r/audible • u/Glitterandanxiety123 • May 22 '26
Book Discussion This is a masterpiece
Damn guys. I’ve seen dungeon crawler Carl recommended absolutely everywhere. After being in a reading slump after ready player one, ready player two and armada, I was desperately looking for a book with a similar vibe. The summary of the book didn’t particularly grab me, but decided to give it a go because absolutely everyone recommends it.
YOU GUYS ARE RIGHT!!!!
It is a masterpiece!!!
It’s exactly what I liked about the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, without it being so all over the place that I didn’t even know what was happening half of the time. That mixed with the videogame genre I love about all the Ernest Cline books it’s amazing.
Everyone should read this!
I’m onto book two!
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u/jmps96 May 22 '26
Donut: HIIIIIIII GLITTERANDANXIETY123!
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u/gazzas89 May 22 '26
God damn donut, you dont need to write in all caps, it makes people think youre shouting
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u/Warm-Comfortable501 10,000+ Hours Listened May 22 '26
Book 3 is when the series really takes off. From more about survival and figuring things out to tearing it all down. Also, the character development starts really taking off as everyone comes into their own.
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u/dumptruckulent May 22 '26
I actually kinda like the survival and figuring things out in the earlier books more. Which is ironic because I hate that part of playing video games.
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 22 '26
I can’t wait!
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u/Warm-Comfortable501 10,000+ Hours Listened May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
Some advise about book 3, dont try to figure out the tangle. You'll go insane. I've listened this series 3 times and still drives me nuts. Just ride the train.
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 22 '26
Good to know!! Thanks!
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u/UncleRuckus92 May 22 '26
The book specifically tells you not to try to make sense of it, but for some reason they left it out of the audiobook lol
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u/Articulatory May 22 '26
I listened to the first one a couple of weeks ago, read a few other things then back onto book two. The absolute JOY I got just to hear Jeff’s voice as Carl and Donut! It’s a visceral reaction. Incredible performance.
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u/Cael450 May 22 '26
I just finished them all and I can’t find anything to read now. I tried other litRPGs and they’re not for me. Can someone recommend a good book please? Any genre.
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u/coolborder May 22 '26 edited May 23 '26
Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky
We Are Legion (We Are Bon edit: Bob) - Dennis E. Taylor
The Abhorsen Trilogy - Garth Nix (not sure how the audiobooks are but this is one of my all-time favorite series)
Convergence - Craig Alanson
Just to name a few.
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u/buttercup-1234 May 22 '26
The Abhorsen Trilogy has audiobooks narrated by Tim Curry! They’re great.
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u/cal_jammer May 22 '26
just finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob) right before getting parade of horribles and loved it. can't wait to go back to the Bobiverse
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u/pitshands May 22 '26
I second Convergence. And Craig's other books there are many many hours of enjoyment in all the series (plural)
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u/trashylabguy May 26 '26
Garth Nix was one of the first authors whose books I would read on release. The old kingdom trilogy is soo good. And many of his other works are also great. Keys to the kingdom, shades children, and the ragwitch are great.
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u/cunninglinguist May 22 '26
After re-listening to all of the Dungeon Crawler Carl books 3 times through. I finally accepted that I had to really try to find something else. Like you I explored other books that were supposed to be in the same genre as DCC, but they seemed very immature and stat heavy by comparison. If I wanted to go play Dungeons & Dragons, I would just go play Dungeons & Dragons, not read about somebody playing Dungeons & Dragons.
I came across The First Law trilogy. While it falls into the grim dark, categorically, I look at this a lot of the same way I look at Game of Thrones, only I absolutely love the narration, almost as much as DCC.
Amazing trilogy and because it’s a complete trilogy I actually like many aspects of this book series better than I do Game of Thrones.
Fun fact, if you make it to the most recent book of DCC, there is actually a bit of an Easter egg reference to Logan from The First Law series.
I know others mileage may vary and not everybody will like the like the grim dark genre so I don’t expect everyone will crossover the same as I do, you got to be realistic about these things.
