Dungeon Crawler Carl: A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure

Fun and Engrossing with Surprising Depths and Balance Within Genre.
Love this book but hate what it facilitated me doing to myself. Picked it up off of my recommendations list looking for some escapist, pick-it-up-then-put-it-down fun after I had finished a book too early in the evening to just go to bed. Had been new release to a long-running favorite series that did the usual emotional roller coaster plus cliffhanger so I thought I would join Carl and Donut here for an easy romp to get my feels back in the right place. I couldn’t have been more right or more wrong, “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”This book (as well as each of the sequels I have read so far) is amazing.Pros: The characters are a blast. The “protagonist” Carl (we all know he is really Robin to Donut’s Batman but just doesn’t know it despite being the PoV) is an incredible balance of blue-collar everyman, nerd, and isekai protagonist untapped potential; he has the physical and mental chops such that you have no problem accepting his survival without being a tired trope-y Force Recon Scout Sniper or angsty 18 year old skinny nerd-cum-chosen one. The reactions of Carl and the other sane adult humans to the absurdist brutality of the Crawl are amazingly well thought out and executed. They also contrast delightfully with the zany elements of others like Donut and the old-folks home residents. The antagonists are an incredible mix as well (both human and alien). The player killers are monster enough that you enjoy seeing justice done but man enough that you feel guilty about enjoying it a heartbeat later. The alien overlords aren’t all mustache-twirling avatars of evil bereft of all humanity (tangent: we really need another word for that in English to use in sci-fi/fantasy that works for non-human sapient species but rolls of the tongue well and doesn’t sound too contrived. Get on that authors) but also aren’t all muddied-waters, victim-of-circumstance, I’m-not-bad-I-was-just-written-that-way types who suffer from childhood trauma and a tragic backstory; they are complicit, made a choice to buy into the system, and willingly profit from it. Here’s hoping Carl and Donut come to collect. The Sci-Fi/Fantasy RPG elements are on point. Am especially impressed with the effort and crafting with world building employed to integrate the RPG elements rather than the usual “levels, attributes, skills, etc. are a thing because reasons…” There are consequences, they are real, and they don’t just fade away. The balance and tone of everything is incredible. This book is the Singapore Noodles of fun Sci-Fi: comfort-food carbs of a solid plot and the RPG progression; savory umami of meaty character depth and development, sweet & sour world building flavor, and strewn throughout with spicy, crunchy explosions ROFL madness (the A.I and the foot thing…). The balance-in-tension between the AI, Syndicate, and corpos. It is really refreshing how the narrative respects its own rules while mixing it up with complexity that are shadows of the real-life powers that be. Big brother is certainly watching and the deuce ex machina will put its finger on the scales at the 11th hour BUT its complicated and there are consequences. The dialog is masterful. It’s a perfect blend of fictional craftsmanship and the flaws/imperfections of conversation in reality; discourse is elevated like you would want in a book but not up on a pedestal such that it takes you into the aural/lexical uncanny valley you see in a lot of sci-fi/fantasy.Cons (but I hope more constructive criticism in the spirit it is offered): Very occasionally some of the dungeon/floor/enhancement system sections get dense and/or into the weeds. Everything usually gets integrated and works out later in the narrative so readers, if you encounter this feeling, please push through as the novel as a whole is more than worth it. Kindle folks drop yourself a note so you can jump back and re-read a mechanics wall of text and it will all make sense. I can also see how this may be an intentional element as an insurmountable wall of text that contains things you need to know but couldn’t possibly understand until you have already screwed the pooch in the field is all too real working in a technical professional job (not to mention there is no Donut and no magic, perfect sleep bed.) Weaponized hindsight here: some plot hooks/threads that seem like real gems don’t get left hanging/not picked up later in the narrative and it seems like a shame. Carl’s psychological resilience is almost Mary Sue-ish. He needs to hit a wall or find the bottom at some point. This is only in the context of how amazing of a character he is and the incredible balance he strikes (survivor vs. retaining his humanity, serious vs. humor, geek but blue collar capable/functional in society). The hits don’t stop coming, he is everybody’s rock, and the adrenalin high can only last so long in the face of the dungeons horrors resonating with his pre-Crawl trauma.Can’t recommend this book enough, please buy and read.

Not normally my thing- sucked me in though
I have never read a litRPG. In fact, I had never even heard of it until 5 minutes before I started reading this book. I went into it thinking it was a choose your own adventure book.I only read it because a friend wanted me to because the description of it didn’t sound like my thing. While I sometimes enjoy sci-fi, fighting/action is not my genre of choice. I don’t play video games at all.But I started reading it and it was actually funny. It’s very unique and read very fast.I’m bad at reviews but honestly? I say give it ago.I’ll be patiently waiting for the reward for writing a review 😉

Wow….just Wow….
Two words. FRIGGEN’ BRILLIANT!This story is just plain fun. And if you’re a gamer, it’s incredibly clever, too. I have never really been one to get into LitRPG, but I picked this one up as a recommendation from a friend. I do Audible these days and let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed.The story is fantastic–engaging characters (Carl and Donut are simply the best!) humor, horror, and everything in between. And amazingly, it’s got heart, too!The narration is off the charts. Jeff Hays gives a masterclass in narration and adds a level to the story that you have to hear to believe. It’s like listening to Kronk from Emperor’s New Groove and it’s an absolute delight. I was just a few chapters into this one before I had the next one purchased and loaded up and ready to go.Get. This! You will NOT be disappointed.

In all honestly I had never heard of the LitRPG genre before the title “Dungeon Crawler Carl” popped up for me. As an avid TTRPG and fantasy fan I was not disappointed. This book was action packed and funny. Even though the plot was simple, the characters and story were engaging with plenty of hooks to keep the reader intrigued including a unanswered question for a cliff-hanger. Not fair Mr. Dinniman, but great technique, as now I MUST read the next book.I will say, it falls on the gruesome side and was a bit over the edge for my normal limits for violence in a story so let the reader be warned. But it was a page turner an hard to put down. Just had to know what was around that next corner.

Great book with a lot of humor. I have always liked the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and Discworld books but these are even better!