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Dungeon Crawler Carl is a fun read that reminds me of The Hunger Games meets Hitchhiker’s Guide meets just about any western RPG video game. The book was given to me as a gift from a friend for my birthday. At first, when I started reading the book, it didn't grab my attention, but after a few chapters, I started to get into the story and started to enjoy the characters. I thought it was going to be a childish and predictable RPG-type book, but then, as I continued to read, I found that there was a lot more depth and intrigue as I was introduced to the inner workings of “the game”.

Carl was just a regular guy with a regular girlfriend who regularly cheated on him. One evening, as he was contemplating selling his girlfriend’s prize-winning cat, Princess Donut, the cat decided to run outside into the cold night air. As Carl was outside, the entire world was taken over by an alien conglomerate, and everyone on Earth who was inside a building was killed or otherwise taken by the aliens. After Carl’s house was taken into the earth a voice from above informed Carl that he had a choice; stay on the surface and fend for yourself in an apocalyptic world devoid of resources or go down a staircase that appeared in the street and accept playing a televised dungeon crawling game where your life is on the line but if you can manage to be the last one alive after 18 insane levels you can win regency of the entire earth. Sounds fun, aye? Carl takes the cat down the stairs to level one of the dungeon, and the adventure begins.

Once inside the first level of the dungeon, everything changes. Carl and the cat are now in a manufactured dungeon controlled by a giant corporation that has been developing this playground for their entertainment endeavor for years. An AI controls the day-to-day operations and management of the dungeon crawling. It becomes clear that physics is now just another manipulable variable when Princess Donut gains the ability to talk.

Carl and Princess Donut have to survive in a sadistic gameshow modeled after role-playing games like Diablo, World of Warcraft, and other DnD style games. They collect endless loot, level up, and have to strategize how to take out powerful bosses. Along the way, they get help from a guide named Mordecai, who was once a contestant in a past game but is now an “employee” of the corporation producing the show. As Carl and Princess Donut start to gain public appeal, they gain a publicist who books them on talk shows to talk about their forced journey through the game. Carl is clever and has to think his way around terrifying scenarios, and he feels bad when he destroys entire groups of bad guys who seem to also be pawns in this cruel show.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is written by Matt Dinniman, and it was a refreshingly new style for me. I love video games and am a huge RPG fan, so this book was a blast to read. Matt Dinniman adds depth and drama to what could be a low-risk video game romp by adding real stakes for the main characters. There is more here than just wondering what it would be like if a person and a cat were in a game, and as we learn about the history of the show and the economy of the overworld, we find that there is a lot more to juggle than just taking out mobs and blowing up bosses. I highly recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl for anyone who enjoys clever sci-fi and fantasy-style stories based on role-playing game mechanics. It has violence, humor, and suspense, and was a breeze to read through. I found myself finding it hard to put it down. Check it out!