Meerkat Books: Book Reviews: Dungeon Crawler Carl
When I first caught sight of the book cover for Dungeon Crawler Carl, I was immediately intrigued. I was even more intrigued upon reading the blurb. An average guy winds up taking part in the mother of all MMPORGs, encompassing the entire planet, facing off against a variety of deadly monsters. Joining him on this adventure? His ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut.
Needless to say, I was interested. Shortly thereafter, I bought the book, despite learning it could become a costly exercise. You see, Dungeon Crawler Carl is the first part of a series, and if I enjoyed book one, I might easily sink more money into the next parts.
My dear ‘kats, I am definitely going to sink more money into the next parts.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is a fast-paced, insane adventure into an increasingly perilous maze, where allies are hard to find and even fellow crawlers may be a danger. Equipped with little more than his wits, and attempting to come to terms with humanity’s extinction, Carl is put through his paces, physically and mentally, by the numerous pitfalls he and Donut stumble across. It’s impossible not to like Carl, and it’s even harder not to like Donut, who is a typical cat in so many ways, yet also so much more.
The setting is creative, and so are the various monsters and enemies that Carl and Donut stumble across. It’s also clear that author Matt Dinniman knows his stuff where RPGs are concerned. There’s a detailed system at work here, a lot of world-building and lore creation, and it’s all happening on the fly. This book moves quickly, hurtling you along with the characters as they barely escape one terrifying scenario, only to wind up in the middle of another.
It is also humerous. There’s no disguising that it’s a modern book, aimed at the modern world, and exploiting modern ideas. It pokes fun at modern conventions. It also provides a thinly veiled criticism of cultures of explotation and mass consumption, and behind all of that, it is a case of surviving, not just physically, but somehow remembering your humanity, even as humanity crumbles all around you for the sake of someone else’s amusement.
I am definitely going to be investing in book two, and beyond!
10/10
‘Kat Comments