It is the end of the world, and almost everything is destroyed. Your only hope for survival? Participating in an alien reality TV show based around a real-life dungeon-crawling role-playing game where you defeat monsters to descend deeper. Oh, and all with the companionship of your ex-girlfriend’s now talking show cat.
This is the plot of Matt Dinniman’s 2020 absolute gem of a novel, “Dungeon Crawler Carl.” This book is full of hilarious quips and unique characters, along with an absolute roller coaster of a plot that keeps you hooked from page one.
The story follows Carl, a Seattle man who finds himself stuck in a real-life video game after Earth is taken over by the Syndicate, an alien corporation that invaded Earth for its resources. Facing the choice of trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world with no buildings or participating in the reality show to try and win his freedom, Carl descends into the dungeon along with his ex-girlfriend’s prized tortoiseshell Persian and Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, A.K.A. Princess Donut.
I absolutely loved this book. The entire book describes the concept of “what if a video game, but make it real life” so well. It has so many connections and references to video game mechanics, and there are a lot of references to RPG-style games such as Dungeons and Dragons.
The characters all have so much life, and each one is written with dimension and detail. Take, for example, Mordecai — Carl and Donut’s Game Guide. A former player turned NPC, Mordecai helps them throughout the story to survive. Mordecai, as a character, is exceptionally well designed, serving the purpose of the stereotypical tutorial NPC, teaching the participants in the game how the world works and offering support by giving information about aspects of the game.
However, Mordecai actually has a lot of depth, shown even from his first scenes. He competed on the show during an earlier season, making it deep enough into the dungeon to gain “freedom,” which is basically becoming a glorified slave to Borant, the corporation that runs the show. Stripped of his former self, he is forced to change his appearance each floor of the dungeon because of choices he made on his own season of the show; Mordecai becomes a great ally to Carl and Donut and becomes quite invested in their survival due to his own experiences.
The book is also incredibly funny. The number of times I laughed out loud at 10 p.m. while reading this was innumerable. There are so many quick one-liners and absolutely absurd scenarios that never cease to entertain. However, one negative is that the humor can become a bit crass at times. There are definitely some instances of profanity and references to more mature topics, such as drug use, that should be noted. I do not think that particular aspect takes away from enjoying the story; but if humor like that is not your jam, then I would suggest you take a pass.
Even through all the funniness, the book has a surprisingly deep theme about identity and the erasure of the self when in the public eye. From the beginning, the characters are told their best chance for survival is to get followers and favorites. This makes them try to mold themselves into something that will be likable to the audience, thus destroying their previous identity for survival. Another big point of this comes from early on in the book, when Carl and Donut find a group of goblin NPCs, some of whom Donut gives names. This sparks a chain of events where the NPCs contemplate their own identities outside of the game.
I am giving “Dungeon Crawled Carl” five out of five stars. It is an absolutely wild ride, and I want to take everyone I can with me.
