Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Hi everybody, and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday! Today I want to talk about my latest obsession and that is Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman.
This series first got on my radar somewhere mid 2025, when I saw my fellow bloggers Leslie @ BooksAreTheNewBlack and Dini @ DiniPandaReads rave about the series. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would be the kind of book series I’d like, considering I’d never read LitRPG before. But I gave it a try and here I am, 5 months and 7 books later and I AM OBSESSED.
So today, I am taking the opportunity to highlight ten reasons why I love Dungeon Crawler Carl (and why I think you should definitely give it a try too if you haven’t yet):
First Off, What’s Dungeon Crawler Carl About?
Well, I could not begin to explain the premise of the series without you thinking I’m a major weirdo, so how about the blurb for book one?
The apocalypse will be televised!
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.
Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.
10 Things I Love About Dungeon Crawler Carl
1. DONUT! 🐱
Aka Princess Donut, The Queen Anne Chonk. Donut is an award-winning (and don’t you forget it) show cat, who got stuck in the dungeon together with Carl. Donut can talk. And shoot lasers from her eyes. She’s also super sassy and spunky and awesome. She has a pet dinosaur called Mongo and her fan club is called The Princess Posse. (There’s also one called The Donut Holes, but she doesn’t authorize that one so we don’t talk about it)
2. CARL 💣
Carl may not be the typical hero I usually read about in my fantasy books, but he still quickly became one of my top favorites. He’s quite creative (and a bit explosive) in his problem solving and though he’s definitely flawed and a bit impulsive, he’s also got such heart and a moral compass I can only applaud.
3. THE LITRPG GENRE 🎮
Maybe you’ve read this genre before and this isn’t anything new. But for me, this is my first foray into the world of LitRPG and it’s so unique and fun. For anyone else new, LitRPG stands for Literary Role-Playing Game and it is a hybrid genre combining conventional storytelling with video game mechanics. The story features a lot of game elements like stats, levels, quests, health points and NPC’s or Non-Player Characters. It’s fun for gamers as they’ll recognize a lot of things, but it’s also a great read for non-gamers (like me).
4. THE HUMOR 🤪
This series is out there. It’s hilarious and weird, quirky, absurd and irreverent, and I laugh so much reading these books. It’s a good balance to…
5. THE DARK PREMISE AND EMOTIONAL DEPTH 😭
It’s still the apocalypse. It’s people who already lost so much, trying to survive in a sadistic game that’s televised for entertainment and profit. This part is very much like The Hunger Games. It’s dark, and despite the laughs, there are also moments I sobbed my little heart out.
6. THE SYSTEM AI 🤖
The Dungeon Crawler game is operated by The System AI. It provides the crawlers with information, it distributes achievements and loot and sets the difficulty in the different levels. It also has a foot fetish and just loves that Carl entered the Dungeon without shoes so it gets him lots of enchanted toe rings as loot. It’s snarky and petty and really feels like a full-fledged character that you either love or hate (or both).
7. THE WORLDBUILDING 🔮
This world is so big and well built and I don’t even know where to start how to explain it. There are so many alien races, traditions, history and politics, and that’s outside of the dungeon. Inside the dungeon there’s all that and even more weird creatures and monsters designed specifically for the dungeon. There are goblins and llamas and elves and orcs and gods and even a lesser deity stuck in a sex doll head (her name’s Samantha and we love her).
8. THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS AND FOUND FAMILY ASPECT 💖
Though Carl and Donut are our main characters, there’s a whole host of secondary characters to love and root for. Together, they form a kind of dysfunctional found family and it’s so heartwarming. Like, I want to list them all one by one, but that would take too long. For now, I’ll just say my favorites are Mordecai (Carl and Donut’s grumpy changeling game guide, who’s a former crawler and now indentured employee to the crawl) and Elle (fellow crawler, who was a wheelchair-bound resident of an elder care facility who turned into a badass flying Frost Maiden with a potty mouth)
9. VIVA LA REVOLUCION! ✊
Carl and Donut don’t just accept their fate. They do everything they can to fight back against the system, trying to punish the people responsible while trying to save as many of their fellow crawlers as they can.
10. THE AMAZING AUDIOBOOK NARRATION 🎧
Special shout-out to the audiobooks, which are narrated by Jeff Hays, who is an absolute GENIUS. The voices for each character are so distinct and recognizable and the overall audiobook production is just out of this world amazing. One of the best, if not THE best, audiobooks I’ve ever listened to.
Some Random Favorite Quotes
“Goddammit Donut!”
“If we get to the point where we don’t help each other anymore, that’s when we stop being human.”
“Cats don’t drink cocktails,’ I said.
‘Cats don’t shoot lasers from their eyes, either, but here we are, Carl. Mama needs a night off.”
“They will not break me. Fuck them all. They will not break me. But I will break them. This is my promise to myself, to my friends, and to you, anyone who reads these words. I will break them all. – Crawler Carl, 25th Edition of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook”
“Grab the stick?” Donut shrieked. “What do you mean, grab the stick! Thumbs, Carl! Thumbs!”
