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sonygaystation's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is lots of fun! It started out trending a little “Masculine Author”, y’know the kind… but it was a brief blip in an otherwise very amusing book. I loved the potshots taken at popular gamer culture, especially as someone who is Terminally Online™️ and into D&D, MTG, video games, etc 🫡 I would rate this higher if it was a little less formulaic and repetitive, and used the word “plummeted” less. But none of those things detract from my enjoyment of the book at all! They’re just things that keep me from rating it higher - but I can’t wait to read the next one!! I just have to wait until it even appears at ALL on Libby let alone being able to put a hold on it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Cursing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, Child death, and Gun violence
lonelylooper's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
samikki's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Dungeon Crawler Carl is first-person pop-culture-referencing easygoing light adventure in the style of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse or books from John Scalzi or Andy Weir. It's a first LitRPG book I've read - perhaps not that extreme but a fun introduction to genre anyway. LitRPGs are a bit like games that you read, containing statistics, skill levels and scores for the main characters. I was a bit sceptical about the genre but it ended up being good entertainment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Death
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Excrement, Cursing, and Adult/minor relationship
All content is in a game-like setting.greystory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I went into this expecting more humor than I got, I think, and that's not anyone's fault but mine. I went into this pretty blind and having never read any LitRPG before.
I hadn't anticipated how much the reader is reminded of just how shitty the circumstances are in this wild scenario. Our dungeon crawler Carl and therefore us as the reader are constantly reminded of how many lives have been lost as a direct result of this dungeon creation and people being forced to fight in the dungeon.
Between running into fellow dungeon crawlers and the publicly broadcasted show about the dungeon, Carl is faced with not only the horrors of the dungeon himself but how it's impacting others in the dungeon. Carl is arguably faced with some of the best and worst of humanity. I'm already dreading the day we hear about the loss of another dungeon crawler that's been featured prominently in the show but Carl has never met.
That doesn't even begin to unravel the additional layers of dystopia in this fucked up world, from the political power plays of the alien overlords running the dungeons to meeting and learning the mobs Carl is fighting in the dungeon have families and hopes and dreams. It's all pretty fucked up and while Carl gets time to rest, there isn't really time to process trauma - only survive.
There ARE humor bits threaded in that help to keep the story a bit more on the lighter side than it would be otherwise. Princess Donut's entire character feels purposeful in keeping things tempered.
Where I have some residual concerns is how some of the dungeon humor is intended. It's not always clear to me if some of the things said by the dungeon announcer, mobs, some other characters, are intended to be funny to the reader or not. Some times it's made clear Carl doesn't find it funny. Sometimes it's very clear that the dungeon or people observing the dungeon from the outside are enjoying something that is, in fact, really fucked up and not funny at all, but other times it's not clear and that's where I'm squinting and giving hella side eye.
I hadn't anticipated how much the reader is reminded of just how shitty the circumstances are in this wild scenario. Our dungeon crawler Carl and therefore us as the reader are constantly reminded of how many lives have been lost as a direct result of this dungeon creation and people being forced to fight in the dungeon.
Between running into fellow dungeon crawlers and the publicly broadcasted show about the dungeon, Carl is faced with not only the horrors of the dungeon himself but how it's impacting others in the dungeon. Carl is arguably faced with some of the best and worst of humanity. I'm already dreading the day we hear about the loss of another dungeon crawler that's been featured prominently in the show but Carl has never met.
That doesn't even begin to unravel the additional layers of dystopia in this fucked up world, from the political power plays of the alien overlords running the dungeons to meeting and learning the mobs Carl is fighting in the dungeon have families and hopes and dreams. It's all pretty fucked up and while Carl gets time to rest, there isn't really time to process trauma - only survive.
There ARE humor bits threaded in that help to keep the story a bit more on the lighter side than it would be otherwise. Princess Donut's entire character feels purposeful in keeping things tempered.
Where I have some residual concerns is how some of the dungeon humor is intended. It's not always clear to me if some of the things said by the dungeon announcer, mobs, some other characters, are intended to be funny to the reader or not. Some times it's made clear Carl doesn't find it funny. Sometimes it's very clear that the dungeon or people observing the dungeon from the outside are enjoying something that is, in fact, really fucked up and not funny at all, but other times it's not clear and that's where I'm squinting and giving hella side eye.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Gore, Death, Child death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
Minor: Bullying and Abandonment
nick13's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
That was an absolute blast to read! Donut and Carl are a great combo, I just couldn't put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Suicide, Abandonment, Child death, and Child abuse
lj101's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death
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