This post was originally published on Audible.com.
Sometimes, apocalyptic stories are dark and dreary, the world ending in a sad little whimper. Sometimes, though, the apocalypse comes with fanfare. Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series is definitely in the latter category. Kicking off in 2020, Dungeon Crawler Carl introduced us to Carl, who survived the sudden apocalypse simply by being outdoors with his ex-girlfriend's cat when it happened. In an instant, every human structure—the Pentagon, your parents' house, Buckingham Palace, and yes, Carl's apartment building—collapsed, killing everyone inside. But this wasn't an accident or natural disaster, no—this was all in the name of entertainment.
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series is classified as a LitRPG, a literary role-playing game. In a traditional fantasy or science fiction story, no matter how hard the magic or science, their effects and rules are known more to the author than the listener. In a LitRPG, the mechanics and stats of the game are integrated into the story, making it feel as though you're immersed in the game world as the story unfolds. Magic systems and technology have very specific, transparent rules that both characters and listeners know in detail. Every battle has clear rules of engagement and success, just like in any game. In fact, the rules and mechanics of the game are as much a part of the story as the characters and their motives.
Wait, so who is Carl?
Carl is the main character of Dungeon Crawler Carl. He was a pretty regular guy before the world ended. His life could have been going better, sure. At 27 years old, he was a Coast Guard veteran working as a marine technician. He fixed electrical systems on boats, mostly for people with way more money and way looser morals than Carl. Until shortly before the end of the world, he was sharing a two-bedroom apartment in Seattle with his girlfriend, Beatrice, and her cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk.
Carl survived the Transformation simply because the cat escaped when Carl opened a window so that he could smoke. He chased after her and was outside when it all literally went down. Now, he and Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk (or Donut, for short) are fan favorites of Dungeon Crawler World, the hit series broadcast across three billion star systems. Oh, and he's only wearing his leather coat and boxers, and Beatrice's pink Crocs. They don't really fit his feet. Perfect attire for the end of the world.
What is Dungeon Crawler World?
After the Transformation, Earth is no longer the world we know. It's become an elaborate series of dungeons. All those buildings that collapsed and the people and animals inside? They're what make up these elaborate dungeons. Why? Because aliens need entertainment. That's right, humans are far from alone in the universe of Dungeon Crawler Carl, and extraterrestrials need something to pass the time. So, they've flattened Earth to create a new show called Dungeon Crawler World. In the current season, Dungeon Crawler World: Earth, humans are the competitors.
The world-building in Dungeon Crawler Carl is expansive and detailed. Many of the mechanics of the game are familiar to any video gamer or tabletop role-player: bosses, floors, loot boxes, health, inventory, and magic. As Carl and Donut progress through the dungeon levels, they gain levels and equipment. Carl has to choose a race, class, and specialization. Like in any RPG, Carl and the other players have to keep leveling up and min/maxing themselves to survive as they push through the dungeon levels. Unlike many other RPGs, however, it's not just about survival and powering up. Dungeon Crawler World needs ratings, after all, so it's just as much about how elaborately and entertainingly the players manage to survive.
Each level or floor of the dungeon provides a new challenge and atmosphere. One might be a haunted cityscape, the next a towering fortress or Escher-like subway system. Each new floor is nearly like stepping into a new game—while there are some systems that remain in place, new twists are introduced every step of the way. New technologies or magic are made available. New rules render old equipment useless. In many ways, each level (and therefore, audiobook) of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series feels like a brand-new game. Whatever Carl and Donut learned before is thrown out the window. Only their loyalties and skills will help them going forward.
What larger universe is Dungeon Crawler Carl set in?
There's more to Dungeon Crawler Carl than the dungeon levels of old Earth. While Carl and Donut are fighting to survive in the dark, tunneled remains of our home planet, there's a whole universe that's part of this story, too. The Syndicate is the collection of more than three billion star systems comprised of quintillions of sentient lifeforms. Near the center of Syndicate space, there's a macro AI called the Eulogist that has extended Enhancement Zones around nearby star systems. These systems are wealthy, enjoying universal health care and prosperity, as well as housing the Syndicate's central government.
That’s three billion star systems, quintillions of aliens. Nearly all of them love watching Carl and Donut on Dungeon Crawler World: Earth and don't see the issue of the genocide that created it.
The Syndicate functions as a federation, meaning that each star system has its own government in whatever form that takes, but they also answer to the central Syndicate government, led by Prime Minister Glory. The races of the Syndicate are as myriad as the star systems and worlds therein, with species including Skyfowl, Kua-Tin, Mantis, and Bopka. Many of these species look like sentient versions of Earth creatures, while others are variations on the basic humanoid formula.
The role of the Syndicate and the universe at large grows as the series progresses. No spoilers here, but all is not as it seems in the three billion worlds of the Syndicate, and unrest is growing. Confusion breeds opportunity for everyone, including Carl and Donut. After all, how are they to survive beyond the dangerous floors of Dungeon Crawler World unless they can manage to escape the brutal cycle of the show? And what about the Borant Corporation, the company responsible for the hit series that just so happened to kill billions of humans to create their show?
The Eulogist, too, plays a role that grows as the story unfolds. Who created it? What does it really want? With capitalism reigning supreme and creating clear demarcations of haves and have-nots in the Syndicate, rebellion is certainly on the table. Tempers simmer among the various races and worlds of the galaxy. Even down in the depths of the Earth dungeons, these rumblings will have an effect.
