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Dungeon Crawler Carl is a fun read but the audiobook is a work of art [1]

['Gail Sherman']

Date: 2025-07-31

Amazon has been recommending the book series Dungeon Crawler Carl to me forever. It was only when a friend whose opinion I trust recommended it that I finally gave it a try, and it's a blast. Carl is a Coast Guard veteran who is stuck with his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut. Carl and Donut survive an apocalyptic alien attack only to find themselves in an intergalactic reality show.

The show's unwilling participants fight monsters and each other in an elaborate dungeon crawl, complete with video game achievements and upgrades — a real-life RPG with a sadistic Dungeon Master. Gaining viewers is essential to survival in the game. Viewers can send gifts, and the company running the show has an incentive to keep popular players alive. It's silly, violent, and a whole lot of fun.

The thing is, the books are fun, but the audiobooks are amazing. The voice acting is spectacular. It is so good that it is hard to believe all the voices, especially Princess Donut, are the same person. Here is the very talented Jeff Hayes saying Carl's catchphrase, "Goddamnit, Donut!" in the voices of multiple characters from the books. (Possible spoilers for those who have read some but not all the books after Carl and Donut.)

There are currently seven books in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, with an undetermined number of additional titles also to come.

Previously:

• Pocket Dungeons: a 3D printable dungeon crawl game

• Mice and Mystics: awesome dungeoncrawler board game for all ages

• D&D's latest module, 'Vecna: Eve of Ruin,' and the trouble with high-level adventures

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