I have never had SO MUCH FUN while reading a book! This was totally my sense of humor and I caught myself constantly giggling! As a big gamer, I loved being fully teleported into a “game style” story! It was an absolute blast! Carl and Princess Donut were the most epic duo and I can’t wait to see the continuation of their story!! Gosh what a ride!!

I’m late to the party on this one, but Dungeon Crawler Carl absolutely lives up to the hype. It's my first 5-star read of the year, and for good reason. This book delivers a wild ride full of humor, adventure, and bizarre twists that somehow manage to be both horrifying and hilarious.

The story doesn’t waste any time and gets right to it. In the early hours of the morning, Carl runs outside chasing after his ex-girlfriend’s prized show cat, Princess Donut. Within moments, the world as he knows it is obliterated. Aliens have arrived and they’re here to turn Earth into a giant resource farm. The few humans who survived are given a choice to enter a deadly, dungeon style game show and fight for survival, or risk their chance of survival in the remains of Earth.

Carl and Donut choose to enter the dungeon and what follows is a truly chaotic and thrilling experience. Each dungeon level is more unpredictable than the last, filled with deadly creatures, ridiculous traps, and unexpected twists. Matt Dinniman follows the philosophy of, “What’s the worst thing that could happen right now?” and then goes ahead and makes it happen. There were many times I audibly gasped in shock with what was happening.

One of the best parts of the book is the relationship between Carl and Donut. Their banter is laugh-out-loud funny and serves as much needed comic relief from the brutal, often gruesome situations they find themselves in.

Carl himself is a fantastic protagonist. He’s flawed, a little rough around the edges, but incredibly human. His empathy, loyalty, and sarcastic wit make him easy to root for, even when everything around him is falling apart. His personality helps ground the story and gives the reader someone to truly connect with amid the chaos. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Carl’s personality, I don’t know if I would have been able to stomach the book.

While this book is definitely not for everyone having plenty of violence, vulgarity, and soul-crushing despair, it’s a must-read for fans of LitRPGs, dark humor, and video game inspired storytelling. If you can handle the intensity, Dungeon Crawler Carl is an unforgettable ride that will leave you laughing, gasping, and immediately reaching for the next book in the series.

HUGE thank you to NetGalley for the digital book.

I did not finish at 30%. this book is a little too out there for me. Not at all my kind of book. I started out interested but as the book went along I realized that this was not something I was going to enjoy. I wanted to push through but I wasn’t interested enough to keep going.

This may have been one of the best eARCs (well, not advanced because I got it after it had been published) I have received from Netgalley. I felt like a kid again reading this, staying up past my bedtime because I couldn’t put it down. The plot was so unique and gripping, the characters unforgettable and relatable, and the writing banter-filled and witty. The marketing blurb and the first couple chapters of the book make you expect something humorous and exciting without much substance- but Dinniman will surprise readers in that respect, because this series is tackling capitalism, media, colonialism, and more.

I will definitely be reading the next two installments I received from Netgalley, and I regret not requesting the later sequels while they were still available.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for a copy of the arc.

What a fun book.

In theory this is all the things I dislike in a book. Crude humor, talking animals, scofi thats very scyfy, fantasy that feels like the idea of 2015 did I mention how much I hate talking pets?

Somehow Dinniman makes it all work.

A sprawling story that know just what part of its world building and what parts we don’t need explained to is.

This book is a serious book pretending to be silly and pulls no punches on the social commentary.

Characters seem full in fleshed out even if they die soon after.

Theres no doubt that I will be picking up the next book.

I don’t know how this book works, it just does! The story is fun, the characters are extremely likeable and interesting, and I really had a good time!

Managing to be this gory and grim while also being hilarious is honestly impressive. I loved the game, I loved the world, I loved the snippets we got of something deeper and darker. I ate this up in 2 days and was big obsessed.

This book was hands down one of the funniest and best reads that I have had in such a long time. I wanted to truly enjoy this, so I actually purchased the audiobook to do an immersive read. I had heard about this series previously, but it was only recently that my friends and some others convinced me to try it. When I saw that this was available on NetGalley, I knew I had to take the chance and binge-read this whole set. It's worth every minute of laughs. The story line, the characters, everything is crafted with such excellence. It's definitely soap opera litRPG style but that's what makes it insanely good. If things could go wrong, Carl is the epitome of Murphy's Law. I will be binging this series and I have already bought the Hardback book for my shelf trophy collection.

Thank you so much for ACE for approving this galley for me, and everything within is my own honest (and raving excited) opinion.

