I did it!!

This one definitely was the most plot dense, but with enough character moments that kept me grounded and locked in.

The last 20% of this was insane and perfect.

I’m still a Gate of the Feral Gods girlie, but thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Book 5 - here we go! I don’t think I’ve been this engrossed with a DCC story since the first one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

TL;DR: I listened to all the DCC books back-to-back on audiobook, so they all kinda blend together at this point, but i think this is easily my favorite of the series. cool world, quests that feel related to the overarching character stories, Kiwi, Pony, Lucia all get lots of screen time; it’s a great mix of heart and humor and violence; donut singing Oasis on the audiobook is the perfect ending!

I have recommended this series to every single person I have met and I will continue to do so. I cannot wait for the eighth book, and how do they keep getting better?

Princess Donut and Carl are perfect characters, deeply flawed but so easy to root for!

Thank you to Net Galley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Ace for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Another great addition to the Dungeon Crawler Carl collection. This is fantastic. The books are getting more serious as the series goes on. The series starts rather light, but here we really begin getting a bit darker and more serious. I couldn't recommend this more. Fantastic and great fun

Ain’t nobody in the galaxy expecting what happens here!

Level 6 has been discussed quite a bit in the series so far. This level is call The Hunting Ground. In preparation for the Faction Wars on the 9th floor, all the factions send representatives to fight it out…actually it isn’t much of a fight as these faction members drink, party and buy up all the deadliest weapons in Zockau. They are waiting for the crawlers to work their way down. In the past, when the horn blows, they rush out and slaughter crawlers to take all the weapons, scrolls and potions that the crawlers have in their inventory. The idea is to then take all their loot to the Faction Wars to give their faction a leg up in the upcoming war. But this isn’t like every other dungeon crawl. Oh no. No one expected Carl when they signed up for the Hunting Grounds in Dungeon World: Earth.

This turns out like that 10-year-old kid who sits in his mom’s basement playing Call of Duty with all the invincibility protections on and just shooting everyone in his path, except this time a real army breaks down his front door and does some shooting of their own.

First, Carl used the Gate of the Feral Gods at the end of that story to send a mega-bomb down to the 6th level which kills or traps a lot of these hunters and by “hunter,” Carl finds most of them whining that they are just accountants (such of high level of accountants) who came to have fun and kill crawlers but not expecting to risk their own lives. It was just supposed to be a bit of fun but they didn’t realize that Carl would level the playing field and have their safeties turned off.

Carl and Donut go from town to town setting themselves up as the mayor so they can have a safe base of operations against the hunters who manage to get out, especially after the AI makes it impossible for those accountants to stay huddled in their safe rooms, in a die here or die out there proposition.

Carl ends up killing a member of the royal house of the preying mantis faction, and the most dangerous warriors in the upcoming Faction Wars. Vrah is their leader head and sister of the murdered royal, and she and her queen mother are looking to wear Carl’s head as a hat. No, literally, they wear the heads of their enemies as battle gear. Yuck!

Donut then takes the spotlight from Carl and ends up coming up against Lucia Mar and her two rottweilers who have been leading on the leader board for most of the crawl. This kid is a little cray-cray and that also opens the question of how a kid this young a crawler as all pregnant women and children are supposed to be in a facility on the surface.

We also meet a T-Rex named Big Tina and her gang of lady Mongos. They only reason they haven’t made Donut into a snack is the fact they are a little too interested in her boy much to Donut’s annoyance.

As the crawlers kill the Hunters, they receive a hand…yes, an actual hand (the right one, I believe) which they will be able to turn in for cool, fun prizes at something called the Butcher’s Masquerade, which is just the AI’s final attempt to get all the crawlers and hunters into the same room to see what fun happens.

Carl is also understanding that the hunters are getting assistance and a head’s up from outside forces and Carl decides to fight back with more bombs and a…lawyer? It’s just a game after all to the rest of the universe but Carl will do whatever he can to level the playing field for the crawlers.

There are a lot of things that go boom in this story and a pet talent contest to keep everything exciting.

I love that the author goes over the top to have fun with this series.

Matt Dinniman does it AGAIN! Carl and Donut continue throughout their adventure, balancing humor with adventure and suspense. These books are the definition of un-put-downable.

