I know I’m late to the game but I’ve finally read Dungeon Crawler Carl and frankly, I’m obsessed. I’ve been captivated by the idea of LitRPG but have never been able to get into it. I play a lot of video games and it never seemed like something that could translate well to a novel format. After ready Dungeon Crawler Carl, it’s clear I was very wrong.

It seems like everyone already knows everything about these books, but from my perspective, here are a few of my favorite things:

The Inciting Incident

A complete razing of Earth is a wild first page event. Everything is lights out, the majority of the world is now particles of matter being repopulated into monsters and dungeons, and those left have to somehow entirely change their understanding of the universe and the course of their lives in a matter of hours. It’s a total shock to the system, but that shock instantly pulls you into the story. It’s impossible to read that first chapter and say ‘nah, this isn’t interesting.’ 

The Cat

Cats have been a staple of fantasy forever, always appearing on the edges and providing companionship to endless witch and warlock protagonists. As far as science fiction goes, I can’t say I can recall a cat protagonist beyond Jones in the Alien movies. Princess Donut is a brilliant supporting character to Carl, providing endless comic relief alongside a surprisingly badass demeanor and fighting stance. She goes from a pesky and preening show cat to a Dungeon Crawler in her own right, always keeping Carl on his toes and advancing at a hilariously fast pace. 

The Dungeon

Every element of a D&D campaign is here – magical creature, dungeons filled with traps, backstories that are sometimes important and sometimes nothing but distractions. The weapons are often wild and mismatched to the location, and that’s exactly what I would expect from a fantasy dungeon in a sci-fi heavy world. It doesn’t take Carl long to come to terms with the rules and regulations of this world and he succeeds around nearly every corner. 

Carl Himself

I personally love Carl as a protagonist. He comes off as a gruff fighter filled with anger about what’s happened to the world, but be becomes so much more. You see how much he cares about other people, how much he dotes on Princess Donut even though she’s always made his life hell, and how much he wants to seek justice for the thousands of races who’ve have had their lives destroyed by these mysterious corporations. He fights and reasons and saves people and he’s admirable. 

The Narration of the Audiobook

I can say without a doubt that the audiobook performer on these books is the best I’ve ever heard. He’s able to create dozens of unique voices and all of them are perfection. Carl is both gruff and emotional, Princess Donut is high and mighty, the AI is straight out of a gameshow, and the various supporting characters all have enough personality to be instantly identifiable by voice. That level of skill creates a truly immersive world within the audiobook and I can’t imagine a better performance.