Oh, this series is going to be delightful! I can't tell you when I have laughed this much. In book one of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, we meet Carl & his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut. Carl is a Coast Guard vet, and overall, an all-around good guy. I mean, after all, he was cat-sitting for ex while she went off on vacation with her new boyfriend. But I digress. Princess Donut, who is a prize-winning show cat, and loves to remind everyone of that, jumped out of the apartment window into a tree and then wouldn't get down. Carl had to go outside to get her down, and that is when it all unfolded. 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. Every building, gone, and anyone who was inside a building.... well, yep, they're gone too. The only choice you have if you want to try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level, like in a video game, is to enter the 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.. There was non-stop action as Carl & Princess Donut do their best to stay alive and navigate the dungeon. The achievement messages they received after skirmishes, and the dialogue between Carl & Princess Donut (because yes, she can actually talk down there, surprise!), were hilarious. I can't wait to read the next one and see how they fare with what gets thrown at them next.

This is one of the best things I have read in a long time. I was entertained from the start. There’s so much going on all the time. The two main characters bicker and kick butt at the same time. This book deserves all the stars and praise. Princess donut for president!

I had a great time reading this book from page one. I was laughing and hooked right away,. As a gamer I loved reading about a world that turned into a RPG. I will be recommending this to everyone I know because although its long, it goes by fast and keeps you interested.

I was hesitant, but this book was so much fun! I will be reading all of the rest in the series. It hooks you right from the start and keeps you wanting to know what will happen next. A mix of Hunger Games, Ninja Turtles, and Dungeons and Dragons all in one and with a unique flair. I loved every minute.

Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, go into the Dungeon to try and stay alive during their alien invasion intergalactic game show as a team that is also being televised to countless viewers across the galaxy. How will they do it??

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

So much fun!! If you are a fan of video games and fun banter. You need to read this book you have a start unintentionally fun main character with a side kick that just so happens to be a taking cat. This book made me laugh out loud and that points almost cray!

Ace was kind enough to give out the first few books recently on NetGalley to introduce this series to a wider audience (though, prior to this it was serialized on Royal Road, and comes with a pretty significant inbuilt fanbase to some degree). This starts at a clip and keeps going pretty quickly; Earth has been turned into a dungeon by a space megacorp, our main is standing outside his house without pants and with his ex's cat when the world is transformed, and now they have to try to survive and also get popular with the audience watching this whole thing in order to have a better chance at surviving. I will say that the first "boss" kind of threw me out of the book hard (lolol the Spanish speaking hoarder got turned into a fat monster, how fucking creative), but I'm interested in seeing what the rest of the series is like as a dear friend has recommended it to me. The humor has some hits and misses to it, but overall I'm interested to see how the journey down goes.

Who knew doomsday could be so much fun? At least for me, sorry Carl.

If you like Dungeons & Dragons, roll-playing games, video games or even simply social media, this series is right up your alley.

I received an email offering review copies of the first three books in this series and an opportunity to request the next three. Although it seemed interesting, six books are a big commitment for an unknown series.  Yet, I reached out my grabby hands and I was hooked right away.

In this series, aliens have collected on their claim for the Earth. They made an offer centuries ago to a prior advanced civilization and it was time to collect and strip mine the planet.   We should have read the fine print but it was written in hieroglyphics.

But the Borant Corporation only makes so much money from stealing the precious metals from a planet. They make more money with sponsorships and commercializing something called the dungeon crawl. When they take over the planet, they wipe out all those pesky structures,  sending any living inhabitants running underground where they have to fight their way through mobs of NPCs to reach lower and lower levels as the stakes rise and rise. As Crawlers gain experience, they can obtain boxes filled with helpful items of magic or enforced armor, etc. to help survive to the next level. A Crawler can go it alone or are encouraged during the tutorial that survival is better if you stick with your group.

On the night of the claiming, Carl had chased his ex-girlfriend's prize-winning cat, who decided a blizzard was the best time to try life as an outdoor cat, making Carl run into the  blizzard in only his boxer shorts, crocs and a jacket.  Suddenly, his building (and everything else) collapses into the ground and the only place to run for shelter are into the tunnels which suddenly appear. So their Crawler team now known as The Royal Court of Princess Donut, which consists only of Carl and Princess Donut.   Donut, who gobbled up a magic treat, now talks and shoots lasers out her eyes and who has quadruple the level of charm and three times the intelligence as poor Carl.

She is now listed as a crawler instead of a pet which gives her her own drop down menus and gifts.  This of course leads to some problems as Donut as a very acquisitive cat and doesn't worry about reading the information or even the warnings first when she received each magical item, including such things as the tiara she received which makes her royalty but which will also require her to battle to the death (come level 9) since there can only be one remaining Royal member standing.  Details, details.

If Carl and Princess Donut can reach the fabled Level 18, they can win the Earth back from the Syndicate. Only problem is that no one has ever made it to Level 15. Can Carl and Princess Donut save us all?

THOUGHTS:
While I don't play video games or D&D, I certain get the concept of the different (silver/gold/platinum) level gift boxes filled with magical items which help boost health or strength.

I find myself laughing out loud and making loud "yucks" when some of the gross NPCs go squish.   This first book takes us through the basics of levels 1 and 2.  Carl's Doomsday Scenario will continue with Level 3, where Carl and Donut will be allowed to select Race and Class options if they want to become more competitive.    While not vicious, Carl is a bit unhinged with his ideas of how to keep himself and Donut in the game.

