I HATED THIS BOOK!

I question if the author hates women? The misogyny was real. The references were absurd and offensive. Also I hate video games and I double hate books written like a video game (new hate unlocked) I definitely was not the target audience, the target audience would be the men incels who talk about hating women while simultaneously wondering why they can’t find a woman. This book was torture.

I only finished this because of book club, I like going to book club. Also the reason why I rated this a 2 star book was because the audiobook production was fantastic. I will not be continuing this series. 

 An interesting balance of very somber and existential, and millennial comedy (in a fun way: the pop-up achievements Carl receive all read like cards against humanity plays). But it’s a super expansive world littered with pop culture references that makes one think of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy mixed with ready player one and dungeon meshi! Very easy to read, WILL be moving directly on to the next one. 

I really enjoyed this! At first, I thought it might be aimed at a younger audience, but it actually tackles some dark, complex themes.

The story has a clear dungeon crawler feel, and anyone familiar with RPGs will recognize the parallels. The action is fun and fast-paced, with battles that often come with moral dilemmas, adding emotional depth. I could easily see this adapted into an adult animated series with minimal changes.

While I'm unsure if it will have a happy ending, it feels like it’s setting up for a tragic one. However, with many books in the series, that likely won’t happen anytime soon. I'm excited to keep reading!

I went into this expecting more humor than I got, I think, and that's not anyone's fault but mine. I went into this pretty blind and having never read any LitRPG before.

I hadn't anticipated how much the reader is reminded of just how shitty the circumstances are in this wild scenario. Our dungeon crawler Carl and therefore us as the reader are constantly reminded of how many lives have been lost as a direct result of this dungeon creation and people being forced to fight in the dungeon.

Between running into fellow dungeon crawlers and the publicly broadcasted show about the dungeon, Carl is faced with not only the horrors of the dungeon himself but how it's impacting others in the dungeon. Carl is arguably faced with some of the best and worst of humanity. I'm already dreading the day we hear about the loss of another dungeon crawler that's been featured prominently in the show but Carl has never met.

That doesn't even begin to unravel the additional layers of dystopia in this fucked up world, from the political power plays of the alien overlords running the dungeons to meeting and learning the mobs Carl is fighting in the dungeon have families and hopes and dreams. It's all pretty fucked up and while Carl gets time to rest, there isn't really time to process trauma - only survive.

There ARE humor bits threaded in that help to keep the story a bit more on the lighter side than it would be otherwise. Princess Donut's entire character feels purposeful in keeping things tempered.

Where I have some residual concerns is how some of the dungeon humor is intended. It's not always clear to me if some of the things said by the dungeon announcer, mobs, some other characters, are intended to be funny to the reader or not. Some times it's made clear Carl doesn't find it funny. Sometimes it's very clear that the dungeon or people observing the dungeon from the outside are enjoying something that is, in fact, really fucked up and not funny at all, but other times it's not clear and that's where I'm squinting and giving hella side eye.

That was an absolute blast to read! Donut and Carl are a great combo, I just couldn't put it down.