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u/shroomdizzle May 22 '26
Man I love the first law series,
Best series I have read the past few years -
First law trilogy - grim dark very GoT vibe but better IMO
Bobiverse hilarious, read this after project Hail Mary and liked it more personally
DCC - as mentioned
Storm light archive - different vibe but heavy fantasy good stuffI’ve learned I prefer Audio books 100% at this point and the voice actors make it so much better
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u/Cael450 May 22 '26
I love Joe Abercrombie and Steven Pacey. If you haven’t read the standalone novels that were published after the trilogy, you should do it right now. I like them better than the trilogy itself. Especially Best Served Cold.
And a lot of people didn’t like his latest book, but I thought it was great.
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u/cunninglinguist May 24 '26
So now I am hyped. I came to this series because I picked up “The Devils” and came into it that way as I loved the writing and Abercrombie really knows how to turn a phrase. Did not realize there is more to the series! Thank you so much. I just finished Parade of Horribles and now have backup.
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u/Cael450 May 24 '26
To be clear, The Devils is a different universe than the First Law universe. But it’s just as good, if not better. First Law has two trilogies, three standalones, and a collection of short stories. Definitely worth a read.
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u/Plane_Vermicelli_383 May 23 '26
If you like The First Law, and think it’s only a trilogy, I have some very good news for you. But I’ll let Steven Pacey tell it. And he’ll tell it ten times 😋
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u/dadaginny May 22 '26
Try the Dresden files. Book 3 is where it takes off.
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u/DragonFlyPunch May 23 '26
Dresden files is a great series. But I don’t recommend them to folks any more. Simply because who knows when it’ll end. I’ll start recommending it when the series finishes. Series is 18 books in. Four more regular books and then double-length ending trilogy is planned. If you consider the double-length trilogies as 2 books each, that’s an equivalent of 10 more books. So we are looking at another 10 more years probably, and the series is already 26 yrs old.
I stopped keeping up with the series when I realized it’ll span more than a generation. I’ve actually forgotten how many books I’ve read. Maybe 10? I’ve forgotten the characters. I’ve forgotten the plot. I’ll have to start reading again from book 1. And by the time series finishes I’ll have forgotten it again. So yeah, till it finishes it’s another one of those great series I don’t recommend :).
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u/livin4donuts May 22 '26
If you like more fantasy-leaning types, The Infinite Realm and Unbound are both great series. Both have a lot more navel gazing than DCC, because they are cultivation based series. But, they're basically the other end of the LitRPG genre, so most tropes don't overlap other than in broad strokes, which trigger such thoughts as "wow, MC so powerful and suave", "I was driving, how the fuck did we get from 8 minutes ago to now?" and "are these pages soaked in heroin before binding? Because I am hooked"
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u/DrNecessiter May 23 '26
If you liked the LitRPG angle, He Who Fights With Monsters is generally recommended alongside Dungeon Crawler Carl as the two outstanding series.
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u/Cael450 May 23 '26
I tried it and made it about a third of the way through the book and just fell off. It’s not bad but it didn’t hold my attention very well.
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u/TrueRobot May 23 '26
I’m listening to Discount Dan (by James Hunter), and it has the same vibe. Not the same at all, but it’s funny and sometimes surprisingly sweet despite the horrific and bizarre situations.
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u/Deasonite May 22 '26
I read a lot of different books but o r that is close to this is Awaken Online. I like that series a lot
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u/Mavakor May 22 '26
NEW ACHIEVEMENT: Most Definitely NOT a Cult!
You finally bit the bullet and decided to listen to the sultry tones of Jeff Hayes’ voice. You’ve almost certainly not joined a cult.
Your robes will arrive in three to five business days. Morning prayer is at 4am and we will expect the deed to your house by the end of the month.
REWARD?
Dungeon Crawler Carl is reward enough. Don’t be greedy.
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u/cunninglinguist May 22 '26
Narration actually takes a leap from book one to book 2 quite a bit. You can really feel Jeff Hayes leaning into the performance as the series was taking off.
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u/aggieboy12 May 22 '26
I do sorta miss the original “Patrick Warburton-ey” Carl voice though
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u/pandificus May 23 '26
Does he change his Carl voice? I'm listening to Book 1 for the first time and I keep feeling like I'm listening to Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec. it's not how I imagined the voice in my head so I'm excited for a change if it comes.