“I have never snored once in my life, Carl. I am both a princess and a cat. It’s quite literally impossible. Now quit talking nonsense and go to sleep.”
“You are more than just a person, if we lose you we lose everything. You are a symbol. You’re the embodiment of our hope. You and that annoying f**king cat!.”
“I will take a 50 percent chance to survive with all of you over a 100 percent chance to survive alone any day.”
Tell Me:
Have you read the Dungeon Crawler Carl Books?
If yes, what do you love most about them?
If not, have I convinced you to give them a try? 😉
I haven’t heard of these, but I did think about writing a list spotlighting things I love in certain books I’ve enjoyed. It’s always fun to do this for a story we enjoy. 🙂
It was fun indeed! I haven’t really written a review in a while, so this was felt nice to write 🙂
Agree with every single point!
Although it is an outrage that you didn’t include “This is an outrage!” in your quotes section… 😉
Haha you are so right! Mongo would be appalled 😂😉
I have not heard of this. Have a great week and great day! Here is my TTT. https://dmhoisington.wordpress.com/2026/04/28/top-ten-tuesday-29-freebie-nature-on-covers/
Thanks, I hope you’ll have a great week too! 🙂
I am just under 200 pages into book 1 and liking it a lot! It’s definitely not like anything I have read before.
Yay, I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying it so far! And in my view, the books only get better as they go 🙂
Honestly, you’ve piqued my curiosity, too. 🙂
Do it!!! haha
Haha seconded 😀
I’m happy to hear that! If you decide to give this series a try, I hope you’ll end up loving it too! 🙂
YAY!! This makes me SOOO happy!! I love that you love it as much as I do. It’s seriously such a fantastic series. Welcome to the Dungeon, my friend!! <3
Haha thank you so much for helping put this series on my radar 🙏 I’m really happy I decided to give it a try, even if these books have completely taken over my life for the past 4-5 months 😂
My daughter used one of my Audible credits and bought the book then told me she thought I’d be offended by the book’s language. What do you think?
Great question! I loved the books, but to be honest they can indeed be described as irreverent, satirical and violent with sometimes profane language. The humor can definitely be a bit “trashy” at times, though you could also say it’s part of the satirical aspect. And there is a lot of heart in there too to balance out some of the language and humor… I find it difficult to say, as everyone’s different and I’m sure your daughter knows you well and would be a better judge than me. If you’re interested, I might suggest giving it a try for a couple of chapters as I think you’ll quickly get a feel whether it’s something for you or not 🙂
OMG yay! It makes me so happy to hear this 🥰 I’m so glad that you wound up loving it too! I’m obsessed and I can’t wait for the next book to come out—aah! Honestly, with how this book begins, you can’t help but wonder how on earth there could be so many books about it, but what starts as a rather “shallow” premise, turns into something much deeper and I love the series for that!
I’m so happy I gave this series a try too, so thank you so much for putting it on my radar! 🙏 And so true, the first book got me intrigued but then the books keep getting better and better as they go and still they stay creative and unique and keep me on the edge of my seat 🤩 I’m still reading This Inevitable Ruin, but I’m also so excited that I won’t need to wait long for the next book! After that one, I may fall in a bit of a slump though, as these books have taken over my life for the past 4-5 months 😅
That’s an absolute mood because after finishing the series last year, I didn’t know quite what to do with myself and nothing I tried after that had the same pull for me. Of course, I eventually moved on and found something but it really needed to have that adventure and found family kick! 😂
This list could also be called 10 reasons why I’m definitely picking this book up now 😂 Loved the way you made this a recommendation post!!
That makes me so happy! I really hope you’ll love this if you decide to give the series a try! 🙂
Here is a good link to my list: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2026/04/ttt-what-i-was-reading-freebie.html
I keep seeing this series all over the place so I may need to check it out. I gathered its heavier on the language but is it heavy on the adult content?
My List:
https://thegentlechapter.blog/2026/04/28/top-ten-tuesday-freebie/
The series can indeed be quite heavy on the adult content in the sense of violence, gore and profanity, but less in the sense of explicit, on-page “spice”. Hope that helps!
Ah okay! Thank you yes that helped 🙂
I would already die for Donut! Need to read this ASAP.
Yay for a new series for you to love! I love diving into bookish worlds and finding new series to devour. Have a great week!
I haven’t read the series, but I am in awe at how long each subsequent book as become. I have considered getting the first one for my husband as a gift though, as it seems like a series he would love.
Here’s my TTT for the week: https://readbakecreate.com/the-xs-ys-and-zs-have-it-ten-titles-starting-with-x-y-or-z/
I haven’t and I know everyone is talking about it but I am not convinced yet!
Have have heard of these books in places other than your blog. But you may have convinced me to give on of them a try.. don’t know when.. my TBR is so so long.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of this genre before! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
I absolutely want to try this series.
Thanks for sharing your #TTT
I haven’t read these but now you definitely have me curious!