4 stars, <a href="https://reviews.metaphorosis.com/review/dungeon-crawler-carl-matt-dinniman/">Metaphorosis reviews</a></p>
<p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: large">Summary </p>
<p>Aliens have come to harvest Earth, and everyone who isn't killed is invited to join a dungeon crawl for the entertainment of Earth's new owners - and a chance to win control of the Earth itself. </p>
<h3>Review </h3>
<p>There’s not a lot of surprise in <em>Dungeon Crawler Carl</em>. The initial premise is odd, verging on farcical – aliens kill almost everyone on Earth and many of the rest enter a newly generated dungeon. There’s what I hope is a nod to Douglas Adams at the start (if it’s not, it’s a ripoff), and Dinniman mines a similar light-hearted comedic vein. Greg Costikyan’s <em>Another Day, Another Dungeon</em> also comes to mind, though the parody here is of video roleplaying games.</p>
<p>Once the setup (which I found a bit rocky) is out of the way, Dinniman takes the initial premise pretty much where you’d expect, with in jokes about RPGs and inventory, and fairly stock characters. But while he’s doing the expected, he does it in quite a fun way. For one thing, he does the ‘right’ things: this is not one of those horror movies where no one picks up the dropped weapons; when Carl sees a takeable object, he takes it, and Dinniman gets him to do fun things with them.</p>
<p>There are some moments of discomfort – does he really need to kill all these innocents just for points? – and Dinniman moved a little more quickly past them than I thought warranted. But most of the action and commentary is timed and delivered quite well. It’s fun, funny, a quick read, and I did find myself interested to go on to the next volume (and apparently there are six in total).</p>
<p>I didn’t go in with high expectations – humor is hard to pull off consistently – but Dinniman does a good job here, and I look forward to continuing the series.</p>
<p style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #cc0000">I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.</span>

In an instant, almost all life on earth ends when a catastrophic event smashes every man-made structure (buildings, houses, vehicles) into the ground, atomizing everyone trapped inside and transforming into an 18-level subterranean labyrinth. WTF?⁣
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There are survivors, but those who do suffer a stranger fate. That includes Carl, a grizzled, down-on-his-luck former marine, and his ex-gf's competitive show cat…the aptly named…Princess Donut. She will play a big role (DAMMIT!), but to spoil that would spoil much of what makes DCC so damn fun.⁣
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Because Carl, Donut and others are offered an opportunity to save the planet: Earth has been chosen as the next location for the new season of the deadliest game of ‘Survivor’ ever played: THE CRAWL, aka the biggest intergalactic reality show of all time, a Hunger Games-esque competition where the living battle scary monsters, deadly obstacles, and each other. Those who make it thru all 18 levels of the labyrinth will save Earth from total annihilation.⁣
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You still with me?⁣
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I know. Wtf Jordy.⁣
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It’s bananas. It’s unhinged. It’s ridiculous. It’s my 5th favorite book of the year. DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL is the most delightfully out-of-left-field thing I read in 2023, so good that I even made an exception to the “must be published in 2023 to make my Top 10 list” rule to show it the love that it deserves. The 6th DCC book was released this year, so it kinda counts…also a testament to the critical and commercial success of the series is that not only are there 6 books in the series so far, but that they all sit comfortably at the top of the Amazon sales charts (it's the BEST audiobook I've ever listened to). It's impressive what Dinniman has done here, crafting an incredibly rich world and a wild mythology (think HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE meets SQUID GAME), while balancing humor and heart and thrills, and also exploring themes of class, race, and capitalism.⁣
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If you want my advice. Stop reading this review and just get yourself a copy. I was a skeptic myself at first, but believe me when I say this is my most reliable recommendation of the year. Enjoy the ride, Crawlers!

LOVED THIS BOOK!! Mostly just super annoyed that I'm going to have to wait so long for the sequel. Loved the combination of super nerdy D&D/gaming lore (but accessible) with the modern snark and ridiculous asides. This book feels like it was written directly for my personality.