The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook (Dungeon Crawler Carl #3)[August 9, 2025]

[Saar The Book owl]

I'm up to chapter 8. (I think)
(view spoiler)[Their adventures gets more depth in it, I think. There's the threat of Donut getting 'cat-napped' for Team Helka, Chris that is on a murdering spree and the bounty hunting. Poor Donut! She was beyond herself in the Desperado Club when another crawler tried to kill her. The dissapearance of Mordecai was intentional. Otherwise, Carl wouldn't receive his 'cookbook'. The main question is: who's behind it? And are they able untangle the Iron Tangle? Where can they return to get to the stairwells? And Elle Mcgibbons returns! I love her ice character. It's really something for her. (hide spoiler)]

[Saar The Book owl]

Nirkatze wrote: "And I went down a rabbit hole of the cat guy's videos and this one is pretty special--he has his cat trained well:
https://www.tiktok.com/@jacobsbooknoo..."

Haha, I love that one! I'm a huge catlady :)

[Nirkatze]

Saar The Book owl wrote: "I'm up to chapter 8. (I think)
[spoilers removed]"

Yesss! There are so many things going on in this book, and I love all of them...

[Saar The Book owl]

Quick update on chapter 18:
(view spoiler)[Donut received a PVP Coupon and Katia saw her hiding it away. So, Donut doesn't want to kill Carl, obviously, but why didn't she destroyed it and hide it under the tracks instead? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

re: Chapter 18--(view spoiler)[Maybe the coupons can't be destroyed? (hide spoiler)]

[Saar The Book owl]

Nirkatze wrote: "re: Chapter 18--[spoilers removed]"

Yes, I think it's that. I've finished the chapter and(view spoiler)[it was mentioned that you couldn't burn them. So, on one side it makes sense, but Donut could've kept it in her inventory. Strange that she didn't get rid off the one for Katia. She likes her, sou you would've assumed that.<:spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

re: Chapter 18--(view spoiler)[Maybe she got rid of them because she thought it would be worse to have them staring at her....? Plus, with how tempted Donut is by money, maybe she was worried she'd give in. And just because Katia saw her get rid of Carl's ticket doesn't mean that she didn't get rid of Katia's too--just not at the same time or when Katia could see her.

Dangerous though, to leave them lying around where anyone could pick them up... (hide spoiler)]

[Saar The Book owl]

Hm, your thoughts make absolute sense.

[Ann-Marie]

Some clips from LitRPG Con

https://www.tiktok.com/@morri_can_try...

https://www.tiktok.com/@morri_can_try...

[Nirkatze]

Gah! those will be staring at me until I can get off school internet... can't access here. Boo!

[Ann-Marie]

lol

[Saar The Book owl]

Chapter 22:
(view spoiler)[Donut was so fond of Bea and all Bea wanted to do, was sell her, like she was some second handed thing that was beyond her good years and get some new kitties. People like that shouldn't have pets at all. Also, that guy with his wings ('Ch' and something) messes up the whole Iron Tangle with derailing all the trains. Now it seems that the mobs are just wandering in the tunnels. The NPC's are drugged and the 'storie's' messed up their minds, but if they are beginning to come by, what will happen then? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Ann-Marie wrote: "Some clips from LitRPG Con

https://www.tiktok.com/@morri_can_try...

https://www.tiktok.com/@morri_can_try..."

Here's the cold-reads clip of where the in-jokes broke Jeff Hays that's mentioned in the first video. It's from book 5 though.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DungeonCrawl...

[Nirkatze]

Saar The Book owl wrote: "Chapter 22:
[spoilers removed]"

I love that moment--(view spoiler)[when you realize that Donut is carrying all of that around in her and hasn't let it out...

Quan Ch is another level of asshole. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Nirkatze wrote: "Saar The Book owl wrote: "Chapter 22:
[spoilers removed]"

I love that moment--when you realize that Donut is carrying all of that around in her and hasn't let it out...

Quan Ch is another level..."

Is that how you spell that asshole's name? HATE that guy!

[Nirkatze]

Yup. I totally thought it was differently spelled too until I eye-read... but then I was like OOOH.

[Saar The Book owl]

Up to chapter 30. I've got a feeling that there's a big finale coming up. The Iron Tangle got my brains into a tangle trying to understand it.
(view spoiler)[Donut's reaction on the attempt of Hekla for trying to kill Katia was epic! She did a total 180 degrees on liking Hekla before. Also, I knew something was brewing with Hekla: when she said that they would use Katia to put on the front of the train, Katia almost threw up and got white in the face. Later Katia said it was all her idea, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't right. She belongs to the Royal Court of Princess Donut and will fit perfectly in it. I admire Carl for being so inventive (even without Mordecai) and trying to save as many crawlers as possible. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

It's a tangle. Made of iron

;)

[Saar The Book owl]

Haha :p

[Nirkatze]

Saar The Book owl wrote: "Up to chapter 30. I've got a feeling that there's a big finale coming up. The Iron Tangle got my brains into a tangle trying to understand it.
[spoilers removed]"

I love that scene! (view spoiler)[This might seem random, but it makes me think of how much I hate texting. Like, I'll start typing something (and it takes me a while) and then six texts from the other person would come in asking if I got their texts? And because I was on an old phone, each time I got a text, it would erase the text I was working on and I'd have to start from scratch again...

