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inverarityThe second book of the DCC series: Carl and Princess Donut level up (some more).
Dandy House, 2021, 364 pages
I liked the first book of the best-selling Dungeon Crawler Carl series well enough, and having sampled many other litrpgs since then, I can see why DCC is still in the top tier of litrpgs. It's better written, the character sheets and stat boosts are actually entertaining, and there is enough of a metaplot to make Carl and Donut's adventure interesting beyond just the current level boss. The author is clearly planting lots of plot seeds and secondary characters who will become important later.
Book two was basically more of the same, and like book one, it's good enough that I will probably read the next book but I'm not sure I'm sold on the series yet. Oh, heck, I'll probably end up reading through, I just think it's kind of a popcorn read.
Carl and his sentient cat, Princess Donut (technically his ex-girlfriend's sentient cat, and technically she is the party leader) are still fighting their way down the levels of the megadungeon that alien nanotechnology converted Earth into. In this volume, they are on level Four, and receive a Quest. This is good for ratings, but not so great for their plan to grind away to earn more experience and loot. Their manager considers Quests a distraction, and dangerous because the galactic producers of Dungeon Crawler World are very invested in their storylines and aren't letting any Crawlers spoil them. However, with dead prostitutes falling out of the sky, how can Carl walk away?
Yes, dead prostitutes falling out of the sky. Much of the humor and horror in this series is still pretty gross. It's a mix of dude-bro humor, D&D tropes, and genuine horror, most of which is on a more meta-level as Carl continues to reflect on the nature of this death-trap he and Earth's remaining survivors have been thrown into, forced to dungeon crawl for the entertainment of a galactic audience that thinks of them as nothing more than reality show characters. There are hints of a developing metaplot involving interstellar politics, but it remains to be seen if Carl and Donut's story will eventually expand beyond the borders of the megadungeon.
So I liked that there is some real character development, especially with Donut, who continues to have the personality of a bratty child with all the arrogance and entitlement of, well, a cat, but she's clearly not as dumb as she sometimes pretends, and shows some real signs of character growth. Carl and Donut take on a low-level Crawler as a favor to one of the other leading Crawlers, and their velociraptor pet is still alive, so their party is slowly expanding. A number of other Crawlers have been introduced who are obviously going to be friends and foes in the future, and we still haven't gotten the complete backstory around their manager, Mordecai. So one of the things that keeps my attention here is that the author clearly has long multi-book arcs planned. Or, he's making it up as he goes along and I look forward to seeing if he can actually bring it in for a landing. The format, however, of grinding their way through the next level of the dungeon, with new stories and new mobs and new bosses, still seems like it might get old after six volumes.
Also by Matt Dinniman: My review of Dungeon Crawler Carl.
My complete list of book reviews.
Dandy House, 2021, 364 pages
The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.
The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.
They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.
Carl still has no pants.
They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game.
I liked the first book of the best-selling Dungeon Crawler Carl series well enough, and having sampled many other litrpgs since then, I can see why DCC is still in the top tier of litrpgs. It's better written, the character sheets and stat boosts are actually entertaining, and there is enough of a metaplot to make Carl and Donut's adventure interesting beyond just the current level boss. The author is clearly planting lots of plot seeds and secondary characters who will become important later.
Book two was basically more of the same, and like book one, it's good enough that I will probably read the next book but I'm not sure I'm sold on the series yet. Oh, heck, I'll probably end up reading through, I just think it's kind of a popcorn read.
Carl and his sentient cat, Princess Donut (technically his ex-girlfriend's sentient cat, and technically she is the party leader) are still fighting their way down the levels of the megadungeon that alien nanotechnology converted Earth into. In this volume, they are on level Four, and receive a Quest. This is good for ratings, but not so great for their plan to grind away to earn more experience and loot. Their manager considers Quests a distraction, and dangerous because the galactic producers of Dungeon Crawler World are very invested in their storylines and aren't letting any Crawlers spoil them. However, with dead prostitutes falling out of the sky, how can Carl walk away?
Yes, dead prostitutes falling out of the sky. Much of the humor and horror in this series is still pretty gross. It's a mix of dude-bro humor, D&D tropes, and genuine horror, most of which is on a more meta-level as Carl continues to reflect on the nature of this death-trap he and Earth's remaining survivors have been thrown into, forced to dungeon crawl for the entertainment of a galactic audience that thinks of them as nothing more than reality show characters. There are hints of a developing metaplot involving interstellar politics, but it remains to be seen if Carl and Donut's story will eventually expand beyond the borders of the megadungeon.
So I liked that there is some real character development, especially with Donut, who continues to have the personality of a bratty child with all the arrogance and entitlement of, well, a cat, but she's clearly not as dumb as she sometimes pretends, and shows some real signs of character growth. Carl and Donut take on a low-level Crawler as a favor to one of the other leading Crawlers, and their velociraptor pet is still alive, so their party is slowly expanding. A number of other Crawlers have been introduced who are obviously going to be friends and foes in the future, and we still haven't gotten the complete backstory around their manager, Mordecai. So one of the things that keeps my attention here is that the author clearly has long multi-book arcs planned. Or, he's making it up as he goes along and I look forward to seeing if he can actually bring it in for a landing. The format, however, of grinding their way through the next level of the dungeon, with new stories and new mobs and new bosses, still seems like it might get old after six volumes.
Also by Matt Dinniman: My review of Dungeon Crawler Carl.
My complete list of book reviews.
