“Dungeon Crawler Carl” by Matt Dinniman

Last week, my husband and I were getting ready to go away for a few days of lying on the beach, soaking up the sun, and doing absolutely nothing. We intended to relax, so I knew I needed something good to read. My husband has recently discovered the insanity that is the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series by Matt Dinniman, and he managed to talk me into joining him in the dungeons.

“Dungeon Crawler Carl” perfectly captures an “everything is fine while the world literally ends” energy. The story kicks off in the most absurd way possible: Carl, a guy who’s just trying to navigate a messy breakup, steps outside into the freezing Seattle night wearing nothing but a leather jacket and heart‑patterned boxers because he’s chasing after his ex‑girlfriend’s prize‑winning cat, Princess Donut. Suddenly, every man‑made structure on Earth collapses, instantly killing billions. It turns out Earth has been harvested by a massive intergalactic corporation to serve as the set for a twisted, live‑streamed reality TV show. To survive, Carl and Donut have to enter the World Dungeon, a lethal subterranean obstacle course where the only rule is to keep the audience entertained, or die trying.

The tone is a wild mix of laugh‑out‑loud slapstick, genuine soul‑crushing horror, and sharp satire. Carl quickly realizes he’s a “crawler” in a game designed by a foot‑fetishist AI that seems to have a creepy obsession with his bare feet. Along the way, Donut gets an intelligence upgrade and becomes a self-absorbed, social-media-obsessed magic user who treats the apocalypse like a very inconvenient press tour. The chemistry between a grumpy, barefoot guy and a talking cat who demands high‑end tiaras is the heart of the book. 

While they navigate floors filled with deranged goblins and nightmare‑fuel bosses, Dinniman weaves in a biting critique of corporate greed and reality‑TV culture. You’ll come for the hilarious inventory descriptions and the over‑the‑top violence, but you’ll stay because Carl’s slow descent into “I am going to break this entire system” rage is incredibly cathartic. It’s gritty, vulgar, and surprisingly emotional. By the time Carl is blowing up an entire floor while Princess Donut complains about her fan‑club rankings, you’ll be completely hooked. It’s essentially a high‑stakes RPG where the dungeon master is a psychopath, and the loot drops are the only thing keeping you from a very messy public execution. Just remember: don’t gaslight the cat.

This week, I encourage you to step out of your box and read something you wouldn’t normally choose, like I did — you might just fall in love with Princess Donut and her bodyguard, Carl, and find yourself knee‑deep in an eight‑book series like I have. Don’t forget to pop over to my Instagram, @allison.the.reader, for more book talk.