I LOVE THIS SERIES. I finish these books so fast because they have such great characters, pacing, worldbuilding, and conflicts. They are funny but still tackle some serious concerns. The characters fight with, for, and against each other and you never know what is going to happen next. Carl and Princess Donut are an absolute DELIGHT.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the eARC.

Wildly inventive and emotionally sneaky—Carl and Donut face hunters, dinosaurs, and a deadly masquerade that somehow turns the dungeon into a battlefield and a ballroom. It’s brutal, bizarre, and unexpectedly touching—Dinniman’s funniest and fiercest carnival yet.

The Butcher’s Masquerade
Matt Dinniman

Characters 5
Setting 5
Plot 5
Themes 5
Emotional 5
Enjoyment 5
Overall 5/5

Characters: 5/5
As always, the characters in this fifth installment of the Dungeon Crawler books were fantastic. There’s Carl, cynical and resourceful, but we’re also starting to see him become increasingly ruthless and angry. Princess Donut who seemingly started out as mostly the comedic relief, but has become a stronger more mature character. We’re starting to see lots of changes whether it’s maturing or regressing from the other characters as well. The villains are fun, too. They aren’t super amazing by any means, but they didn’t feel rushed. They still had personality and history, but all in all, we aren’t necessarily here for them, we’re here for the main characters.

Setting: 5/5
Again, we see a new floor of the dungeon, the hunting grounds, and they are as lush as ever with new foliage and new and returning monsters. We’ve been hearing about the Hunting Grounds for so long, it was so much fun to finally see everything in “full color” so to speak.

Themes: 5/5
Some of the themes we see in this installment are resilience, loyalty and blurring of moral boundaries. Carl and Donut, again, face constant threats and must adapt, showing their capacity for resilience. I feel like in this book it was kind of a line drawn in the sand. Who could trust who and who was untrustworthy. It also looks at consequences at the hand of their survival instincts. We also get to see the emotional and psychological toll the dungeon is taking on our characters.

Emotional: 5/5
I feel like all the books have an emotional aspect to them, but also that The Butcher’s Masquerade was the most emotional of them all for me. These poor characters go through so much, I can’t help but feel for them.

Enjoyment: 5/5
I enjoyed this book just as much as the others, so no changes there. I keep waiting for the lowering of the bar, but it never happens. I love this series so much, I’m immediately reading the next one in line.

Carl and Donut enter the 9th Floor: The Butcher’s Masquerade, a twisted, high-society ball where the crawlers must navigate deadly social games, assassination attempts, and brutal combat, all while wearing ridiculous costumes. This is an absolute must read for any fan. I cannot stress how good this one is. 10000 out of 10. Share and Enjoy Crawler.

Okay sooooo there were still people out there surviving on the face of the Earth. Including one and only Miss Beatrice! She ran after her side man when the event happened and now both of them were saved. At this level, people like them who stayed on the surface could join the crawl as hunters and be rewarded for crawlers they could kill.

But it wouldn't be fun without a face-off between Carl and Donut and Miss Beatrice. Bea needed to get that slap across the face, not from Carl but from Donut. I loved the way Donut handled the situation and acted like the cat she was. Good job Princess, you were growing into your tiara!

Besides this revelation, we also got the news of a masquerade at the end of this level. As expected, this was not a traditional ball celebrating end of the level and survival, but "a little" fight in the court of a deposed princess. With the help of his beloved book, Carl created another disturbing scenario where he was going to make a lot of top dogs angry.

This installment was just plain fun and this series is quickly taking up a large space in my heart. This one was simply a great combination of everything that is fantastic about this series. The found family, the team work, and the wacky boosts to Donut's singing.

Well, this book destroyed me. I was not expecting this book to be as deep and dark as it was! I am so happy that I was able to buddy read this with Dini. It was much appreciated when we both could lose our minds together. The stakes have gotten higher the more I've gotten to love these characters.

