Synopsis

They call it Faction Wars.

The ninth floor.

Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal… It all makes for great fun and even greater television.

After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.

Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.

As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.

For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.

If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.

This is it.

This is what they’ve been fighting toward.

This is war.

This inevitable ruin.

Review

I think I can honestly say that the Dungeon Crawler Carl (DCC) books by Matt Dinniman are the most insane, bonkers, unpredictable books I have ever read. I mean all that in the best way possible. I didn’t read the first one until March 2024 but by June I had devoured all six of the LitRPG books in the series. I couldn’t wait for the Jeff Hays-narrated audiobook (which releases next week on 2/11), so when Dinniman put out This Inevitable Ruin on Kindle in early November, I gobbled it right up. 

I felt This Inevitable Ruin was one of the best of the series when I read it in November, but I didn’t want to be victim to recency bias, so I wanted to wait a bit. Even after a few months, I’m still confident now that Dinniman put together a wonderful addition to the DCC universe, which is no small feat considering all the tendrils the story has at this point. (The Butcher’s Masquerade is still the tops for me though. That one went on my Top Ten list for 2024.)

One of my biggest complaints with the LitRPG genre — in particular Progression Fantasy — is the repetitive nature of the story. JIMMY kills a bunch of goblins and levels up. Here’s all his stats. Oh no…more goblins. He levels up again…even more stats…even more goblins…stats…goblins…stats…

Some of these Progression Fantasy books can get to the point where I wonder “When will it ever end? The protagonist can do no wrong and just keeps leveling up forever. Starts very satisfying, but suffers from diminishing returns. 

That’s one of the genius aspects of Dungeon Crawler Carl. Each book utilizes a different component to RPG and video game play. That hasn’t always worked in my opinion as the 6th book didn’t work as well for me primarily because of the card aspect (ala Magic or Pokemon cards), but I’m sure some fans loved that book. The latest book has taken all that has come before and piled it all into a faction war between the “crawlers” and many of the galactic power players. But it only works because of all the care that Dinniman has taken in the first six books to feature wildly different characters and plot lines. It really is amazing he can keep it all straight with all the various buffs Carl and Donut have received over the course of the game, let alone the secondary characters. 

Speaking of Donut, I was dubious before I started, but you’ll never believe that an award-winning Persian cat will nestle into your very soul to become one of your favorite book characters. Would I die for Princess Donut The Queen Anne Chonk? I don’t know, but the fact I have to even think about it says a lot. Honestly, there is a scene in This Inevitable Ruin that brought tears to my eyes and it was all due to Donut. I love that cat. 

I know I haven’t said much about the plot, but if you are interested in this book, you’ll want to start with the first book. And if you start with book #1, I know it won’t be long before you’ve consumed all the rest of the books like a cicada feasting on nearby vegetation after emerging from a 17-year sleep. This is a fantastic book that is as good as it is because Matt Dinniman put so much work and care into this entire series. 

This Inevitable Ruin was released in print in early November 2024 and releases on Audible this coming Tuesday, February 11, 2025. 

Synopsis

Groundhog Day meets Deadpool in Django Wexler’s raunchy, hilarious, blood-splattered fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.

This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.

Review

I’d meant to read How to Become The Dark Lord and Die Trying (HTBTDLADT from here on out) for quite a while and eventually had a chance right at the end of 2024. Ironically, I’d just read a time-loop indie book right before I picked it up, so I was quite relieved to not only enjoy it, but it instantly became one of my 2024 Top Ten along the way. For HTBTDLADT, the time loop isn’t used as a crutch, but rather a plot device that Wexler uses when needed.

I absolutely LOVE a good time loop story. Some of my favorite episodes of television are from Stargate SG-1 and Star Trek: The Next Generation where our heroes are stuck in a loop until they can figure out a way to escape. There is a flavor of that to the book, but also notes of video games as well. I’ve been watching my son play games on his Xbox and what Davi goes through is much like the playable character going back to the respawn point once she dies in each life. 

