Audiobook Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Author: Matt Dinniman

Narrator: Jeff Hays

Title: Dungeon Crawler Carl

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl #1

Genre: Fantasy, SciFi

Format: Audiobook 

Published: September 21, 2020

Where I Got It: Borrowed from friend

Summary: 

The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game—with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.

Review:

Starting July off with a bang! This was picked for book club. For sure a very different type of story but I was excited that it was picked. 

Here we follow Carl and his ex's cat. The world literally was crashed upon itself and they have been entered into a game show for the universe. 18 levels of a dungeon that they will need to crawl through. They call it Dungeon Crawler World. Carl and his cat companion will need to battle hideous monsters, other crawlers, and fight for viewers so they can get better stuff. Like pants. Will they be able to make through the "tutorial" levels?

This was a lot of fun. Crazy to say that such a dark world is fun, but it was. This was fresh and unique and just wild.

I loved Carl and that cat of his. Had me in stitches when she was able to talk and was given a higher stats. Hilarious. 

The monsters are scary and tough. 

No one is safe. 

Lots of trials and rules. 

We had some humor, but there were real emotional moments. 

The narrator did a fabulous job. I'm glad I went with the narrator because I feel like this story needs the acting and some sound effects. There were a couple but I hope we get some more in the future. 

Issues? Mmmmm.....nothing really. Some lulls but they felt right and needed. Lots and lots of action, but we got a lull at the right spot. 

I'll stamp this with 5 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Donut and Carl

Least Favorite Character(s): There is a couple (don't wanna spoil it) that are bad. Booo

 Challenge(s):

- Audiobook #29