Book Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

“Dungeon Crawler Carl” is a wild blend of science fiction, fantasy and LitRPG (game-like storytelling). The premise is instantly absurd and gripping: Earth is destroyed by aliens and transformed into a galactic reality TV dungeon crawl, where survivors must fight mon­sters and complete quests to entertain an audience.

The story follows Carl, an ordinary guy and his ex-girlfriend’s award-winning show cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk - usually just called Princess Donut. She quickly becomes a talk­ing, diva-like companion, adding both humor and chaos as the pair struggle to survive increasingly deadly dungeon levels.

The book’s greatest strength is its tone. It constantly balances brutality with comedy. The humor isn’t subtle - it’s crude, absurd and relentless - but that’s exactly what makes it work. At the same time, the high-stakes violence keeps the story intense and engaging.

The LitRPG style is another major draw. Characters are defined by stats like strength, vitality and dexterity, and they level up as they progress. Achieve­ments, loot drops and rewards play a huge role, and the item descriptions are often as entertaining as the action itself - wild, creative and sometimes completely ridiculous.

“Dungeon Crawler Carl” was a fan­tastic read and I greatly enjoyed it. Any reader that plays computer/console games or enjoys DND, Pathfinder or col­lectible card games will enjoy this book.

“Dungeon Crawler Carl” is available to read digitally from the Beehive Con­sortium using the Libby app.