Dungeon Crawler Carl series
Dungeon Crawler Carl
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Alien corporation claims Earth, and the only way out is through a deadly game show livestreamed across the galaxy. Enter Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Donut. It's a terrific series, wildly creative and well-written. Crunchy.
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Alien corporation claims Earth, and the only way out is through a deadly game show livestreamed across the galaxy. Enter Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Donut. It's a terrific series, wildly creative and well-written. Crunchy.
Dungeon Crawler Carl Series Review
Irreverant litRPG with strong anti-institutional themes.
The apocalypse will be televised!
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? 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. That’s what.
Come for the hilariously over-the-top litRPG madness, stay for the surprisingly real characters.
Carl and Donut are so goddamn relatable, it's hard to fathom how far they get into the crawl. Through the exploding monster trucks, hideous garbage monsters, and monstrous alien viewers (did I mention this series has monsters?), the duo perseveres, clawing their way to the top of the heap.
The plot is so tight, you know where it's going (roughly) from book one. The writing is expert, and you can tell an editor or three has gotten their grubby mitts on it. Smooth like butter. This is one of those series that deserves the hype.
Infrequently asked questions
Who would win, Carl or 100 tiny elephants?
Book one? Elephants. Unless Carl has Donut, in which case those elephants are burnt toast.
Were any books slower than others?
Yes. Iron Tangle (book #3) was a bit of a slog. The author seemingly tried to build the most complicated run possible. He succeeded. I still have no idea where Carl was when anything happened.
There were also pacing issues with The Gate of the Feral Gods (book #4). Too much running around biomes, not enough plot movement. Turns out, the running was important to the plot, but it didn't feel like it. It felt like Carl running around like a headless, bomb-happy chicken.
How much litRPG crunch is there?
A lot. Some scenes hinge on knowing what the heck Carl can do because you (totally) read the System descriptions of his powers and paid attention to Mordecai's theorycrafting.
