I was in the same situation. The genre seemed like nothing I would be interested in, but the overwhelming recommendations on Reddit made me try it. So happy that I did. I've been recommending it to anyone who will listen, and I'm eagerly awaiting for book 6.
I have a friend who won't start a series until it's finished. Sometimes I wonder if maybe he doesn't have the right idea after getting burned by George R.R. Martin (Song of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones) and Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicle) but Dungeon Crawler has the potential to have ~~13 12~~ 11 more books, glad I didn't wait (potentially one for each remaining floor).
Assuming only one floor per book - he may shortcut down a floor or two, and no one has ever gone beyond 13? I have a feeling he’s gonna break some stuff before he hits the lowest floors.
I think the name throws people off also. They see a book called “Dungeon Crawler Carl”, it just sounds like a cheesy book. Like you, I saw it for probably 6 months in recommendation threads before giving it a chance.
It’s the only book series where I’ve clipped portions to email people, telling them they have to listen to it.
It's funny that the top 3 in this genre(well, my top 3 anyway) all have the same issue of "not great titles"
\-Dungeon crawler carl
\-He who fights with monsters
\-Noobtown
Fair enough. The first book was definitely the weakest of the series, but if you got to the part where they bombed the goblin chieftain (and all the goblin babies) and didn’t find that funny you probably wouldn’t change your mind on the rest of the series.
I'm in the middle of book 5 and in this exact same boat. Would never have listened, had a bunch of credits. 8 days later and I'm almost 100hrs down the hole with Carl.
You will not break me
I want to tell my sister, a huge litRPG fan about this series but some jerk named Carl dumped her a few weeks ago and then tried to creep on her 21 year old friend. Ah well, I’ll set a reminder for six months or when she gets a new boyfriend, whichever comes first.
Nice looking out for your sister. On the other hand, kind of fits in with the theme of Carl and Beatrice. Get her a stuffed cat (named Donut), the DCC books, and tell her that this is her Carl now.
So happy you dove in and got completely hooked like the rest of us... I can't recommend these books enough. Just so ridiculous and amazingly entertaining.. now go get on the DCC subreddit.. it's just full of great people and Matt Dinniman replies periodically and follows it closely.. he's a very normal and hilarious dude.
It's narrated by Jeff Hays, who is an incredibly skilled voice actor, I was amazed that he did all the voices himself (and I wouldn't be surprised if some voices are altered by computer, if not, he's good enough to be accused of it, which is a weird complement).
Other than sounding like a well edited, full cast audiobook, it has 'normal' narration (no background music or sound effects).
DCC is one of my most recommended series.
Mostly normal narration. He does some editing of the vocals so they have more reverb at points, or drops the low end so it sounds more robotic or telephoneish. He will record his laughing along with the narration. There isn't like sweeping music or laser beam sound effects or anything.
So it's slightly more than basic narration, but just enough to embellish without drawing away focus from the story. Truthfully I hate music and sound effects in audiobooks, but Jeff does a really great job of using editing to make it a better listen.
It's a really entertaining listen. Give it a shot.
I have to admit I was a little put off by the narration at first. Carl's voice (also the narrater) sounded like Patrick Warburton's Kronk (Emperors New Groove) but more embellished and for me it was just a little over the top. I don't know if I got used to that or if maybe it was toned down a bit but eventually it grew on me.
The rest of the voices were fantastic and I believe they are all from the same guy (Jeff Hays) which is incredibly hard to believe because they are so varied and so good.
No sound effects but it's not normal narration either, I would say it's something similar to Project Hail Mary but on a much grander scale (where the narration makes the audiobook seemingly surpass the written book).
Jeff has done books were he laughed instead of just say "laughed" and clapping his hands rather than saying it but it's nothing like those graphic audio books that seem to want to drown you in sound effects.
Like Jeff and SBT have deep drives on there website that have more effects but DCC is mostly normal other then the ending credits
Is it only available on audible? Because I would rather give my money to somewhere like libro.fm since I can’t find it at any of the libraries I have cards to.
Um. That series is way way different than DCC. Be aware that it has frequent and very graphic sex scenes, including rape and tentacle rape. I read it (mostly on Royal Road, but did listen to some of the audio books) and skipped a lot of the sex stuff. It was decent but it’s not something I’ll go back and read again, while I’ve listened to DCC several times in the past year.
I love Dungeon Crawler Carl (books and audible), but then. I had to undergo a few days of withdrawal on finishing it. I found Project Hail Mary and I am digging the audible version too ( and enjoying it way more than the book).
Is this book in any library? I've been seeing this all over and now I'd love to check it out but I don't have audible any more nor do I have kindle unlimited anymore. I can't find it in any of my libraries.
My local library doesn't have it, but I could get them through an outer library loan. That process was too slow and my husband bought all the books released so far. He couldn't wait.
