📖 Dungeon Crawler Carl
By Matt Dinniman.
When Earth is suddenly turned into a giant, live-streamed dungeon crawl for the entertainment of alien audiences, Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s spoiled Persian cat, Princess Donut, find themselves fighting to survive — floor by floor, boss by boss. With brutal traps, deadly competitors, and bizarre level mechanics, Carl must adapt quickly or die trying. What starts as chaos becomes a deadly game — and Carl is determined to beat it.
Trigger Warnings: Graphic violence and gore, torture, mutilation, strong language, dark humour, death, sexual references, animal endangerment, psychological trauma and manipulation, apocalyptic and dystopian themes, references to suicide and mental distress.
Note on triggers: On a reddit post, the other stated that a couple of the earlier boss battles scenes act as a content warning for things to come.
- Vibes: Morbid but hilarious — a chaotic mix of brutal violence and laugh-out-loud moments. It’s like if The Hunger Games and Portal had a baby and raised it in a D&D campaign.
- Plot & Pacing: Pulled me in immediately and was super easy to follow, especially if you’re into gaming. The structure mimics clear game mechanics. Slightly annoyed at the non-ending, but it did get me to pick up book two right away.
- Characters: Carl is such a grounded protagonist. He’s still adapting and evolving, and his internal monologues add depth. Donut is an absolute nightmare (in the best way). Mordecai is also a standout, and I’m loving the slow reveals about him.
- Writing Style: Smart and well-suited to the genre — chaotic but tight, with clever humour and just the right balance of world-building and action.
- Emotional Impact: I laughed out loud and definitely feel invested in the characters. I’d genuinely be sad if something happened to them — which in this series feels likely!
- Continue series/ read more from this author? Already have lol
This book is hard to describe — it’s a bit dystopian, a bit sci-fi, a bit litRPG, and a whole lot of chaos. Imagine being dropped into a live-streamed death game where everything’s turned into a dungeon crawl and you’ve got a diva cat as your teammate. That’s the kind of absurdity you’re in for — and somehow, it works.
Carl is a brilliant protagonist: flawed, relatable, and surprisingly tender at times. He’s not a superhero — just a guy trying to survive, adapt, and keep his sarcastic inner voice intact. His relationship with Princess Donut is gold. She’s everything you’d expect from a pampered cat — and somehow also a beast in battle. I also really liked Mordecai and the intriguing layers we’re getting on his backstory.
Despite the heavy themes (there’s no shortage of gruesome deaths), the comedy breaks it up beautifully. The “levels” keep things moving at a good pace, and it was always exciting to see what the next boss or challenge would be. My only frustration is that this isn’t a complete arc — the story just continues, which left me wanting a little more payoff. But I picked up Book Two immediately, so I guess it did its job.
The audiobook was great — the narrator sounds like Kronk from Emperor’s New Groove, which just added to the chaos in the best way. It also gave it a nostalgic tone that made me warm to the story. I was only listening to it when I was with Gavin because I’d managed to convince him (very easily) to give this book a go, so we we’re listening on long journeys. Listening together made the book even better!
If you like gaming, dark humour, found family, or just want something completely out of the ordinary, I’d definitely recommend this. It’s one of those books that sounds ridiculous until you’re completely hooked.
Summary:
✨ LitRPG / dystopian sci-fi with heavy humour
✨ Great for gamers, fans of dark humour, readers looking for something totally different
✨ The audiobook is excellent — fun, chaotic, and perfectly narrated
Let me know your thoughts…
Have you read this book? Let me know what you thought about it!
Tea & Tales 
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