Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend’s cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth – from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds – collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you’re in, you can’t get out. And what’s worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it’s game over. In this game, it’s not about your strength or your dexterity. It’s about your followers, your views. Your clout. It’s about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can’t just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that “it” factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That’s the only way to truly survive in this game – with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

“Narration That Levels Up the Adventure”

The following ratings are out of 5:
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😛😁😎☺️😍
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Solo Narration (but sounds like full cast)

🎧 Audiobook Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)

Author: Matt Dinniman
Genre: Dystopian Fantasy
Narrator(s): Jeff Hays

📚 Character Background & Plot Dynamics

The apocalypse arrives with brutal suddenness, and nothing about it resembles humanity’s long‑imagined doomsday scenarios. Anyone indoors dies instantly as every enclosed structure — homes, cars, planes, trains, even boats — collapses in on itself. Those outside fare only slightly better; with January temperatures below freezing, many perish during the transformation itself. The world ends in seconds, leaving only a scattered handful of survivors standing amid the ruins.

Carl, a twenty‑seven‑year‑old former Coast Guard and marine technician, is one of those survivors. At 2 a.m. in Seattle, he’s outside wearing nothing but boxers, a leather jacket, and pink crocs, holding a tortoiseshell Persian show cat with the magnificently regal name Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chunk. Fresh off a breakup and already having a miserable night, Carl suddenly finds himself thrust into something far stranger than heartbreak.

A robotic voice speaks inside his mind as glowing text appears before him: Earth has been seized. All minerals are being mined. Surviving humans may reclaim their matter by participating in an 18‑level world dungeon created by the Borant Corporation, the new regent of the solar system. The dungeon will be broadcast for entertainment, and if a human completes all 18 levels, ownership of Earth reverts to them.

The catch is immediate and unforgiving: the dungeon entrance will only remain open for moments. Once inside, you cannot leave until reaching level 10 and becoming an NPC or completing all 18 levels. Outside, the world is frozen and lethal. Inside, it’s a live‑action video game with real monsters, real stakes, and a global audience ready to judge your every move.

With no shelter left and the temperature plummeting, Carl has no choice but to dive into the nearest dungeon entrance — Princess Donut in tow — and hope he can survive whatever comes next.

🌟 Strengths

• A survival game where personality is power.
Carl quickly learns that the dungeon isn’t just about combat — it’s about entertainment. Viewers can become benefactors, gifting items and boosts to their favorite players. To survive, you need skill, luck, and charisma. It’s a brilliant twist that blends LitRPG mechanics with reality‑show absurdity.
• A standout supporting cast.
Mordecai, the rat‑like NPC who guides Carl through the tutorial, is a highlight. He’s snarky, knowledgeable, and endlessly entertaining, offering insight into the dungeon’s rules, the Borant Corporation, and the bizarre meta‑game surrounding it.
• Exceptional world‑building.
The dungeon’s environments, the apocalyptic transformation, the weapons, the defensive items — everything feels vivid, imaginative, and fully realized. The author balances tension, humor, and creativity with impressive skill.
• Hilarious in‑game announcements.
The sarcastic achievement pop‑ups, skill notifications, and system messages add a layer of personality and comedy that keeps the tone lively even during intense moments.
• A fresh, unpredictable LitRPG experience.
Even if you’ve read plenty of gaming stories, this one feels genuinely original. The pacing is unpredictable in the best way, and the story constantly surprises.
• Memorable villains.
From Juicer — the lizard‑faced, steroid‑pumped gymbro who smells like sweat, scorched flesh, and Axe body spray — to lava‑spitting llamas, goblin mobs, a ball of swine, and a hoarder with cockroach creatures crawling from her mouth, the antagonists are grotesque, creative, and wildly entertaining.
• Fun, satisfying abilities.
Healing, teleportation, dodge‑skill leveling, venom resistance, fist‑mode strength, magic missiles — the progression system is engaging and rewarding.

💔 Limitations

• Princess Donut’s voice may be polarizing.
Her posh, aristocratic tone fits her dramatic, regal personality, but it can be a bit much at times. She’s reminiscent of Sassy from Homeward Bound — charming, snippy, and occasionally grating. Still, the voice is undeniably on‑brand for her character.

🎙️ Narration

Jeff Hays delivers a phenomenal performance. His deep, resonant voice gives Carl a grounded, slightly sardonic presence that feels reminiscent of Patrick Warburton — confident, dry, and effortlessly funny. His range is impressive, bringing every NPC, monster, and system voice to life with clarity and personality.

The computerized dungeon voices are especially delightful — crisp, sarcastic, and perfectly timed. With such a large cast of characters, Hays keeps everything distinct and engaging. This is one of those audiobooks that feels tailor‑made for audio, and the narration elevates the entire experience.

💬 Final Assessment

This book was awesome and lives up to the hype — wildly inventive, darkly funny, and packed with creativity from start to finish. The world‑building is rich, the characters are unforgettable, and the blend of humor, danger, and game mechanics makes the story feel fresh even within a crowded genre. Paired with Jeff Hays’s outstanding narration, this becomes a must‑listen for anyone who loves LitRPG, post‑apocalyptic chaos, or simply a story that refuses to play by predictable rules. It’s bold, bizarre, and thoroughly entertaining — the kind of audiobook that reminds you how much fun storytelling can be when an author swings for the fences and absolutely connects.

💭 Quotes

“Being eaten by a bugbear makes me uncomfortable, Carl. So if your boyfriend ogling your tootises keeps these easy-peasy bugs coming at us instead of more of those lava-spitting llamas, then you better buck up, get over your human male privilege, and take one for your princess.”

“New achievement! You’ve killed an armed mob with your bare fucking hands! Holy crap, dude. That’s kinda fucked up. Reward: You’ve received a Bronze Weapon Box!”

“You attacked and caused damage to a mob that is more than 75 levels above your own. The fact that you’re reading this suggests you’re the luckiest fucker in the dungeon. Just remember, luck goes both ways, like your mom. Reward: You’ve received a Platinum Lucky Bastard Box!”

“It tasted as if I’d taken a drink directly from the diseased a**hole of an incontinent skunk. It took all of my strength not to vomit.”

“New achievement! PETA Enthusiast! You somehow managed to remove the hostility of an aggravated, non-sapient enemy. That enemy then fought against other enemies to your benefit. The ghost of Steve Irwin smiles down upon you. Reward: I SAID THE GHOST OF STEVE IRWIN SMILES DOWN UPON YOU.”

“You have invented a stackable weapon, device, or potion. You will be memorialized for eternity with your name in the Dungeon Codex. Just don’t let it go to your head, Elon.”

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