I love Dungeon Crawler games. I love RPG games. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cult of the Lamb are two of my favorite games I’ve played in the last few years. Because of this, I was intrigued to see a series blow up online that was labeled as LitRPG. This led me to pick up the very first book in a very long series: Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Since Dungeon Crawler Carl initially blew up, many of my in-life friends have started to read the series. One of my friends has been more than insistent that I absolutely NEEDED to read the book. This, and my love for video games, made this an easy choice to read.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is available at all major bookstores and retailers.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman Published on July 15, 2025
Genres: LitRPG, Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 640
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Goodreads
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series—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.
I first started reading Dungeon Crawler Carl on the plane to Ireland, and I’ll be honest, I was not initially feeling it. The voice and writing style were not what I am typically used to reading, and it felt like I was not the target audience. I reached the 20% mark and seriously considered calling it quits.
However, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, has been RAVING about this book. I didn’t want to give up so soon. I decided to see if the audiobook was available from my library, and it was! Switching to an audiobook was the best thing I could have done. The audiobook brought a different energy to the story, and I enjoyed it so much more.
Book one is very much a “setup” book. There’s a lot of intrigue built into the premise: Earth has been turned into a real-life dungeon crawl, and our main character Carl (and his ex-girlfriend’s cat) gets dropped into level one with no warning. I wish we had more concrete information about the world and the mysterious forces that run the game. Still, I understand that there are plenty of other books in the series, and the mystery was just enough to keep me pushing forward.
I think the first book suffers from a little too much “plot armor.” There are so many instances where Carl and Princess Donut come across monsters or bosses that they should not be able to beat. Now, I understand that this is necessary to move the story forward, but it started to feel like there wasn’t much tension.
Part of this problem is that I obviously know there are more books featuring Carl in the future. I am starting this series when there are already seven published books. But if there are not going to be stakes, I at least want to start getting attached to the characters. Carl didn’t really wow me in book one. There were some off-mentions of his parents and his ex-girlfriend, nothing that made me feel emotionally connected to him. I wasn’t convinced he was all that devastated by the literal end of the world happening around him. It felt like a missed opportunity to ground the story with some emotional weight. I’m hoping this improves as the series continues!
By far, my favorite part of the book was Princess Donut. She definitely also has room to grow and become less one-dimensional (her need for fame did get a little annoying at times), but her attachment to Carl (and then her pet dinosaur) is adorable. She has a ton of potential as a character, and I’m hoping she gets some solid development in the later books.
Overall Feels
While I didn’t necessarily love book one, I didn’t hate it either. Throughout the whole book, all I wanted was more: more backstory, more character development, and more worldbuilding. Some parts felt like filler, like they were just there to move from one dungeon room to the next without adding much to the bigger picture. Still, I can see the potential in the story, and while I typically am not one to continue a series that I find lackluster, I am intrigued enough to want to know where the story goes next. I’m excited to see some more world-building in future books, especially in relation to the creators of the game.
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Until next time, xx