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ohgenevieve's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
rorikae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When aliens invade and pit the surviving humans against each other in a televised dungeon battle, Carl is paired up with his ex-girlfriends cat, Princess Donut. Now with the ability to speak, Princess Donut and Carl will have to battle against hordes of enemies, brutal humans, and the system itself to get further into the dungeon and a chance at survival.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is a lot of fun. Carl is a character that is easy to care about paired with one of my favorite cats in fiction. Princess Donut is hilarious and she adds a lot to the humor in the series. Outside of the humor, Carl is a deeply caring person who gets himself in trouble because he wants to genuinely help the people that he encounters. He is a good placeholder for the reader as he is learning about the weird alien game he is living within right alongside the reader. This world is populated with interesting creatures, horrifying personalities, and new twists and turns around each corner. This is a great start to a series that I will definitely be continuing with. There are some solid mysteries about the world that are set up in this volume and I also cannot wait to spend more time with Carl and Donut.
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Blood
Minor: Infidelity
katie_holder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
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.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
calyps0ph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
the game mechanics (loot boxes, leveling, stat points, etc.) got a smidge tedious—though its clear Dinniman tries to cut out down the unimportant details once readers have adjusted to premise—as well as the xp farming bits, but it's clear from the beginning that the first three levels are TRAINING. I disagree with the people grouching that the story is moving too slow because book 1 progresses through only two levels: if the levels moved any faster, y'all would've complained Carl was OP and the pace was unrealistic. once they get to level three and choose race/class, things will (hopefully) expand beyond defaulting to familiar tactics (explosives and magic missiles), and we'll get to see more inventive boss fights. it's clear that there are overarching political agendas at play, both inside and outside of the dungeon, and there are a number of complex characters that I'm invested in.
can't wait to read the next book! long live science fiction!
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, and Gun violence
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Classism
agnesmarin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Infidelity
bonneamie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Slavery, Dementia, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Infidelity
davschi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, and Stalking
katy_bee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
But really I just found it so much fun. It's very silly, definitely not Pulitzer prize winning writing and you can see the crowd pleasing elements that it unapologetically draws on which might date it in time- the lineage of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Ready Player One, the Hunger Games and a ton of computer and role playing games are writ large- but I just had an absolute blast reading it.
I love Princess Donut! I'm a fan of cats and this one has the balance of playfulness, scaredy-cat-ness, devotion and assholery that you'd expect from a sentient feline. Carl is a great everyman, making it all (just about) work and juggling all the hellish pressures that come with dungeon crawling. There are moments of pathos and social commentary.
I immediately bought the next in the series
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
emadisonc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Her eyes were clenched shut in mock pain. “This mortal coil is shed.”
“Oh, get up,” I said, looking about the room. “Help me loot all this crap.”
Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and Drug abuse
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, and Dementia
miguelito_juanito's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, and Cultural appropriation