Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5)
Dungeon Crawler Carl had a slightly slow start for me, but it picked up pretty quickly and once it did, I was hooked. The premise is honestly what makes this book stand out so much. Aliens arrive on Earth and the survivors are thrown into what is essentially a massive dungeon-crawling RPG, complete with levels, stats, classes, loot, achievements, quests, and increasingly ridiculous situations. It blends fantasy, sci-fi, and gaming elements in a way that just felt really unique, and I loved pretty much every part of the game system and world.
But as much as I loved the premise, Carl’s relationship with Donut is what really made the book for me. Having a talking cat as one of the main characters is already hilarious, but their connection gives the story something more than just the absurdity of watching Carl try to survive a deadly alien dungeon. The humor worked really well for me, the game mechanics were fun rather than feeling like a chore to read through, and by the end I was completely invested. There are definitely things I have more thoughts about as the series continues, but for the first book, I mostly just had a ridiculously fun time with it. If you like RPGs, D&D, dungeon crawlers, leveling and loot systems, sci-fi, or books that feel like playing through a completely unhinged game campaign, I absolutely recommend giving this one a try.
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