Anyway, I just imagine Carl slow-typing a message to tell Donut to just ignore it and be quiet, and before he can hit SEND Donut has already flown off the rails at Hekla... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

I treated the Iron Tangle like I treat crazy science in books, my eyes gloss over and I just go with it so I didn't try to picture it any further than a subway map in NYC lol

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The wiki explains it with AI art:



Someone else tried to draw it:



https://dungeon-crawler-carl.fandom.c...

[Ann-Marie]

Yeah the trains in spaghetti is what I picture when I try to imagine it lol

[Nirkatze]

LOL That hand-drawn map makes it all the more impressive that (view spoiler)[Katia can visualize it... (hide spoiler)] and that Dinniman actually had this in his mind and created it...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

That hand-drawn map is only the main part from the book, I think... the full tangle is like 100x worse, from that wiki description...

[Ann-Marie]

Figuring this out is too much like math for me so no thank you lol

[Saar The Book owl]

Haha, the first one is a real good one! I think I couldn't draw it, even if I tried really hard.

[Saar The Book owl]

I've finished the book. Final thoughts:
(view spoiler)[Well, if Carl blows up things, it doesn't go well sometimes. Entering his fall through the portal with the mantaur. I just knew something like that would happen. I hoped for an epic battle, but seeing the level of Grull, well that wasn't possible. But there came Donut, Katya and a lot of other crawlers to Carl's rescue. That felt good after his big efforts to rescue other crawlers. It seems with Loita instead of Zev, that Carl, Donut and Katya and even Odette are on a leash? The politics are never too far away. And what is it about Agatha? She survived being only level 8? Why did Cark shush Katya quiet when she was about to aska bout that? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

re: Agatha--(view spoiler)[Do you remember back in book 1, when Carl pulled Agatha's cart into his inventory? There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene either at the end of book 1 or beginning of book 2, where Carl sees he has a new tab in inventory for items that used to be there but which he's removed. And when he found that--he saw that there was some weird shit in the list. Stuff he didn't remember looting. Stuff that looked like it could be alien tech, or alien weapons. He figured out that it must've come from Agatha's cart--and that Agatha was more than she seemed. Combine that with how it was Agatha who got the whole nursing home to evacuate by "accidentally" setting a trash can on fire (I think she was homeless, not one of the residents), and Carl figured that Agatha was more than she seemed... maybe even an ally against the game. But he doesn't want to draw the system--or the game-runners'--attention to her. So he shushed Katia.

I loved the scene when all the other crawlers had their own plan to save Carl!! Such a great heart-surge moment. (hide spoiler)]

[Saar The Book owl]

Oh, yes, now I remember! Thanks :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

My "The Apocalypse Will Be Televised" shirt is cursed... every time I wear it to work, something happens...

1st time I wore it, I got a small puncture in it...
Last night, I git a bit of battery acid on it, and probably didn't notice for 2-4hrs...

[Saar The Book owl]

Definately cursed it is...Only one remedy: never wear it to work again ;)

[Nirkatze]

Just look at it as flavor--it's like it's survived the dungeon!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

that was my thought... apocalyptic flavoring

[Paula]

Finished! (view spoiler)[ It was slowish but those last hundred pages were such a blast. The Hekla betrayal, by killing Katia, I wasn't expecting. And then Katia killing her, having the reward and being the highest crawler now. Good, I liked Katia and didn't want her to go away. Her power is pretty cool, she can be very soft and change her appearance but with the steel she is the ultimate tank. Great addition to the Royal team.

The only drawback is all the lines of the trains, the rules, and the train themselves, I just have a hard time picturing everything so I just gloss it over.

Wow, the Maestro is alive! I am glad, I thought his death last book was anticlimatic. And I really liked how everyone came to Carls rescue in the end.

What a family Carl had. Abusive father, mother who wants to kill his father and herself...

Awww, donut saying that she is not Beatrice, she won't abandon him. She was mad when Hekla betrayed Katia, saying that loyalty is important. She knew about Bea abandoning her. She just ignored and pretended it wouldn't happen.

Intriguing. Is Chris a bad guy now because of the race? I like that the intergalactic politics afect the crawl so much. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Love your comments Paula! (view spoiler)[Hekla's betrayal and subsequent death is a real turning point in the book, and it really does barrel to the end after that. Such great uplifting moment!

I'm also glad Maestro is back. We need a better (read: worse) death for him. Maybe involving Mongo and intestines.

re: Chris. RAFO. (hide spoiler)]