I was very worried this book would be like Sword Art Online, Solo Leveling, or y'know any piece of media that utilizes video game HUD's and mechanics that has fallen flat for me in the past. But I'm happy to report its so much better. So much more entertaining.

However! This book is incredibly violent and gorey. If you think the premise is bleak, the plot is equally bleak and extremely dark at times. Carl and Princess Donut are seriously going through it this whole book.

Dinniman thankfully has way with comedic timing in writing that jives with me so despite the gore and very heavy themes, I found myself just having a grand ol' time reading about Carl's constant suffering. Princess Donut is a delight though, its no wonder her charisma stat is so high.

At a different point in my life I wonder if I wouldn't have enjoyed this given how gorey and dark it is but it just hit in all the right ways. The sprinkling of small commentary on Carl and Princess Donut's life before entering the dungeon is equally as intriguing as finding out more about the corporation that is behind the entire dungeon crawl. I worry that the series will get too dark for me to want to continue at some point, so I'm really gunning for Dinniman's humor to keep me holding on!