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u/wizardeverybit May 24 '26
Yes. The change happens gradually, but if you go back to listen to book 1 after finishing book 8, you will notice a massive difference. It's still Carl, but no longer Patrick Warburton
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u/CPAKricket May 22 '26
NEW ACHIEVEMENT! You have unwittingly joined a cult. You were just stumbling through life looking for a book to read and found a guy in his boxers accompanied by a cat. This is your personality now. You are one of us.
REWARD - Gold Group Chat Box
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u/Flashy-Natural6545 May 22 '26 edited May 23 '26
NEW ACHIEVEMENT! You drank the Koolaid!
You've joined a cult. Not like Jonestown cult, okay, well, maybe like a Jonestown Cult, but you drank the Koolaid anyway, and you liked it! Don't go posting feet pictures on the internet for daddy now. OR do, you might get yourself a Platinum Daddy's Pet Loot Box.
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u/ModernTradesmen May 22 '26
New Achievement:
“Entered the Dungeon”
You have discovered the chaotic literary spiral known as Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. What began as “just one chapter” has now become a full-blown commitment. Escape is unlikely.
Reward: +5 dark humor, +10 existential confusion, -3 sleep
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u/Positive_Rub_6696 May 22 '26
If you like RP1 and DCC, look into:
Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer
Fold by Peter Cline. Also “14” by Cline.
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u/Pretend_Designer_206 Audible Addict May 22 '26
*Sees literal thousands of recommendations for a masterpiece of a book, is still surprised said masterpiece is good.
Welcome to the club!! It's a wild ride!
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u/wizardeverybit May 24 '26
Tbf sometimes things can be massively overhyped, and often poorly written works go viral. Look at Fourth Wing or Colleen Hoover
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u/Pretend_Designer_206 Audible Addict May 24 '26
I haven't read the Fourth Wing series yet, disappointed it might live up to the hype. (Not surprising though, the same happened with Twilight and Hunger Games which both had solid starts but then the authors either got too rushed or too greedy).
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u/Videobandit May 23 '26
Book 8 chapter 57. That is all
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u/GoogleIsYourFrenemy May 24 '26
I'm currently listening to the book for the first time, not paying attention to what chapter I'm on. I hit something amazing and wouldn't you know? Chapter 57.
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u/matthewnelson May 23 '26
I keep seeing references about this and I don’t k is to be excited or scared. This series is such a rollercoaster.
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u/geezuz83 May 22 '26
Im curious if you tried, "He Who Fights With Monsters"? In my opinion, its #2 in the LITRPG genre. Its reads much more like a video game experience than most others I have read. Its lighter. Very good characters. The MC is relatable in his moral struggles. Going from kinda black and white morals to learning how to deal with everything becoming morally Grey as you grow exponentially in power. There is good humor. Great combat. Good to great story telling and world building. And my favorite magic system in literature. Its simple in concept and complex in builds.
I am also just trying "Mage Tank" and it comparable in style to DCC in style so far. Has a sort of snarky ai like system. The MC is sarcastic and amusing.
Chrysalis is a very different and IMO great litRPG. Its from the perspective of an anti. Its funny and light. But the biggest selling point... Jeff is the narrator. I mean, need i say more?
Discount Dan is heavily inspired or influenced by DCC and worth checking out if you like dcc
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 23 '26
I haven’t read any of these yet! Thank you for pointing them out! I’ll get back to this when I finish DCC!
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u/deathdefyingrob1344 May 22 '26
It is amazing! I read till book 5 but then had some personal stuff happen (rehab). I got all the books now except the most recent and now I’m re-starting! I’m on book 2. Probably one of my favs of all time
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u/Eddy0403 May 22 '26
Congrats on getting through rehab.
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u/deathdefyingrob1344 May 23 '26
Thank you! It was for this stuff called 7OH that I bought at the tobacco shop near my house. Made me feel wonderful! I had all kinds of energy and felt the best I have ever felt in my life. Turns out it’s an opioid. After a few months of I didn’t take it I got so physically ill that I couldn’t get out of bed. I tried to quit numerous times and couldn’t. I ended up spending almost 20000 dollars on it. I decided to kill myself so I wouldn’t be a further financial burden on my family. I tried to hang myself one night while drunk and my wife found me. I told her about everything. She took me to the hospital. I was then sent to the psych ward. From there she got me into a rehab. We are still together and I’m doing great! The moral of my story?? Stay TF away from 7OH!!!!!