At the start of HTBTDLADT, we’re thrust in the middle of one of Davi’s regenerations and through the magic of backstory and sarcasm we find out that she’s been in her time loop for potentially thousands of lives. We quickly discover that prior to Chapter 1, she’d been trying to be “good” in an attempt to be the hero. The frustration had reached a boiling point and we meet Davi as she does a heel turn towards evil. 

But perhaps being an evil dark lord is different from what we — and even Davi — expect. Deadpool is mentioned in the official blurb and with good reason. Davi has been transplanted in this fantasy land from a 21st century North American culture so there are more than a few anachronisms sprinkled throughout HTBTDLADT. 

I had a blast with HTBTDLADT. It hit the right notes when it came to the structure of the time loop and I liked how Django Wexler balanced Davi’s fatalism and altruism as she works her atypical plan to become a Dark Lord in this fantasy world. I found this book to be one of my favorite books from 2024. 

Django Wexler’s sequel to HTBTDLADT comes out May 27, 2025, entitled Everybody Wants To Rule The World Except Me.

Synopsis

A new world. A new life. A chance to become a Legendary Alchemist.

When the apocalypse comes, a mysterious entity grants Theo Spencer the gift of reincarnation.
The gift of a quiet life as an alchemist.

He awakens in a small town in the southern reaches of a small kingdom in a non-human body. Broken Tusk doesn’t seem like much, but if Theo’s Alchemy Skills have anything to say about it, he will soon turn their fortune.

Review

I’ve read more than my fair share of Isekai and LitRPG stories over the last half-decade or so. At first I found them a fun and invigorating new sub-genre of Sci-Fi/Fantasy. The more I read though, the more repetitive and tedious they became. More than a few that I read last year I either didn’t finish or made it to the end out of some sense of duty. 

I’m happy to report that Newt & Demon by Edwin M. Griffiths is a breath of fresh air in the genre. I am well aware that they aren’t all going to be Dungeon Crawler Carl, but it seemed that most that I attempted to read over the past year were doing their best to copy and paste Matt Dinniman’s success. 

In Newt & Demon, the world is coming to an end. Our protagonist Theo is granted a boon as the world ends only to wake up in a new land in a new body with a demon appearance. From there, the story takes an unexpected twist. Normally, our protagonist starts leveling up to battle monsters and take on underground dungeons, but Griffiths here gives Theo the opportunity for the quiet life as a small-town alchemist. 

Theo levels up, but within the context of making potions and improving life in his new-found home. Along the way, he forms a relationship with an adventurer named Tresk — the Newt in the title of the book. Tresk provides some second-hand dungeon crawling experience to book for those looking for that, but the relationship is purely platonic, which lends to another fresh quirk in this LitRPG tale. 

Is it perfect? Not quite, but it’s a nice and very enjoyable slice-of-life story told in an interesting fantasy setting. I look forward to future entries in the series.

TL;DR Review: Ridiculous and hilarious, action-packed and heartfelt.

Synopsis:

A magical new world. An ancient power. A chance to be a Hero.

Danny Kendrick was a down-on-his luck performer who always struggled to find his place. He certainly never wanted to be a hero. He just hoped to earn a living doing what he loved.

That all changes when he pisses off the wrong guy and gets transported to another world.

Stuck in a fantasy realm straight out of a Renaissance Fair, Danny quickly discovers that there’s more to life. Like magic, axe-wielding brutes, super hot elf assassins, and a talking screen that won’t leave him alone.

He’ll need to adapt fast, turn on the charm, and get stronger if he hopes to survive this dangerous new world.

But he has a knack for trouble. Gifted what seems like an innocent ancient lute after making a questionable deal with a Hag, Danny becomes the target of mysterious factions who seek to claim its power.

