Dungeon Crawler Carl

Our Review:

This book has no right being as good as it is. The premise sounds ridiculous — guy and his ex's cat get trapped in a deadly alien-run dungeon that's basically a reality TV show for the galaxy — but Matt Dinniman makes it work through sheer commitment to the bit and genuinely clever worldbuilding. Carl is angry, sarcastic, and surprisingly competent, while Princess Donut the cat becomes an absolute scene-stealer once she gains the ability to talk. Their dynamic carries so much of the humor.

Fair warning: this is dark. Like, really dark at times. The aliens running the show are genuinely cruel, and the death toll is staggering. But Dinniman threads the needle between horror and comedy in a way that feels intentional rather than jarring. It reads fast, almost compulsively so — the dungeon mechanics scratch that video game itch, and the pacing rarely lets up.

If you're looking for literary fiction or deep character introspection, this isn't it. But if you want something propulsive and weird that somehow makes you care about a man and his ridiculous cat fighting drug-dealing llamas in the apocalypse, you're in for a good time. I finished it in two days and immediately grabbed the next one.