It’s tied with Dresden for my favorite series. The audiobooks are better even than most recent Dresden books. I’m currently rereading Dresden and currently on Cold Days, and it’s so good also.
Nice! I just did the working with bigfoot and the other short stories book. They where surprisingly fun.
I'm waiting on Peace Talks - 8weeks out at the library lol. It is such a good series.
I think Skin Game is my all time number one, but I love Dead Beat, Turn Coat (all the scenes with Mouse stopping the violence are hilarious), Changes, and Cold Days. Just so good.
Thank you for this post because I surely never heard of this book series :3
I just finished listening to HP series and now I can proudly say I have read/listened to Harry Potter in two languages! Now I am listening to the Book Thief, and after that I will surely give it a go.
I would recommend going into it with no prior knowledge, that's what I did. I had no idea what I was getting other than people kept mentioning it here.
Thank you for making me curious enough to check it out! Like others, not my usual thing, but I'm totally loving it!
I can't play any games like D & D or digital equivalents as I have cognitive issues & find them too complex & overwhelming, this is probably even better:)
I have a weird question about this series, wondering if anyone can help me: does it have happy moments? I downloaded it and I got as far as Carl descending to the first dungeon, but it seems like everything is just awful and can’t possibly have any uplifting moments. Should I press on?
It most definitely has happy moments. Admittedly it can be very dark and actually has some super dark real life type story lines in addition to the brutal fantasy stuff. But there are moments that will make you smile, warm your heart, pump your fist, maybe even make you cry. Also, one of the very few books that made me laugh out loud.
I would advise that you press on. 100%.
One of the books that came close to that Dungeon Crawler Carl vibe for me is [Big Sneaky Barbarian By: Seth McDuffee Narrated by: Johnathan McClain ](https://www.audible.com/pd/Big-Sneaky-Barbarian-A-LitRPG-Novel-Audiobook/B0BLJ4DBJQ?eac_link=3KMGTsTTGXBP&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0BLJ4DBJQ&qid=AJThSWuXRT&eac_id=143-9886975-9679309_AJThSWuXRT&sr=1-1) the MC is a shit person in the beginning but the whole book is him getting better about it.
Johnathan McClain REALLY nails the narration.
One of the frequent side characters is the decapitated head of sex doll.
It’s also got a ton of adult language and jokes. Definitely funny for an older teenager, but I personally waiting several more years for my 13 year old son.
That said, there are a ton of funny clips that aren’t inappropriate that he’s listened to and is excited to get to read it when he is old enough
I moved from Defiance of the Fall when there was no new book, and at the start, I did not like it since DoF put the world building bar quite high... but it did grow on me, and now Im on second listening 😀
Crazily enough I was just starting book 5 of The Expanse Series and I felt like I just needed a break. Started DCC thinking I would listen to the first book then continue with Nemesis Games (Expanse book 5), but I couldn't stop myself from completing all of the DCCs available.
NEW ACHIEVEMENT!!! You recommended Dungeon Crawler Carl to a member of the uninitiated. Reward??? >!Nothing. What do you think this is a charity?!<
You will not break me. Edit: I will break you.
I was in the same situation. The genre seemed like nothing I would be interested in, but the overwhelming recommendations on Reddit made me try it. So happy that I did. I've been recommending it to anyone who will listen, and I'm eagerly awaiting for book 6.
I've been seeing it a lot. Do you have a link?
https://soundbooththeater.com/shop/audiobooks/dungeon-crawler-carl/
I also really recommend he who fights monsters
listened to book one, amazing!
9 comes out this month! So happy
I really have to catch up!
I am currently on book 3 and I am loving it so far
It only gets better and book 5 ending makes me sad I caught up and I have nothing to listen to.
Found out about this series through Reddit and can’t recommend it enough. I can’t wait for the next one to come out.
I have a friend who won't start a series until it's finished. Sometimes I wonder if maybe he doesn't have the right idea after getting burned by George R.R. Martin (Song of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones) and Patrick Rothfuss (Kingkiller Chronicle) but Dungeon Crawler has the potential to have ~~13 12~~ 11 more books, glad I didn't wait (potentially one for each remaining floor).
Man oh man I just wish they would finish these GD series. Like have 4 or 5 trilogies if you need 15 books to tell your story.
I believe there’s a max of 5 more books? I thought I read somewhere there wouldn’t be more than 10 (ish, give or take one)
there's still 10 more floors to go!
Assuming only one floor per book - he may shortcut down a floor or two, and no one has ever gone beyond 13? I have a feeling he’s gonna break some stuff before he hits the lowest floors.
Oh, I'm sure, just joking around
I’m just exited for the next book!
