by Matt Dinniman

What happens when Carl and Donut reach the 8th floor and the game changes? Now in Cuba – capturing monsters and others with cards for a new twist on combat. That along with all of the simmering rivalries and old grudges from outside the dungeon are making their lives even more difficult. But the new cards are not always as obedient as their TV counterparts, especially most powerful monster in the area the Bedlam Bride, Shi Maria. Will Shi Maria help the crawlers get through the level and alive for Faction Wars. And why is the AI getting even stranger and more independent? And why are some “ghosts” – artifacts left behind as the world replays some of it’s lasts days – seem to have a message for the crawlers?

LitRPG is not really a new phenomenon – I have an omnibus edition of Quag Keep and Return to Quag Keep. Dungeon Crawler Carl is the best version of it I’ve seen. Dinniman does a good job of keeping the plot(s) moving (the level, what’s going on outside the level, individual quests), the characters growing (both personally and in levels), but occasionally gets bogged down in gory deaths and game mechanics. While the story moves forward, the card game descriptions and game play felt tedious.

829 pages

4.25/5