The Butcher's Masquerade does something a little different, and the devastation outweighs the humor. Don't get me wrong, there are MANY hilarious moments. With that being said, there are several crushing moments. Carl and Donut's relationship takes leaps into serious conversations and observations. It's heartfelt and soul-crushing at the same time. Carl is the heart and soul of this entire dungeon. He is the reason that many are coming together and why we have become attached to so many characters. I won't spoil anything, but have some tissues ready for this one.

Book five is the longest in the series so far. They tend to get longer as we go, and I'm not mad about it. I didn't feel the length in this book at all. I felt like this level was such high stakes and there was so much going on that I sometimes felt like I couldn't catch my breath. I will admit, I'm still unsure of what happened in the last several chapters of this book. There are so many moving parts and characters that it was hard to keep track. I've re-read it slowly, and I still don't even grasp it all. It's not a bad thing, but there is so much going on.

Regardless, I am READY for the next book. I don't even care anymore. I need these characters to leave this dungeon alive!!! This series has so many hilarious moments, but many wholesome ones. It can be devastating, and the stakes are higher than ever. It's such a great series!

Thank you, Ace and Netgalley, for the e-ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own. I also own the audiobook and hardcover!

-Audiobook Review-

It's fantastic! One of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. You would think it's several narrators because there are so many distinct character voices. Nope. Jeff Hays is brilliant and has to be a magician. I do wish these weren't Audible only because I wish everyone could listen to these books. I have to do immersive reading because I can't just read this book without the audio. They are truly incredible. All the stars!

I am unwell. I don't even know how to describe what I just read, but I am so glad that I have book 6 ready and waiting for me, because that was a doozy. Also, how dare he pack so much meat into the epilogue. THE EPILOGUE!

The 6th floor was intense. It was clear from the beginning that it would be, and it all built up to the expected, chaotic, climactic conclusion. AND THEN THERE WAS AN EPILOGUE. Carl's mantra has become "you will not break me", well, I'm broken. You did it. I don't know if I can handle more, but you better believe I need to know what happens.

As with the earlier versions I did an immersive read with an audio book that I purchased and the e-book provided by NetGalley and the publisher. I really think that the audio book is the way to go. This is by far the best book in the series so far. I wish there were more stars. You could tell with the end of the last book that there was a bit of a change in motivation coming in the future of the series. We really saw that in The Butcher's Masquerade. There were also so many emotional moments that I wasn't expecting. Who thought that Dungeon Crawler Carl would make me tear up? I loved it so much. I have the next book in my queue and I honestly can't wait. I am already dreading the end. I know this can't last forever and I am sad.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-book in exchange for my honest opinion.

5⭐️

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, Matt Dinniman, and NetGalley for a chance to preview this title!

Book 5 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl season is back with 5 stars! This was probably my favorite after Book 1, filled with adventure, great storylines, and more antics of Carl and Princess Donut.

This takes place on Level 6 of The Dungeon Crawler World: Earth where hunters are recruited to eliminate the Crawlers but Carl has other plans. This book was a hefty one at 687 pages but I loved every minute of it. It seems that the other books were really setting up the series for this book, which is almost like a part 2 of the series. I was not sure how Matt Dinniman would keep the stories fresh and entertaining, but it is clear that he has an end game and is building towards that.

I simply cannot recommend these books enough and truly believe that you are missing out if you are not reading them!

I am running out of ways to say that I loved this book and this whole series.

Whenever I think I know what to expect somehow Dinniman gives me something brand new. There were so many times when I just had to stop and think "this book should not work. This should not be this entertaining. What sort of magic is Dinniman creating."

Also this book almost made me cry, and not from laughing. What is happening? When can I read the next one?

When we last left our crawlers we had an interesting epilogue that hinted that Miss Beatrice and Gravy boat might be joining the crawl. We had also met some interesting characters in the last floor. Well, they all came out in force.

First we had Samantha. She is a big part of this level, and just hilarious. And our dearest Mongo, well he makes a “friend” named Kiwi, much to Donut’s chagrin.

This level had a lot of more emotional pieces for me. When Donut gets to face Miss Beatrice, I just wanted to snuggle Donut. There was so much love and sacrifice in this level. Miriam? 😭 Carl trying to sacrifice himself to save his friends?

But was the craziness in full swing? Absolutely. I will say I was hoping for a bit more from Gravy boat, but whatever.

On to the next level!