for me than the audiobooks. I’ve never even liked audiobooks, until this. I’m a huge cartoon fan, so the voices go a long way. Between the voices and the characters, themselves, I sense the influence of Adventure Time, Ren & Stimpy, Rick & Morty, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Archer; Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, and some other Adult Swim/Cartoon Network shows. That said, these books may not be for everyone because of some very dirty humor. The “Dungeon AI,” for example, a voice-over that narrates new stages in the game, has some unusual interests that lead to hilarious one-liners.
Beyond the dirty humor, though, there is outstanding character development and scene-setting. Carl and Donut express sadness and anger over having to perform some of their terrible acts to survive, as well as the loss of fellow Crawlers. There are some dungeon denizens who would rather die than continue. *TRIGGER WARNING: There children who were swept into the madness who have had to learn to navigate the underworld on their own.* Carl’s mantra, “You will not break me,” resonates deeply.
What makes this series so notable is its overwhelming popularity. What began as a small self-published effort in 2019 grew into a deal with Amazon, then got picked up by Penguin Random House in 2024. The audiobooks are published exclusively through Audible. Dungeon Crawler Carl is book one of a seven-book series, set to be a 10-book series. Even Fuzzy Door Productions (founded by cartoon mogul Seth Macfarlane of Family Guy fame) has plans to make the Dungeon Crawler book series into a TV show. I’d like to make a public plea to author Matt Dinniman: please talk to Mike Lazzo at Williams Street and let Adult Swim get a hold of it. Macfarlane and Fuzzy Door are overdone.
*NEW ACHIEVEMENT! You just read a review of Dungeon Crawler Carl! Your reward: go read Dungeon Crawler Carl!* (You’ll get the joke if you read the book.)
Three words that describe this book: crass, absurd, hilarious
Give this a try if you like: adult cartoons, comics, RPGs
Rating: 5/5
