From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)

Matt Dinniman

Start date: April 1, 2025

Finish date: April 30, 2025

Discussion: Dungeon Crawler Carl

Why we're reading this: Won the 10th annual March Madness tournament. Dammit Donut!
[close] Won the 10th annual March Madness tournament. Dammit Donut!

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Dungeon Crawler Carl

DCC: Dead Tree Extras - Front Cover and Pineapple Cabaret
By Papa MRF · 5 posts · 106 views

last updated Oct 29, 2025 09:42AM

DCC: Audiobook
By John · 1 post · 19 views

last updated Sep 10, 2025 11:47AM

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What Members Thought

Sep 07, 2024 Lexie rated it it was ok

Infuriating but readable. Trying desperately to wedge sci fi rationales into an obviously fantasy plot. Chockablock full of casual misogyny and racism. Poorly edited. Deeply emblematic of (and a concise demonstration of some causes of) the male loneliness epidemic. I did enjoy the cat.

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May 20, 2025 Eric rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, post-apocalyptic

For a book I found to be fairly middling, I have a lot of thoughts on it:

The short chapters and quick pacing made for easy reading, but I also saw very little depth to the story (with the exception of Zev's allusions about the intergalactic politics going on behind-the-scenes at the event, which was one of the more interesting parts, and reminded me a bit of the Cabin in the Woods control room).

This felt very much like a juvenile male power fantasy — I mean, Carl enters the dungeon with almost For a book I found to be fairly middling, I have a lot of thoughts on it:

The short chapters and quick pacing made for easy reading, but I also saw very little depth to the story (with the exception of Zev's allusions about the intergalactic politics going on behind-the-scenes at the event, which was one of the more interesting parts, and reminded me a bit of the Cabin in the Woods control room).

This felt very much like a juvenile male power fantasy — I mean, Carl enters the dungeon with almost nothing, but he still has a leather jacket and a pack of smokes. He spends almost no time considering the implications of his predicament, and instead pummels and detonates his way through the dungeon, while maintaining a conscience by helping the weak and infirm. It all just seems like what a fifteen-year-old boy thinks his reaction would be to a circumstance such as this.

His now-talking cat also occasionally drops comments on exactly how often and with how many other men his ex-girlfriend was cheating on him with, and he just doesn't react to any of it. It's not that I wanted this post-apocalyptic adventure to be about a depressed man crying his way through the dungeon — I didn't — but I did want him to feel more... real? Human? To whit, Carl never once mentioned craving a smoke or going through nicotine withdrawal, despite running out of his cigarettes very quickly.

The punch-kick-loot box-repeat of the dungeon grinding became repetitive, despite the new ways Carl found to kill things. In that respect, it reminded me of The Martian, except Mark Watney "sciencing the shit out of things" felt way more earned.

Seeing repeated recommendations for this on Fantasy subreddit was one of the main reasons I finally picked it up, and I'm honestly shocked that the same community that loathes Ernest Cline's Ready Player One can love this book so much, considering both share a simple worldview, sophomoric humor, and frequent nostalgic references.

Overall, I felt like I was reading fan fiction for a post-apocalyptic video game I'd never played. It was a quick and painless read, and the pacing was very good, but I found it exactly as satisfying as eating a meal that consists only of junk food.

Note (spoilers follow): At the end of this book, Carl and Donut have only descended the first two of fifteen levels of the dungeon, and almost every plot thread remains unresolved. From Frank and Maggie chasing him, to Mordecai and Odette's backstory, to who Agatha is and why she had alien technology in her shopping cart, and many other things. That said, I can't imagine I am going to read 7+ more books to find out the answers to any of these questions. ...more

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Apr 21, 2025 kvon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio

I liked this more than I expected. Early on, I felt tired of the physically competent, socially awkward hero; but the further in the story went, I enjoyed the side commentary, and the morality of the main character. And who wouldn't love Princess Donut. Nice hints of a bigger story behind the told story. Dinneman has a fairly good ear for when to detail the fights, and when to elide over them. (view spoiler) ...more

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Oct 26, 2025 Steve Coughlan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

I've only heard high praise for this book/series. It started out interestingly enough, but I'm not an online gamer, and I've never played D&D, so the world and terminology aren't native for me. Familiar, but not native. It's not off-putting, and Dinniman makes it clear in and interesting, but I'm not exactly like a fish in water. So about the halfway point my thinking was along the lines of "this is nice, an interesting, somewhat compelling read that's moving briskly (so I'm reading briskly), bu ...more

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Feb 01, 2024 Dave rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, sf, audiobook, humour

Didn't quite grab me though I know it's the hotness of the moment. Inferior to The Hunger Games with immersion breaking video game like sequences, including loot boxes. Humour didn't really land; just went over the top constantly. The audiobook version is great though, and the narrators/readers had fun with it. ...more

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Apr 21, 2025 Beth rated it liked it

Shelves: sword-and-laser, fantasy, sf

Very does-what-it says-on the tin. If you like the look of the tin, that’s what it tastes like. Pretty tin, so I enjoyed it but won’t go on as I think it will be more of the same. If I get a craving for that flavor, I will know where to go.

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