Who are the other main characters in Dungeon Crawler Carl?
Many of the characters in Dungeon Crawler Carl are other players in the game. In the first story, Carl joins the Meadow Larks, a party led by Imani and Elle McGibbons. Imani is a former caregiver turned healer; Elle is an old woman, formerly wheelchair-bound before entering the dungeon. She's now a powerhouse Frost Maiden in the game. In addition to Carl, they're joined by Chris and Brandon Andrews, brothers who were maintenance workers before the Transformation. There's also Dr. Gracie, Henry, Jack, Randall, and Yolanda. All of the Meadow Larks, except for Carl, were at the Meadow Lark Elder Care Facility before the collapse, though they welcome Carl and Donut to their ranks.
Of course, there are other parties in the dungeons, all of them vying for survival and ratings. Carl and Donut run across players such as Maggie My, Frank Q, Li Jun, and Zhang. There are galactic news reports and talk shows, including Death Watch Extreme Dungeon Mayhem, hosted by Maestro. The better the players and parties do, the more they might receive from Syndicate benefactors such as Prince Stalwart or King Rust. Many of the parties have managers, aliens who are secretly or not-so-secretly helping the parties to advance. Then, there are terribly enigmatic characters like Agatha, who appears to be an old, homeless woman pushing a shopping cart, who the Meadow Larks adamantly try to ignore.
Six audiobooks in, the list of characters keeps growing. There are various factions both inside and outside the game of Dungeon Crawler World: Earth. Some of Carl and Donut's allies fall, but so do some of their enemies. New allies and enemies are always on the horizon, particularly as the dangers of the dungeon intensify with each level descended.
What's happened in the Dungeon Crawler Carl books so far?
This is the book that kicks everything off, introducing Carl, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, and the Syndicate with captivating narration from Jeff Hays. All seems normal until the Transformation and soon, Carl and Donut are popular competitors in the galactic game show Dungeon Crawler World. Join Carl as he discovers that everything he knew is gone, and the universe is much larger and deadlier than he ever could have imagined.
Carl and Donut have survived thus far, but the dungeon just keeps getting deadlier. They enter a level called Over City, which appears to be a post-apocalyptic metropolis. There's an undead circus hunting for new marks. A powerful spell hangs over the entire city, though its purpose is unclear. How far can Carl trust any of his new allies? How can he keep Donut safe? And eventually ... Carl will have to find pants.
The game keeps getting harder for Carl and Donut as they reach the fourth level: The Iron Tangle. Built from the old world's underground railways, it's a dizzying system of monster-riddled rail cars, haunted subway stations, and an exit that seems to be perpetually moving. When the crawlers find a mysterious book called Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook written by several aliens—and former crawlers—it may provide more questions than answers.
Reaching the fifth floor brings a bubble. Inside the bubble are four castles, each filled with its own demented dangers. A crypt filled with ghosts and surrounded by traps. An army of warrior gnomes holding a fortress in the air. A sandcastle. No, like, a literal castle of sand. A horde of broken machines guarding a run-down submarine. It's all too much: Carl and his team can't capture all four castles in the 15-day time limit. They'll need help from low-ranking crawlers that have miraculously survived to level 5. Can they be trusted? Do Carl and Donut have a choice?
The sixth floor is The Hunting Grounds, a lush jungle filled with more dangers, like dinosaurs and a vengeful princess. Even worse, tourists from the Syndicate are allowed to join, including a horrifying hunter named Vrah, who's after her biggest prize yet. Carl and Donut won't go down easy, though, and there's a party waiting at the end of the level for the top crawlers: The Butcher's Masquerade.
The eighth floor of the dungeon is bedlam, a world that looks eerily like Earth before the collapse. It's populated with the ghosts of humanity and legendary beasts from Earth's folklore. The task is to slay these beasts, at least six of them, and collect their cards. At the end of the floor, these cards will make up their decks, which they'll use to fight other teams of crawlers. Beat the biggest, baddest beasts, and Carl might be able to win against the other crawlers. But can they take down the Bedlam Bride, Shi Maria? She was married to a god, and her special attack makes people reckless. In this sixth audiobook in the series, recurring narrator Jeff Hays is joined by Annie Ellicott, Travis Baldree, and Patrick Warburton.
What do we know about Dungeon Crawler Carl book seven?
Coming soon is This Inevitable Ruin, the seventh audiobook in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. The inimitable Jeff Hays is returning to narrate, as he has with the previous six volumes. On the ninth level of the dungeon, there's one objective: take and hold the central castle. And there are nine armies led by rich and powerful aliens vying for control. Scratch that, 10 armies. The NPCs, normally just cannon fodder, have gained enough sentience to form their own army. The war that is coming will make the battles that came before look like skirmishes. How will Carl or Donut manage to survive?
With this latest audiobook, it's truly all on the line. Will Carl survive? Well, his name is in the series title, so probably, yeah. But since only one can leave the level, the stakes between Donut and Katia (one of their closest allies) have never been and never will be higher. This Inevitable Ruin is shaping up to be an epic one.
And what about that upcoming TV adaptation?
While much remains to be seen about the forthcoming television series based on Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, we can't wait to see how this zany gem translates to the screen. In the summer of 2024, it was announced that Universal International Studios and Fuzzy Door are working on the adaptation, with film and comic book writer Christopher Yost at the helm. You'll have to keep your ear to the ground for more details on what's next for Carl and Donut's television debut.