My biggest problem with this series is the fact that I am now committed to seeing how things go.  I have a long TBR list which is going to be completely thrown off catching up on this series since I need to know what happens next at the end of each story.

What a fun ride! I read these do to hearing how different it was and it did not disappoint. It’s not like most books you read it’s feels more like a very sophisticated comic book because of all the adventures and funny little creatures that are within the book. I found myself on a very wild ride and sometimes a little confused, but that was okay. Fast paced with a wonderful imaginative adventure.

This LitRPG is an apocalypse system-upgrade type. I have no idea if that's actually a thing, though it does distinguish it from isekai. I suppose? Anyway, Carl is present when the Earth is converted by murdering anyone inside—including inside vehicles. Aliens come Douglas Adams-like claiming the planet because we didn't file any injunctions in the galactic court (or something). But it turns out that the mineral thing used as an excuse isn't the point.

The point is a giant Dungeon-based reality show where all the survivors get to do an extended dungeon crawl gaining levels and loot and entertaining the masses. Carl was out trying to retrieve his errant cat, Donut. Er. Princess Donut, an award-winning Persian with personality for days. And one of the first things that happens is a special pet treat that upgrades Donut with tons of stat boosts and the ability to talk. And it gets wackier from there. Which is hard to believe, I know.

And as absurd as it sounds (yes, I know it sounds ginormously absurd), Dinniman is a comedic genius. I laughed out loud so much Melissa started asking questions. Seriously, Carl is the perfect straight man and any fastballs that get past Donut are served by the snarky system. I've highlighted a lot of the system messages so you should check those out if you want a feel for the tone.

I laughed entirely too much not to give this five stars. I was hugely entertained. I really hope Dinniman can keep this up over the whole series. There's not even a hint of strain so far.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: LitRPG/Sci-Fi Fantasy/Apocalypse Comedy
Format: Print, but seriously considering the audio next time 👀
Best For: Gamers, meme lovers, D&D nerds, people who think Borderlands humor is peak

Okay, I get it now. After so many people told me to read Dungeon Crawler Carl, I finally did it, and they were RIGHT. This book is pure chaotic, dungeon crawling, apocalyptic, talking cat madness, and I ate up every second of it.

Carl, recently dumped and stuck with his ex’s show cat, is just vibing in her pink crocs when BOOM, there is an alien invasion. Humanity’s wiped out in minutes, and the survivors are thrown into a dungeon deathmatch that’s livestreamed across the galaxy. So now it’s Carl, his underwear, and Princess Donut (who can now talk and is both entitled and hilarious) vs. lava llamas, exploding goblins, and a suspiciously Twitch stream esque intergalactic audience. It’s ridiculous. It’s genius.

💥 "Welcome, Crawler. Survival is optional. Entertainment is mandatory." 💥

What makes this book so addictive isn’t just the nonstop action or the insane creature designs (shoutout to the rogue old people crew and safe room politics), but the tone. It manages to be both laugh out loud funny and surprisingly emotional. I’m talking actual reflection on grief, purpose, ethics in a kill or be killed reality show, and whether a talking cat should get her own catchphrase (she should).

Carl and Donut have real heart behind the banter. Their dynamic is a perfect balance of annoyed roommates and reluctant soulmates (but, like, not romantic, unless you count one being a cat with diva energy). There’s also this ominous undertone that not everything is as it seems, like aliens playing dirty, dungeon NPCs acting a little too real and like it’s setting up something much bigger. 👀

Now, is this book a literary masterpiece? Nope. It’s not trying to be. But it is one of the most entertaining, original, and wildly fun books I’ve read in a long time. Matt Dinniman keeps it simple enough with the RPG mechanics so even casual gamers can keep up, and the achievement system is chef’s kiss.

Favorite achievement unlocked:
“Congratulations! You’ve earned your first achievement: Crazy Cat Lady.”
😂

If you’ve ever played Diablo, watched The Hunger Games, or laughed at Rick and Morty, this book is for you. And if you haven’t? Read it anyway. You just might find yourself yelling “Goddammit, Donut!” along with the rest of us.

From the first few chapters I knew I would love this book and am now addicted to finishing all the books in the series so far.

I also have been telling everyone about it since I started reading it. It is so fun I have to share updates with my husband, son, best friend, everone has to know the crazy shannagins that are happening to Carl and Princess Donut.

The best way I can describe is this is an action comedy. Think: Running Man mixed with Hitchhiker's Guide adding a dash of Starter Villain.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced ebook to review.

I read this in 2022, my favorite character is princess donut. I absolutely love cats and adored the banter between her and Carl. I love playing video games and loved the aspect of video games in book format. I laughed more in this book then I have in any other fantasy book. If you saw my car you'd see why this is one of my top reads of my life, I love cats, aliens & bigfoot