It’s up to him, Screenie, and his new barbaric friend, Curr, to uncover the truth and become the heroes nobody knew they needed. And maybe, just maybe, Danny will finally find a place where he belongs.

Don’t miss the start of this isekai LitRPG Adventure filled with epic fantasy action, unforgettable characters, loveable companions, unlikely heroes, a detailed System, power progression, and plenty of laughs.

Full Review:

I was not prepared for just how much fun I had reading this book!

At the beginning, Danny the washed-up rockstar playing Friday night gigs for soccer moms at some dive bar does not seem your typical hero. Even when he’s isekaied (in true portal fantasy fashion) to another world, he’s nothing but a pathetic, no-talent, starving bard who can’t even entertain a crowd of drunken barbarians.

At his lowest moment, he finds himself striking a deal with a mysterious hag, Phlegm, and comes into possession of a marvelous lute…which he has no idea how to play.

Like any RPG video game, Danny has to “grind” to level up his survival and abilities, and this is where the LitRPG aspect comes into play. Danny’s world is narrated by a much-too-sarcastic “blue screen” that displays everything from his far-too-few hit points to his woefully underpowered stats.

Helpless and hapless as he is, Danny gloms onto Curr, a barbarian with limited social skills and a grim sense of humor that makes him as terrible a companion as he is powerful a protector. But as they journey together and face many foes—well, Curr faces them, Danny mostly just gets in his own way—they develop a friendship that may or may not survive the bloody adventures ahead.

The dynamic between Danny and Curr was hilarious. Curr is entirely literal and his social awkwardness makes him incredibly straightforward and not afraid to point out all the many, many ways Danny is inadequate. It’s never done cruelly, merely as a statement of fact, and in so doing, brings levity to pretty much every moment.

But Curr is also a loyal friend, powerful fighter, and a staunch ally. The bond between him and Danny evolves slowly but really nicely over the course of the story. Theirs is a friendship based not on equality, but the small give-and-take in life that makes for a longer-lasting, more durable relationship. Those who know the authors can absolutely see how certain aspects of these characters may be drawn from real life, and it makes for a truly fun read.

The world is colorful and silly at times, but in the best ways possible. Any chance these authors can get, they will lean into ridiculous settings and situations—some of which had me laughing out loud.

The characters you meet along the way—from Garvis the halfling to Lilla the dream-girl-slash-badass-elf-warrior—are a whole mess of fun, too, adding life and breadth and, most important of all, emotional depth to the story.

My favorite part, though, was definitely the sarcastic narrator, Screenie. Think of the AI from Dungeon Crawler Carl—with all its weirdnesses and mockery—and you’ll get an understanding of what this voice in Danny’s head is. It’s a hilarious and delightful blend of pop culture references, semi-helpful game instructions, and running commentary on Danny’s absolute uselessness. Definitely the funniest moments in the book were the snarky remarks and quips.  

But make no mistake: while An Unexpected Hero leans into the ridiculous and hilarious, it’s also got great action, an intriguing mystery (or three), and excellent character depth. By the end, you’ve had an immensely emotionally satisfying journey. The climactic ending had the fast-paced violence and threats I was hoping for, even a few really good gut-punchy moments.

I had so much fun with this book and can’t wait to find out what comes next for Danny our now-only-slightly-less-incompetent bard and his magical lute.  

Synopsis:

In just seven days, the world will crumble. The System’s Descent will usher in a new era of chaos: wild animals mutating, monstrous creatures emerging, and the cessation of modern technology. Humanity will be left defenseless.

Drew Wright knows none of this. At least not until he is rudely ripped from his bed and thrust into a white room to undergo a taser-happy ‘Tutorial’. Turns out, he is one of a thousand randomly selected people to be forewarned of the approaching apocalypse. Now he faces the delightful task of convincing his wife and mother of the devastation hurtling towards them.