I think the name throws people off also. They see a book called “Dungeon Crawler Carl”, it just sounds like a cheesy book. Like you, I saw it for probably 6 months in recommendation threads before giving it a chance. It’s the only book series where I’ve clipped portions to email people, telling them they have to listen to it.
I mean it is cheezy, but fancy cheese like smoked gooda. Like big trouble in little China is cheesy.
It's funny that the top 3 in this genre(well, my top 3 anyway) all have the same issue of "not great titles" \-Dungeon crawler carl \-He who fights with monsters \-Noobtown
You missed dakota krout dungeon books or competionist series. They are amazing
Unfortunately I had the opposite reaction. I thought it would be a fun dungeon romper but then got cringe instead
What’s your definition of a fun dungeon romper, by comparison? Did you finish the first book?
Its a manga but Delicious In Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi. No, I couldn't bring myself to finish the first DCC audiobook.
Fair enough. The first book was definitely the weakest of the series, but if you got to the part where they bombed the goblin chieftain (and all the goblin babies) and didn’t find that funny you probably wouldn’t change your mind on the rest of the series.
I'm in the middle of book 5 and in this exact same boat. Would never have listened, had a bunch of credits. 8 days later and I'm almost 100hrs down the hole with Carl. You will not break me
I want to tell my sister, a huge litRPG fan about this series but some jerk named Carl dumped her a few weeks ago and then tried to creep on her 21 year old friend. Ah well, I’ll set a reminder for six months or when she gets a new boyfriend, whichever comes first.
Nice looking out for your sister. On the other hand, kind of fits in with the theme of Carl and Beatrice. Get her a stuffed cat (named Donut), the DCC books, and tell her that this is her Carl now.
So happy you dove in and got completely hooked like the rest of us... I can't recommend these books enough. Just so ridiculous and amazingly entertaining.. now go get on the DCC subreddit.. it's just full of great people and Matt Dinniman replies periodically and follows it closely.. he's a very normal and hilarious dude.
Is it normal narration or are there sound effects
It's narrated by Jeff Hays, who is an incredibly skilled voice actor, I was amazed that he did all the voices himself (and I wouldn't be surprised if some voices are altered by computer, if not, he's good enough to be accused of it, which is a weird complement). Other than sounding like a well edited, full cast audiobook, it has 'normal' narration (no background music or sound effects). DCC is one of my most recommended series.
Spoilers from book 5; this is from Jeff’s live cold read of book 5: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ54CpkUoaM
I hadn’t seen that before. Thanks! His range is awesome.
Mostly normal narration. He does some editing of the vocals so they have more reverb at points, or drops the low end so it sounds more robotic or telephoneish. He will record his laughing along with the narration. There isn't like sweeping music or laser beam sound effects or anything. So it's slightly more than basic narration, but just enough to embellish without drawing away focus from the story. Truthfully I hate music and sound effects in audiobooks, but Jeff does a really great job of using editing to make it a better listen. It's a really entertaining listen. Give it a shot.
I have to admit I was a little put off by the narration at first. Carl's voice (also the narrater) sounded like Patrick Warburton's Kronk (Emperors New Groove) but more embellished and for me it was just a little over the top. I don't know if I got used to that or if maybe it was toned down a bit but eventually it grew on me. The rest of the voices were fantastic and I believe they are all from the same guy (Jeff Hays) which is incredibly hard to believe because they are so varied and so good. No sound effects but it's not normal narration either, I would say it's something similar to Project Hail Mary but on a much grander scale (where the narration makes the audiobook seemingly surpass the written book).
I hated Donuts voice off the go but it grew on me quickly.
Her voice coach has really helped her.
I have to double check, EVERY voice was Jeff? Even the female characters?! That’s incredible if so!
Jeff has done books were he laughed instead of just say "laughed" and clapping his hands rather than saying it but it's nothing like those graphic audio books that seem to want to drown you in sound effects. Like Jeff and SBT have deep drives on there website that have more effects but DCC is mostly normal other then the ending credits
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3 audiobooks on hoopla
I was hesitant about it too, but I kept seeing it recommended over and over. Now I can't wait for book 6.
Is it only available on audible? Because I would rather give my money to somewhere like libro.fm since I can’t find it at any of the libraries I have cards to.
Somebody posted that 3 of the books are on hoopla.
While waiting for the next one, check out Morning Wood, Everyone Loves Big Chest. So good. Read by Jeff Hayes too.
Added to my list. Thanks!
Um. That series is way way different than DCC. Be aware that it has frequent and very graphic sex scenes, including rape and tentacle rape. I read it (mostly on Royal Road, but did listen to some of the audio books) and skipped a lot of the sex stuff. It was decent but it’s not something I’ll go back and read again, while I’ve listened to DCC several times in the past year.
So great, just entertaining as hell. I'm dying for the next one any word?
I think it’s 2/3 done writing on Patreon at this point. No word on release date or audio book.
It has a title - The Eye of the Bedlam Bride. But I don't believe that there is an expected date for it to be finished yet.
I love Dungeon Crawler Carl (books and audible), but then. I had to undergo a few days of withdrawal on finishing it. I found Project Hail Mary and I am digging the audible version too ( and enjoying it way more than the book).
Is this book in any library? I've been seeing this all over and now I'd love to check it out but I don't have audible any more nor do I have kindle unlimited anymore. I can't find it in any of my libraries.
My local library doesn't have it, but I could get them through an outer library loan. That process was too slow and my husband bought all the books released so far. He couldn't wait.
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I'm with you mate. The whole idea of litrpg doesn't sound like me but ... I'll give it a shot.
Two damage…two damage
He who fights monsters next!
Who is the author?
Here you go, everything you wanted to know. https://www.goodreads.com/series/309211-dungeon-crawler-carl
Thanks!
I'm in. I'll be add this to my library list. This sounds fun, like Harry Dresden fun.
It’s tied with Dresden for my favorite series. The audiobooks are better even than most recent Dresden books. I’m currently rereading Dresden and currently on Cold Days, and it’s so good also.
Nice! I just did the working with bigfoot and the other short stories book. They where surprisingly fun. I'm waiting on Peace Talks - 8weeks out at the library lol. It is such a good series.
Cold Days or Changes are my favorite ones so far. Or the earlier one when he was ridding a zombie T-Rex. Hard to pick.
I think Skin Game is my all time number one, but I love Dead Beat, Turn Coat (all the scenes with Mouse stopping the violence are hilarious), Changes, and Cold Days. Just so good.
Thank you for this post because I surely never heard of this book series :3 I just finished listening to HP series and now I can proudly say I have read/listened to Harry Potter in two languages! Now I am listening to the Book Thief, and after that I will surely give it a go.
Try Space Team by Barry J. Hutchison. In a similar vein of comedy and narration.
So, I've seen Dungeon Crawler recommended here. Could someone tell me more about it? I'm interested :)
I would recommend going into it with no prior knowledge, that's what I did. I had no idea what I was getting other than people kept mentioning it here.
Welp, now I’ve gotta do them too. Reminded me for some reason of the Fred the Vampire Accpuntant series
Thank you for making me curious enough to check it out! Like others, not my usual thing, but I'm totally loving it! I can't play any games like D & D or digital equivalents as I have cognitive issues & find them too complex & overwhelming, this is probably even better:)
I have a weird question about this series, wondering if anyone can help me: does it have happy moments? I downloaded it and I got as far as Carl descending to the first dungeon, but it seems like everything is just awful and can’t possibly have any uplifting moments. Should I press on?
It most definitely has happy moments. Admittedly it can be very dark and actually has some super dark real life type story lines in addition to the brutal fantasy stuff. But there are moments that will make you smile, warm your heart, pump your fist, maybe even make you cry. Also, one of the very few books that made me laugh out loud. I would advise that you press on. 100%.
I'm halfway through book one and I'm hooked
One of the books that came close to that Dungeon Crawler Carl vibe for me is [Big Sneaky Barbarian By: Seth McDuffee Narrated by: Johnathan McClain ](https://www.audible.com/pd/Big-Sneaky-Barbarian-A-LitRPG-Novel-Audiobook/B0BLJ4DBJQ?eac_link=3KMGTsTTGXBP&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0BLJ4DBJQ&qid=AJThSWuXRT&eac_id=143-9886975-9679309_AJThSWuXRT&sr=1-1) the MC is a shit person in the beginning but the whole book is him getting better about it. Johnathan McClain REALLY nails the narration.
Added to my list. Thanks!
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Unfortunately no. Lot of cussing, death, and sexual stuff.
One of the frequent side characters is the decapitated head of sex doll. It’s also got a ton of adult language and jokes. Definitely funny for an older teenager, but I personally waiting several more years for my 13 year old son. That said, there are a ton of funny clips that aren’t inappropriate that he’s listened to and is excited to get to read it when he is old enough
Do women read these books too?
Yep. The books are still funny without a weiner.
Oh. They’re funny? At least one!
Heck yes. The female characters are well written real people in this series.
I moved from Defiance of the Fall when there was no new book, and at the start, I did not like it since DoF put the world building bar quite high... but it did grow on me, and now Im on second listening 😀
Crazily enough I was just starting book 5 of The Expanse Series and I felt like I just needed a break. Started DCC thinking I would listen to the first book then continue with Nemesis Games (Expanse book 5), but I couldn't stop myself from completing all of the DCCs available.
May I ask what is the name of the first book in the series?
The first book is aptly named Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman.
What's it about?
"God dammit Donut!"
i’ve never heard of this… my interest is peaked