I rarely expect something niche to hit the zeitgeist the way that Dungeon Crawler Carl has. Yes, nerdy things like Stranger Things and Game of Thrones have made waves. Even recently K-Pop Demon Hunters brought K-Pop more into the limelight. But for me, Dungeon Crawler Carl feels different than some and let’s talk about what makes it so great and why I’m surprised. I’m going to avoid major spoilers as much as possible.

Why The Surprise

Firstly, it’s a surprise because of the niche genre that it comes out of. The genre is LitRPG. This is a blend between literature and a role playing game. Not that you are playing a role playing game, but that a role playing game is baked into what Dungeon Crawler Carl is, at least in some way.

This genre is known for interesting quality of books, let’s just say that. It’s one that a lot of RPG players take their own stories and ideas and try and turn it into something. So you get a lot of noise from people who aren’t authors in this genre which means that it’s hard to find the good ones. That makes it even more impressive for Dungeon Crawler Carl because it’s a niche genre with a lot of noise that not much breaks free from that community that reads those books.

And the Author, Matt Dinniman is one of those turned authors not someone who has been an author for a long time. It’s not like GRR Martin did a LitRPG book or Matt Mercer, big from the RPG side of things, did a book. People would flock to those because of the names, this is one that rose above the noise because of itself.

What Is The Premise of Dungeon Crawler Carl

So we’ve determined that it is a litRPG. But what does that mean in this case?

Well, the story kicks you off with the end of the world. Well, not the end of the world but the end of the world as we know it happening. And if you want a fighting chance to survive, you probably need to go into this game that an alien race is hosting on the remains of Earth. So that is what Carl does along with his ex’s cat Princess Donut.

From there, everything else would be pretty big spoilers beyond that first chapter or two of the first book. But basically in this game you level up. Hence the LitRPG status.

What Makes It So Good?

Firstly, it’s good because Carl is good. Carl is a well written main character who finds himself in a crazy situation and reacts in ways that are unexpected but also develops as a character. It’s someone who isn’t perfect, he knows that and is carrying lots of baggage with him while going in. And the supporting characters are wonderful. They grow and change and challenge each other. There isn’t a character that I look at that is poorly written. Not all of them get much time in the books, but all of them are interesting.

Then is how the book blends so many things together. I’ll talk about big ideas soon, but it’s a good story with a plot that is strong enough to carry everything. But there is great comedy in the book as well and the comedy serves the story, not just being tossed on top. Or maybe just a bunch of comedy with no real plot, it has plot.

And it has big ideas. Dinniman is writing a sci-fi/fantasy/comedy/LitRPG story that is touching on a lot of real world things. I like how it is this absurd setting but there is real world underneath it all. But, Dinniman does a great job writing it because it’s not just real world preaching. I read books where they are bad because they touch on an important topic poorly. The big ideas need to support the story, not the other way around.

Have You Read Dungeon Crawler Carl

So that’s just a little bit on Dungeon Crawler Carl. I’ll be back once I get caught up on the series to talk about it. I recommend, highly, checking it out. And if you don’t have time to sit down and read something that long, checkout the amazing audiobooks. They are some of the best audiobooks that I’ve ever listened to, and I’m not even that far into it. Plus, if you want more, checkout the comic book. I wouldn’t jump in there, but if you want to revisit Dungeon Crawler Carl, it’s a good spot to do so.

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