As the System’s Descent draws near, Drew scrambles to prep supplies, fortify his home, and drag his elderly, TV-addicted mother away from her ‘shows’ long enough to listen to him. With monsters knocking at the door, the question becomes; how far is Drew willing to go to save those closest to him?

The dead rise to combat the encroaching darkness as Drew Wright taps into the only power that might save his loved ones, becoming Earth’s first Necromancer.

Review:

This is a Post/Apocalyptic Earth LitRPG similar to Shadow Sun, Phase Shift etc.

As the synopsis states, Earth is about to be assimilated by the System and Drew gets a week heads up notice. He realizes the futility about going to the authorities and begins his own doomsday prep trying to save his close family and protect those nearby him all the while getting attention by some supreme beings of the multiverse. Book 1 pretty much sets the stage and kickstarts Drew’s adventures.

It’s a well written book with a engaging prose, interesting characters and a gritty realistic take. The first 50% is a bit slow paced as the book takes it’s time to set the stage for the integration, but at around halfway mark, it kicks up a notch and we get a more action packed second half. Though the MC has some OP powers, he does not come across as OP from the get go and has it easy. The decisions he has to make are gritty, believable in real world perspective and showcases the balance between the good and bad.

The thing I liked the most is the treatment of gods & religion. Set in a rural Oklahoma where people are religious, the impact of the integration brining various Gods, the crisis of faith is done very well. A close second favourite of mine is the different treatment of the MC class which is not just a typical raise the dead Necromancer, but also having the aspects of Charon ferrying souls to the God of afterlife. The facets blend seamlessly and is something I’ve not read in any other books.

On the flip side, many other aspects of the plot are something we have seen in other books in this genre (there are even some outright nods to other books) and comes with a feeling of familiarity.

Overall, I enjoyed this and will look forward to the sequel.

TL;DR Review: A fully immersive and highly addictive card-battling experience from start to finish!

Synopsis:

Build your deck. Prepare for battle. Change the world.

Born in the slums of Domstadt, City of Cards, Hick has known only poverty. The only way to make life better for himself and his family is to play the magical card game that is the lifeblood of the city; earn new cards, learn how to use them, build deeper bonds with the folkloric monsters contained within.

Hick’s dreams are shattered, however, when he is targetted by the religious fanatics who run the city, and is forced to compete in the secret, high-stakes world of the underground card circuit. Hick must struggle to keep his identity secret as he builds his deck, unlocks the power of the cards, and takes his first steps toward becoming a legendary card player.

Full Review:

I’ll be honest: I’ve never had a chance to play Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone, or Yu-Gi-Oh. But after reading this book, I REALLY want to start.

Card Mage is a fresh and fun story: card battles played out in grand arenas, where the cards are brought to life by “mana fountains” that make the gaming experience so much more immersive and realistic.

Life in the Slums is difficult but those who own even a single card can still join “deck gangs” and add their card to the requisite 30 needed to join a battle, with the winnings divided between each cardholder.

This is the world into which we’re dropped straightaway, with our protagonist, Hick Durchdenwald, explaining the game to his four-year old brother and cheering for their father, the proud possessor of a low-level card that barely keeps them in food and clothing.

It’s cleverly done, because not only are we instantly treated to a child-level explanation of the rules, we also get to ooh and ahh with the crowd as wildmen and ghouls and ratkin and Jenny-of-the-Lake cards manifest before our eyes. The addition of magic to bring these creatures alive makes everything so much more immersive and adds stakes—after all, creatures can be ripped apart right in front of us, and if the shields protecting the players are damage, they can actually die!

Hick is pretty much exactly the protagonist you’d expect: a loyal, dutiful son who works a dead-end job (gutting fish) in the hopes of saving up enough to buy a card to play his family’s way to better fortune. At his side are best buds Gunne, the strong-armed, well-“connected” sarcastic one, and Pep, the fellow “card nerd” who plays it safe but shares Hick’s love for and fascination with the game.

