So I've been burned many times in the past by the hype on a lot of "Redditcore" books that are praised to high heavens on various reading subs. Two big examples are Project Hail Mary and Red Rising, both of which were major duds for me after seeing them constantly hyped up here. To some degree, Brandon Sanderson's books fall into that category as well, but not as much.
That's why I was very skeptical about Dungeon Crawler Carl because it seemed like another one of these books. Admittedly, the premise seemed pretty interesting, which is what finally made me give it a shot - a televised apocalypse using the framework of a LitRPG progression system (I did find out later that this System Apocalypse premise is pretty popular in the LitRPG/Progression Fantasy subgenre but that's a story for another day).
I will say that DCC has a lot of the facets that I find off-putting about these aforementioned Redditcore books - often-poor prose, wisecracking characters and somewhat cringey humour that sounds like Reddit memes come to life, and a complete lack of subtlety and nuance when it comes to portraying the themes of the book.
Despite all that, I actually mostly enjoyed DCC. I think a lot of it is because, at least to start with, it doesn't take itself all too seriously. It does get darker and bleaker as it goes - I haven't finished the series yet but I can see the trend already - but it manages to maintain the sense of irreverence. I also like Carl as a protagonist a lot more than the ones in PHM, Red Rising and Stormlight Archives. He's just...more tolerable to read.
Another aspect in favour of DCC is that although prose-wise it's really nothing special, it's still considerably better written than most LitRPGs (not a high bar tbh). I've tried a few on Royal Road and they can be rough, to say the least, so DCC having at least functional, professionally-edited writing is a big step up.
I still don't think it's amazing or anything but it's better than I expected it to be. It's a fun popcorn read, quite well-paced so you fly across it, and also manages to add some level of depth to the narrative as it goes. It also just strikes a chord in the video gamer in me with the stats, upgrades, loots etc. but with writing that's actually tolerable to read.
Here's my burning hot takes on the series though: a) Donut is an annoying character (and this is coming from someone with a cat) and b) I hate the audiobook - the narrator sounds like a constipated Patrick Warburton and I much prefer just reading it.
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Donut becomes more likable in each book, and the narrator fixes carls voice by book 3. The pros also become much stronger every book.
i bounced off the audiobook too at first but reading it felt way better. something about seeing the stats on the page just hits the gamer brain differently than having them read out loud. and yeah the prose isn't winning awards but it doesn't need to when the pacing is that tight donut grew on me somewhere around the third book. she's still a lot but the dynamic between her and carl gets more layered once the survival pressure really kicks in. the way she handles some of the later floor mechanics actually surprised me also hard agree on project hail mary. i wanted to like it so much but the main character felt like a redditor's idea of a cool science teacher and i could not get past that. red rising i finished but the edge was just too sharp for me
I have read the first 3. I think Donut is still pretty annoying and the narration still kinda sucks. I do agree that the books do get better as they go.
\>Another aspect in favour of DCC is that although prose-wise it's really nothing special, it's still considerably better written than most LitRPGs (not a high bar tbh). *Nothing special?* What do you mean, nothing special? It was abysmal. It is basically McDonalds of literature. And not even European one, but American one. The prose reads like a thread of Reddit posts or Discord messages.
Oh come off it. It's not noticeably worse than the bulk of popular fiction. Sure, I wouldn't put give it any reified status, but calling it abysmal is simply not true.
Yeah I was just comparing it to other LitRPGs I've come across lol, as well as Brandon Sanderson/Andy Weir. I agree that compared to literary works it's pretty bad but I was also expecting that anyway. I wouldn't be looking for Nabokov or Toni Morrison-level writing in a book like this.
No it's definitely "nothing special," it's far from abysmal. It doesn't do anything particularly wrong and the author knows his strengths.
Hottest of hot takes. And yeah Jeff knocks off the Warburtton impression by the third book. That all said, sometimes it’s fine for a book to just be an easy read. To be on the nose with its messaging.
I think this is what a lot of people misunderstood. Not everything has to be profound or serious. DCC really divides opinion, just look at the comment above yours. They're so angry about it. It's an easy and entertaining read and sometimes you want that.
I agree with most of what you say, it's a simple fun read. I play a lot of JRPG games so I appreciated the nods and references even if chat about character and ability stats got a bit old 😂 I never bothered with the sequel as I read a sample and it seemed just more of the same and I figured I'd get bored. I might go back to it one day. But overall a good fun time.
It opens up quite a bit later in the series, I kind of think the first two books are the weakest. If you find the first one enjoyable enough to keep going , it keeps getting better. If you hate the first one, I would abandon, not everything has to be for everyone and that’s ok
I've actually read the first 3 books.
Even after this post, I’m still sceptical
Of course DCC has more professional structure and editing compared to royal road titles. Royal Road is usually the author posting the raw chapters after completing them each week. DCC had the same issues before being picked up by ACE books. The editing is like the entire point of the publisher.
I see the DCC books as the novel equivalent of Marvel movies: All spectacle, zero depth, generally a helluva lot of fun. They’re 90% exposition and action…but that 90% is done in a very fun, highly engaging way. I read them as occasional palate cleansers, and I always have a blast.
the depth comes
Zero depth? I feel like the „dehumanizing“ of dungeon mobs and political topics playing with real world occurrences are actually kinda deep.
Yeah basically. Before DCC, I had just read The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner and William Gaddis' The Recognitions b2b and I desperately needed a fun palate cleanser. DCC did the job pretty well - fun, fast-paced and unchallenging. You just need a good fast food burger sometimes and I don't mean that in any kind of derogatory way.
Red Rising is so bad.
This might upset some people. I think in today's society where people, especially young men, are reading less and less, a book like DCC, which is perfect for them, should be pushed regardless of it's perceived flaws. Like selling cars, you just gotta get em in the door.
I have zero experience with the audio books which I’m told are great, but I’ve read the first four and they are quite…mediocre. I’m a gamer so I get the appeal of that central aspect. And the world does open up some over time. But generally speaking, the writing isn’t great and the story is very one dimensional.
Your opinions are trash and you should feel bad for having them.
Man you sound miserable.
Cringe millennial/redditor referential humor written for man children who need everything they ingest framed around video games. Don’t get me started on the people who treat it as some deep take on anti-capitalistic themes, like it has anything more than the most surface-level and trite explorations of the subject.
Do you wear your fedora at home, or only when you’re out building a case for Incel of the Year 2026?
Hated it myself, but I immediately understood why it was so popular.
I generally like the other books you mentioned (except red rising); I think they are genuinely good books with good writing. Dungeon Crawler Carl is easily one of the worst books I have ever attempted to read,is it just being held to a different standard here? Project Hail Mary was honestly a pretty interesting book with nuanced characters, a super original plot, and a fair bit to say all wrapped up in a fun package. Dungion Crawler Carl reads like the worst written anime fanfiction I have encountered turned into a book.
It's interesting because from a purely writing standpoint, I do think Pierce Brown is quite a bit better than Dinniman. Sanderson too although that's not saying too much. I just found Red Rising to be unintentionally cheesy and campy whereas DCC seemed more aware of its inherent ridiculousness. As for PHM, I just disliked almost everything about it.
I think the books are as popular as they are because it is the intro series into this genre for most non-LitRPG readers and because of that a lot of the ideas may seem original to them. As someone who had read several other LitRPG series before this one, I gave up on this series pretty early.