Rachel Reviews: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

I will admit that this is not my normal fare but then, as an eclectic reader, what is? I'm not really sure. Anyway, my point is I would not have chosen this book unless someone had asked me to read it, despite it being a bestseller and having good reviews on Amazon. It's just not my bag. And yet, I have actually enjoyed being in the company of Carl and Princess Donut for a short time, as they make their way around a dungeon of many levels, fighting for their lives against belligerent and murderous beings of many shapes and hues, all at the instruction of an AI controlled by an alien corporation who wants to mine Earth for its resources and wants the demise of its remaining inhabitants to be shown as entertainment for the universe.

Yes, that is the book in a nutshell.

Carl becomes an unlikely hero when he is outside rescuing his girlfriend's cat at the moment when all of the structures on Earth are crushed. You could say he was lucky. He was saved! Except he now has to fight for his life, starting his campaign with whatever he happened to have on him at the time. For Carl, this was his girlfriend's pink Crocs, boxer shorts and a leather jacket.

Imagine having to compete in Crocs and underpants! And this is typical of Dinniman. There is a lot of humour in this book throughout and it manifests itself in the unlikeliness of the scenarios in which Carl finds himself as well as the sarcasm and descriptions of the AI, and is in the dialogue between him and Princess Donut.

And who is Princess Donut? She is the cat Carl was looking for who has also survived and is now talking and, unlikely though this may seem, has potentially more power than Carl.

It's action-packed, going from battle to battle with Carl and Donut meeting other opponents on the way, some of whom become allies and some of whom become enemies and some of whom remain a mystery, like Agatha (you'll need to read it to find out who she is). There are safe rooms too as well as TV opportunities which emerge as the book progresses, all providing a clearer (or more murky) picture of the world in which they find themselves.

What is interesting about this book is that it is thought-provoking: like the dungeon, it has different levels, in this case, of meaning. You can read it as an entertaining romp for our hero and his cat companion, using their ingenuity to conquer and scavenge their way to victory - or you can see it as a tale of humans and other earthly creatures trying to survive in the face of those who want to strip Earth and exploit it - or you can read it as a satire of our need to constantly see into and be entertained by the lives of others, beamed into the comfort of our homes by the media and exploited for the views, the most entertaining scenarios winning the biggest views and biggest followings (like reality TV shows but on an intergalactic scale).

Either way, it wasn't a chore to read it and I am curious about what happens to them next so maybe I'll have to read Book 2... I'll keep you posted.

Rachel Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