The setting is pretty grim—the Slums are aptly named, and food is scarce, times are hard, and when tragedy befalls the Durchdenwald family, the situation grows dire. So dire that Hick is willing to risk everything in the hopes of turning matters around.

Which promptly crumbles away, leaving him dead and floating in a swamp. But that’s just the beginning of his journey. There, he’s given a second chance at life and an opportunity to do something greater—just what that is, though, is slowly revealed over the course of the book.

At its core, Card Mage is everything that I’ve loved about every great card and board game ever: a showcase of just how thrilling it can be when the right card comes up or the dice fall in your favor. Every card battle from the very first (failed) one is an absolute blast, with just enough explanation to keep you strategizing along with Hick, but not so much it bogs down the pacing. Through Hick’s wins and losses, you’re right there at his side, cheering him on and feeling his pain.

And yes, Card Mage is exactly as addicting as I could have hoped for. I ripped through this book in short order because it was just so much fun to go from battle to battle, from failure to triumph and back again, and learn more about the cards in this world, the mysterious abilities they both offer in the game and convey on their user, and the ever-rising stakes.

By the time I got to the end, I knew I’d need more of this book—a whole lot more. Thankfully, it’s the first in a series, and I cannot wait to keep ripping through more of these amazing adventures.

I might not be an avid card battler, but this book definitely had me falling in love with the game and seriously thinking about buying my first Magic card pack. 5 out of 5 stars all the way!

TL;DR Review: Fun and fluffy LitRPG. Easy reading, engaging characters, and a simple yet addicting progression.

Synopsis:

Part cozy, part bloody, all fun.

Hidden underneath the small town of Haverly Arms lies an entrance to the Dragon’s Game, an extensive world where adventurers compete to collect power objects and progress to the next level.

Temerity’s father and brothers have been down in the game for years, leaving Temerity and her mother, plus their house goblin, Half-pint, to manage their tavern. Bored with small-town life, Temerity decides to enter the tunnel labyrinth, launching an adventure to survive Level One of the Dragon’s Game: Dark Town.

Full Review:

I’m a sucker for a cozy fantasy adventure, so when I heard about Dark Town, I knew I had to give it a read.

I was already familiar with the author’s writing style from Heliotrope and knew I was in for some solid worldbuilding, great characters, and easy reading action.

And I got exactly what I expected…plus a bit more!

Dark Town is a classic “young girl leaving home on her first adventure” story, only this adventure is into an underground alternate realm where dwarves, elves, nymphs, orcs, trolls, ogres, and dragons exist, and dungeons can be looted for gems and weapons.

As a LitRPG, it’s very reminiscent of every RPG video game I’ve played, with weapons loadout (no more than three at a time), magic jewel (no more than three “equipped” at once, all with various color-based powers), and class systems (Attack, Shield, Melee, Range, etc.) that were familiar and easy to sink my teeth into.

The world is colorful and filled with curious characters—from the wheedling nymphs who continually cheats them out of their hard labor to the scholar who defies the “laws of the dungeons” to make maps to the snake-growing tavernkeeper—who make it such a pleasure to read.

Sure, there’s danger aplenty—enemy players who can “kill” you and steal your loot, monsters who you’ll have to defeat to “level up”, and the dragons who created the maze—but those stakes never really detract from the cozy feel of the book.

Half-pint the hobgoblin is a fun character. As a seasoned adventurer, he is the source of information on the dungeons and expert advice on how to tackle any challenge or enemy they face. He’s also the source of a lot of the delightful emotional moments, and definitely the more compelling and complex of the two main characters.

Temerity the human adventurer is as fresh-faced and excited by everything as expected, and it’s her enthusiasm for even the most mundane tasks (collecting coal, selling snake skins, etc.) that makes everything feel like an exciting adventure. She struggles here and there but remains dauntless, eager-eyed, and optimistic. She is very much the driving force of the story, and it’s easy to engage with the people and the world through her eyes.

The interior artwork included at the end of every chapter added a really nice touch. I enjoyed seeing an artistic rendering of the pivotal moments of each chapter and it made the reading experience so much more exciting.

Even for a LitRPG, I do feel like it could have used a bit more character growth. All of the progress these characters make is in terms of leveling up, gaining confidence in their combat abilities, learning to trust their teammates, and other “physical” growth elements. There’s no real emotional arc to the first story, so in that, it feels less than complete.

There were also a couple of moments that felt out of place tonally, including one that struck me as a Deus Ex Machina. I was willing to suspend disbelief for that moment but because no explanation was offered before the book’s (rather abrupt) ending, it was a bit jarring. The ending also had no real denouement where we get a moment to enjoy the growth and progress our characters made, so it felt a bit rushed.

All in all, though, I enjoyed every minute I spent alongside Temerity and Half-pint as they navigated the dark tunnels, ran the alleys, worked in the inns, challenged other adventurers, and ultimately tackled the boss.

It’s a “light” LitRPG that even fantasy readers can enjoy with a delightfully cozy feel.

Not much character growth, the progress is all leveling up and physical.

Synopsis

The apocalypse will be televised!
A man. His ex-girlfriend’s cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you’re in, you can’t get out. And what’s worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it’s game over. In this game, it’s not about your strength or your dexterity. It’s about your followers, your views. Your clout. It’s about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can’t just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that “it” factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That’s the only way to truly survive in this game—with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it’s anything but a game.

Review

NEW ACHIEVEMENT

You’ve started reading this review of Dungeon Crawler Carl, book one of the series of the same name. It’s so good they’ve named it twice! Now let’s see if your attention span hasn’t been destroyed by TikTok and aimless social media scrolling to be able to get through the entirety of this poorly written article. Strap in folks!

Ah Dungeon Crawler Carl. This is a LitRPG/GameLit Adventure novel centred around everyman Carl, his flat-faced Persian cat Princess Donut (the Queen Anne Chonk), and the end of the world. For anyone who isn’t familiar with this subgenre, LitRPG & GameLit fiction is heavily inspired by videogames and table top games, wherein the character(s) tend to find themselves in gaming like situations, full of stats, skill points, inventory management and health bars galore. And whilst it’s a massively popular subgenre with hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of fans, I wasn’t one of them. Having dipped my toe into the genre with other books, I very quickly found myself bouncing off of them for the main reason that drew so many people into them to begin with, which were the gaming elements. I found myself bored by the constant checking of stats, the inability for the characters to move forward because they “needed to level up”, which oftentimes ground the stories I’d experienced to a screeching halt. And this is coming from someone who was basically birthed with a Dualshock controller in hand.

So it was safe to say I went into DCC with low expectations.

Oh boy was I totally wrong!

Firstly, I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and I can safely say it’s one of the best I’ve ever listened to. It’s more than just narration, which is incredible on its own (Jeff Hays does an incredible job of creating what feels like a full cast performance), but it also includes various effects to enhance the scene, such as robotic filters, revving engines and, at one point, a crowd of people all chanting “GLURP GLURP”. The production is simply top notch.

This story starts out, like all the best stories out there, with the end of the world. But it also starts out exactly as it means to go on; by being ridiculously funny! Within about 10 minutes I had gone from my grumpy and snooty attitude of “why am I bothering with this” to belly laughing like a freak in my car. Dinniman immediately puts me into the mind of Pratchett & Adams by way of the best irreverent comedies of the past decade. It’s truly a laugh a minute, but definitely an adult one. The gore is over the top funny, the swearing is used with professional finesse to put a Scotsman to shame, and the situations Carl & Donut find themselves in escalate in their “what the fuck” hilarity. The gaming elements also aren’t overwrought, Dinniman keeping them in check, usually explaining the absolute necessities to us, the reader, but also giving enough detail to please the hardcore GameLit fans. The frequent use of the “NEW ACHIEVEMENT” running gag never failed, and the AI that reads these out to Carl – in a usually sarcastic manner – being another hilariously three-dimensional entity in itself (even if it’s a foot loving pervert!)

But again, like the best comedies, it isn’t just laughs. This is, after all, a book where in the first few pages billions of humans lives are snuffed out in an instant, and it never shies away from the brutality of the intergalactic TV show that now rules their lives, or the unfathomable amount of death and trauma this alien take over has caused and continues to wreck on the remaining populace. In fact, Dinniman does a brilliant job of creating sympathetic characters amongst both human and alien, and even the general mob monsters receive some semblance of humanity. Carl himself is a great leading man, a simple guy who is easy to cling to, determined in the face of overwhelming odds, and genuinely tries to the best thing. He’s also a dab hand at creating on-the-fly plans that never feel like plot conveniences or plot armour, everything he does feels like its come from him as a person and within the confines of the game itself (sometimes even exploiting the games rules, which is a cool touch). Donut is… well she’s a cat, and a princess cat at that. She’s brilliant of course (goddamit Donut!)

If I had to say one thing that I think the book could’ve done better, that would be a better ending. Whilst Carl & companions do grow throughout this first book, and I suppose they end at a natural “finishing” point, it just sort of ends? I immediately jumped into book 2 after this one ended, and it literally feels like I could have just turned the page to a new chapter. I suppose it makes sense in the framework of this world (which is this brilliantly varied The Running Man style show, where there’s 18 levels that descend slowly into the Earth, each having their own themes and gimmicks), but, well, it’s a little hard to explain without spoilers. I’m about 2 hours into book 2 at the time of writing, and I’d consider these two books to just be part 1 and part 2 of one whole narrative. Frankly though, this negative point is a bit of stretch.

Ultimately, I had so much fun with this book! It was a true pleasure to listen to and experience, absolutely hilarious from start to finish, but Dinniman also created some heartfelt moments, along with moments of thematic weight without “Marvel-ling” it up (i.e. completely ruining any sense of meaning with a shit joke). I’m loving this series and will continue to listen to it in its entirety, but it’s also dissuaded my completely wrong sense of dislike for LitRPGs, which is great because now I have another avenue of entertainment that I’ve been enlightened to. Pick this up, especially the audiobook version, you won’t be disappointed!

NEW ACHIEVEMENT

You’ve finally got to the end of this review for Dungeon Crawler Carl, what took you so long?! Now go and buy the book, asshole. What else are you waiting for? A parade?!

Synopsis

In 2442’s scorched future, the ultimate survival game is Krieg Chess. It’s a high-octane fusion of brain and brawn, where players use cutting-edge tech to unlock hidden powers in a ruthless battle for dominance.

From the shadows emerge Charoen and Jessie, refugee siblings from Oslo. The forgotten children of a former god of the game, they’re recruited by a cryptic billionaire and catapulted into an elite team. All that’s expected is that they use their pedigree to garner Brutal Deluxe some notoriety, but nobody expected them to be any good.

To become nascent gods of the game.

Fueled by rage and savage instinct, Charoen begins manifesting staggering abilities and ferocious battlefield instincts that stun those who witness his growth. Together with his sister, he’ll not only help Brutal Deluxe win their first few matches, he’ll destroy every opponent who dares challenge their bloody march to the top.

Review:

I’m a huge fan of the Phil and when this one got pitched as similar to Iron Prince Stormweaver (another favourite of mine), had to get on this. And glad I did. What’s not to like about a sci-fi book about tech driven arena fights?

The book is set in year 2442 at Oslo, Norway and follows the siblings Charoen and Jessie, though mostly told from Charoen’s point of view. As the synopsis indicates Charoen and his family live in a camp currently because of a hinted tragic history and work for the camp leader who helped them during their times of need. The biggest sport of the world is Krieg Chess, a team battle tournament that gets its basics from the game of Chess with players enhanced by ‘stimpacks’, a tech that integrates into their physiology and boosts it to give them superpowers. The plot unravels as Charoen & Jessie are recruited by a mysterious billionaire into a team of rejects as a second change underdog team. The redemption arc as the players come to terms with their own mistakes of the past and take the step towards glory makes for the plot.

The chess based battle mechanics is very interesting. Having players play the roles of King, Queen, Bishop, Rook & Pawns with associated powers is quite an innovate merger of the game and the book with tactics and strategies as cherry on the cake.

The writing as usual is superb, especially the character work. The way the characters deal with their inner demons and succeed is superbly written. It’s a gritty take as there are no easy solutions. Even the training is brutal forcing them to identify their boundaries and break through them…only to repeat.

On the flip side, the book suffers from a predictable plot. The wider universe as in how human society functions during that period of future is largely ignored and apart from some vague references, we don’t really get any details of the social, political or economic frames of references that would have added lot of value to the story.

Overall, it’s done enough to keep me invested into looking forward to the next in series. If you enjoyed, Iron Prince, you are likely to enjoy this too.

Synopsis

Ancient Magic brought the world to its knees. Now, Angel is bringing it back.

In the time that passed, society rebuilt, mixing machinery and magic to form something new. Great blimps took to the sky, belching steam and smoke as metal city-states sprouted like weeds below.

Angel, a daring adventurer, scours the desert endlessly in search of ancient magic. When he’s given an offer he can’t refuse, he finds out that he’s not the only one seeking lost knowledge. His opponents wield magic that the world has forgotten, and their methods leave cities razed and the innocent in their wake.

In a race against a group who has lived in the shadows since the Great War, Angel will have to determine just how far he’s willing to go to accomplish his goals.

Review

Note: This review encompasses the entire trilogy

Book 1: Steamforged Sorcery
Book 2: Steamforged Heresy
Book 3: Steamforged Apostasy

I have not read any steampunk books in LitRPG before, so this was fresh from the get go. Having loved Actus’s previous series, I had high hopes for this and was not disappointed. Mad Max meets Indiana Jones but with magitech is how I would describe this simplistically.

The book is set in a post-magical apocalyptic world i.e. a big magical event happened which broke the world and now the survivors are slowly rebuilding. Though the knowledge of the past is mostly lost, people have scrapped remnants and mixed them with technology making “magitech” devices. The world for this book kind of reminded me of Mad Max with different settlements separated by vast desert. Typical of LitRPG, there is a overarching “system”, but again in a new take, whatever apocalyptic event happened before, broke the system leaving only broken access and parceled data. The world building is rich and descriptive enough to be immersive and easy to visualize and quite authentic. The people, the way of life, the hazards outside settlements are all woven together into an interesting backdrop.

The plot follows our MC, Angel who’s a Seeker i.e. a adventurer who explores catacombs lost in the apocalypse for lost tech and magic. The catacomb exploration would make any Indian Jones fans happy, traps, secret passages with a relic to gain if successful. He’s asked by the settlement Magistrate to escort her daughter to a different city across the desert…and this kicks off a chain of events as stakes escalate, makes them object powerful enemies as lost magic and history catches up with the present. Angel is such an easy character to follow, a nice blend of ruthlessness needed to survive in a hostile environment blended with a honor suitable for a hero. Not just Angel, but the entire supporting cast is well written. They all have their own role to play and leave their own mark throughout the series.

These books are fun. Lots of action, adventure, epic battles, daring escapes and well woven (despite being slightly predictable) plot that kept me turning pages through 3 whole books. The game elements are kept to a minimum and I was happy to not be bombarded with skill descriptions, trees and stats every few pages. Like most of Actus books, this is a light read guaranteed to leave you in a good mood at the finish.

Highly recommended!