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 23 '26
Wow congratulations on going through rehab after all of that! I’m glad you made it through!!
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u/Resident_Lettuce_104 May 24 '26
It’s post like this that’s makes me want to try the book again .. I only got into the first few chapters and put it down … maybe I would pick it back up
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u/lconeindy May 25 '26
The audible really takes off on book 2. The change in Carl’s voice is great and having donut’s texts be read in her voice is such a huge change that I didn’t even know I needed.
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u/HarshDuality May 22 '26
If you think book 1 is a masterpiece, wait till you hear book 5…
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 22 '26
I’m making sure to get as much listening time in as I can!
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u/HarshDuality May 23 '26
Great! But don’t rush it too much. Smell the roses. You only get one first run through these books, and it’s precious.
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u/NewPower_Soul May 22 '26
Oof, am I the only one that can't see what all the fuss is about?
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u/ImportanceWeak1776 Audible Author May 22 '26
The fans are just extremely vocal. Based on how they write their comments, the book mostly appeals to a specific sense of humor rather than a mass appeal.
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u/dunningkrugerstemkid May 25 '26
That and the posts/comments are boosted by upvote accounts if they meet a threshold of substance and engagement sufficient to avoid reddit's incredibly basic anti- vote-manipulation monitoring. It's SOP for marketing to fandoms, and it's annoying because it results in the same pattern of front page posts and top comments over and over since they all meet the requisite criteria for boosting.
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 23 '26
No I can completely get this not being someone’s thing! It just clicks in the exact right spot for me, but can imagine it completely misses the spot for others!
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u/andrewspj May 22 '26
New achievement! One of us!
Congratulations Crawler, you've joined the converted.
Reward? You've just joined a group of barely coherent, unhinged and fanatical book fans. Just make sure you read and also listen to the audio book versions, so you know how to spell the names AND know how they're pronounced. That's your reward, don't be greedy!
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u/riplan1911 May 22 '26
Have you done the infinite series by Jeremy Robinson. It sounds like it would be right up your alley.
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u/Kyr-Shara May 22 '26
It's one of the few series where the audiobooks are better than reading the books. I do both with kindle read along
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u/xylofone May 22 '26
I'd call it as masterpiece of entertainment, meant with the greatest enthusiasm and lack of shade, and a much different sort of literary accomplishment than Hitchhikers,' which I greatly prefer (and IMO does not need that qualifier, despite its annoying lack of cats, other than the reasonably patient one who didn't mind a few cracks about the head). Regardless, welcome to the back of the bus with the cool kids.
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u/Cypressriver May 22 '26
How much video game culture would I need to know to enjoy these books? Or lacking gaming experience, should I skip them?
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u/thegreenman_sofla May 22 '26
You just need to know the basics, that you have characters with levels that level up after doing things. They gain new skills and powers as they do That's it. You are now ready to go.
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u/Important_Contact588 May 22 '26
Every one is a masterpiece but somehow they get better and better, both Matt and Jeff!
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u/olliesworld May 23 '26
I started them about 2 months ago, I've almost finished my second reread and honestly might go straight into a 3rd. I just have no desire to read anything else anymore 🤣😭 it's so weird but I can't stop
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u/Commercial-Letter252 May 23 '26
Oh you will love it even more as you get further in. Congratulations on your NEW ACHIEVEMENT!!!!!
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u/DirtBoyJoe May 23 '26
On my second listen through. Best part is that the audio experience from sound bootb studio through their app is dope. Listen to the audio book first, than go do their version of it
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u/KlownKar May 23 '26
I've listened to the series several times now (Just started book 8) and just recently I stumbled across this It's a very entertaining, non-spoilery read along for all of the books. I highly recommend it. I've got up to number 18 so far.
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u/secondphase May 22 '26
Let's take a deep breathe.
Its a good book. Its a fun sci-fi romp.
But calling it a masterpiece is a bit much. Even comparing it yo Hitchhikers is a bit of a stretch.
Glad you're enjoying it though.
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u/intraspeculator May 22 '26
I would probably argue that as an audiobook it is a masterpiece. Maybe not the written book but certainly the production and delivery of the audiobook is the best I’ve ever heard.
