Dungeon Crawler Carl Review

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

"Cats are assholes. I get it. But do you know why people like cats, despite their asshole-ness? It's because they don't fucking talk."

I don’t really follow traditional book rating systems. I’ve read 1-star books that I absolutely loved, and I’ve read 5-star books that made me wonder how they ever got published. Everyone reacts to stories in their own way, and that’s part of what makes reading such a personal experience.

That said, in this digital age, I—like many others—find a lot of my book recommendations through places like TikTok. My TBR list grows daily, sometimes hourly, thanks to the rabbit hole of enthusiastic readers shouting about the books that changed their lives or made them laugh until they cried. Of the countless opinions and countless videos I’ve watched, only a small handful of books seem to be rated consistently across the board.

I’ve now read two of them. One I may get around to rating later. But the second? The book I just finished today?

OMG.Let me tell you.

It. Is. Everything.

Violence. Humor. Stupidity. And more violence.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is chaos incarnate in the best possible way. From the very first page, you’re thrown headfirst into a ridiculous, brutal, laugh-out-loud post-apocalyptic game show, where Earth has been destroyed and survivors are now unwilling contestants in a live-streamed, intergalactic dungeon crawl. Yes, that is as insane as it sounds—and somehow, it works.

Our reluctant hero, Carl, wakes up to find the world as he knows it gone. With nothing left but his boxers, his cat Princess Donut, and an audience of bloodthirsty aliens watching his every move, he enters the dungeon and tries to stay alive. What follows is a mix of sharp satire, RPG mechanics, absurd encounters, and surprisingly heartfelt moments (yes, even with a talking cat who may or may not be a diva with murder in her heart).

"It’s not murder if it’s on television," is the kind of logic this book thrives on.

Carl is the perfect protagonist for this kind of story—snarky, stubborn, loyal, and constantly finding new, creatively violent ways to survive. The tone balances perfectly between bonkers humor and real stakes. One moment you’re laughing at a deranged dungeon shopkeeper selling questionable upgrades, and the next, you’re bracing as Carl makes tough calls that remind you the stakes are very real.

And then there’s Princess Donut. Honestly, she deserves her own review. She is elegance, she is grace, she is the reason half the monsters are dead.

What really elevates Dungeon Crawler Carl, though, is Matt Dinniman’s total commitment to the bit. He leans into the absurdity without ever losing the emotional thread. Beneath all the bloodshed and pixelated loot drops, there’s a compelling narrative about survival, humanity, and figuring out who you are when the world quite literally falls apart.

I can see why this book has such universal appeal in the chaos of BookTok and the wider litRPG community. It’s a dopamine hit in literary form—smart, ridiculous, fast-paced, and unforgettable.

If you like your fantasy with a heavy dose of gore, comedy, and characters who feel like they were written by your unhinged best friend after a long night of gaming and energy drinks—Dungeon Crawler Carl is the one.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to lock myself in the closet and emotionally decompress.

Goddammit Donut!