WeHa Book Club

*Spoiler Free Review*

Ah, we’ve finally arrived at my first Dungeon Crawler Carl book review. With this being the third book in the series, I think it goes without saying that I’ve already read the first two, but that was back in 2025, before I had a website to amplify my rants. As a result, I’m going to dedicate a large portion of this review to discussing the series as a whole.

I’ve never really experienced a launch like this before. I assume it’s happened, but this was certainly my first exposure to it. I had never heard of this series and suddenly it was everywhere. Seven books, each longer than the last, all displayed on a Barnes and Noble display table with a sign that read “Have you started the crawl yet?”

I started getting served ads for it on Amazon every day, which makes sense in hindsight given that Audible is an Amazon company, but at the time was a bit of a head-scratcher. What is this? Is it for kids because the title and cover art would certainly suggest that it is? Why have I never heard of it before and why is it being pushed so hard now? Let’s try to answer the questions one at a time.

What is it?

Dungeon Crawler Carl is in a genre called LitRPG which is essentially a book version of a game like Elder Scrolls or RuneScape. There are levels and power-ups and weapons/armor imbued with special abilities.

The story begins at the moment when earth, as we know it, is destroyed. Everyone inside a building at the time of the collapse was immediately killed. The survivors – those who happened to be outside when the buildings collapse – are invited to either walk down a staircase into level one of an underground dungeon or try to survive on the surface of a ravaged earth.

It is all part of a post-apocalyptic game show where the universe is watching and cheering for (or against) our main characters Carl and his friend Princess Donut, a cat that used to belong to his ex-girlfriend and has gained the ability to speak (and so much more) through the upgrades of the dungeon.

Is it for kids?

Definitely not, although I have no doubt that kids would have a great time reading it. While it’s not overtly racy, there are a fair amount of sexual jokes and heady references that would likely go over their heads. Rather, this is a book for grown-ups who don’t take life too seriously. Just have fun already! God dammit Donut!

Why did this series seemingly come out of nowhere?

This is actually a pretty interesting story. I had the question myself, and after doing a little research, this is what I found:

It’s a truly inspirational (as well as wildly uncommon) tale of self-made success. Author Matt Dinniman had begun by self-publishing the Dungeon Crawler Carl series with the intent of telling a story with a ‘death-match setting’. For those less familiar with gaming culture, a ‘death match’ is essentially a game mode where dying means you’re dead. No re-spawning. Last man standing wins.

After the series blew up on it’s own, all the big hitters came calling. The printing rights were purchased in 2024 by one of the main publishing houses, Penguin Random House. The audiobook is an Amazon Audible exclusive, and I can’t recommend this version of the book enough. Best audiobook I’ve ever listened to, period.

Dinniman still owns the digital e-book rights to the series. And although I’m not an e-book guy at all – I’d rather stare at physical pages than another screen during my reading hours – I love the idea that you can support the author more directly by purchasing Dungeon Crawler via digital purchase.

Anyway, please read this! A bit quirky but a hell of a lot of fun. It was recently announced that an expansion to ten books is underway with Book #8, entitled A Parade of Horribles, scheduled for release in May 2026. I wouldn’t put any of these books in ‘master class’ territory but it’s one heck of a ride. The first book is also fairly short and grips you from the very start. So hopefully that’s some added incentive.

New Achievement! You have now completed an entire book review! Wouldn’t you rather write a book that other people write reviews about rather than lobbing your unhinged criticisms from the couch in your mom’s basement? Oh, but that would require so much extra effort… Reward?! This book recommendation is your reward! Crawlers don’t get bonus points for being literate. Now get back out there and start slaying goblins!

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The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman