A review by daumari
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

adventurous dark funny lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 I read the audiobook on recommendation of both my boss and one of my mom friends and WOW, easily one of the best audiobooks I've listened to, and it's a marvel of a solo performance. Jeff Hays is now one of my narrators to look for because he's so versatile, and Soundbooth Theater does a little bit of effects when it comes to AI voices, etc. Sometimes I feel like audiobook versions lose out when there's text-based parts like the in-game chat, but Hays capably performs them, including what ALL CAPS SOUNDS LIKE from someone not used to typing.

Regarding the story itself, this feels a bit like Hitchhiker's in that we start with our protagonist outside when Earth gets taken by an intergalactic force we're unfamiliar with, and plenty of humor despite the grim circumstances. It's kind of a reverse isekai, because we're not transported to another world (another world comes to youuuuu).

Definitely going to continue the series, probably also on audio.