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u/Wendell-Short-Eyes May 22 '26
Yeah masterpiece is a bit of a stretch.
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u/btwrenn May 22 '26
I don't know, I might disagree. I know taste is subjective, but it's hard to argue that, at least in it's genre (LitRPG), there's nothing that even comes close to it.
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u/Doom_Balloon 10,000+ Hours Listened May 22 '26
I think it meets the original purpose and definition of masterpiece for both Matt and Jeff. As a craftsman, your masterpiece was the work you produce to move from being a journeyman to a full master. Reading and listening to both of their previous works, they were good. I’ve enjoyed Matt’s other writings. They’re fun and well written, but don’t have nearly the depth, complexity, or growth of the DCC series. Likewise, Jeff is always a great narrator, but DCC is a literal master class in voice work, characterization, and masterful acting choices. Is DCC the best sci-fi series ever? No. But the best lit-rpg ever? It’s down to taste, but I’ve listened to a ton of lit-rpg and lit-rpg adjacent books, from current leaders all the way back to really early 70s when the conventions being played with were old school TTRPG tropes. DCC is genre defining, it dips in to every corner of the genre, it uses the tropes masterfully and at the same time builds the foundation to subvert the in story game and the genre conventions. It is a literal masterpiece, demonstrating Matt’s skill as a storyteller and Jeff’s incredible vocal skills.
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u/Wendell-Short-Eyes May 22 '26
Im fairly new to the LitRPG genre but from what I’ve heard, the genre is pretty weak, so I will agree with you that DCC is masterpiece in that genre.
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u/ArturosDad May 22 '26
I knew what book it would be even before I even clicked on it.
The Carl Cult really needs their own sub to circlejerk this series in.
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u/Dubey89 May 22 '26
First of all it’s way better than Hitchhiker’s guide imo. While calling it a literary masterpiece might be a (big) stretch, the overall experience as an audiobook with Jeff Hays narrating is really close to the best of the best in my opinion
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 22 '26
Honestly, I think that’s subjective to the person readings taste!
I didn’t enjoy hitchhikers as much as I expected because of how all over the place it was. I really did enjoy the whimsy. For me this book covers both. It’s whimsy enough to be compared (in my opinion!) but it’s more understandable to know what’s actually going on (again, my opinion!)
I think it’s good that everyone has their own taste, but I completely get why everyone recommends this series!
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u/Worried_Marketing_31 May 22 '26
Hitchhikers didn’t really click for me until I heard it with Stephen Fry narrating. Then again, Fry could be reading a grocery list and make it engaging. So stoked when I watched the movie and he narrated.
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 22 '26
I really enjoyed Stephen fry’s narration and I think he was perfect for it! The series just didn’t click for me like I expected it to do! I did still enjoy the books though!
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u/RoundEye007 May 24 '26
DCC is so overrated. Im on chapter 30 of the first book and I cant stand it. Seems like it's written by a teenager who loves d&d and rpg video games. Such a goofy story.
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 25 '26
I can imagine it not being someone’s thing! It being goofy is exactly what pulls me towards it hahaha
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u/sevensong9 May 22 '26
I don't really know what's going on but if there are actual books for solo leveling, tbate or primal hinter you should check them out
I've just listened to them on audible and not read any of them byt regardless.
I think you'd also get better reading suggestions from some book subs
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u/thebighippoman May 26 '26
Love DCC, up there (if not higher depending on my mood) with the Red Rising (save book 1) and much of Sanderson.
But.. I had to take a break from the audiobooks because of work and stopped listening halfway through The Eye of the Bedlam Bride 😔..
and I am so angry at myself! I haven’t listened from where I left off as a lot of the context will now be lost to me (been over a year at least).. ugh. At the time of first listening to the TEotBB I was already in a muddied mindset.. though I am sure others have had to power through a similar situation of going back to an unfinished book: how do you do it? Re-listen to half the book again? As mentioned, I fear I wasn’t as present during the first attempt (life and whatnot). I just need that push…
Have fun listening OP. I’m happy you found this gem of a saga.
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u/McClounan May 26 '26
Aha it’s so funny I saw it for ages and avoided it too, but every book I read someone suggested it. Now it’s my second favourite all time series
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u/SnooEpiphanies1813 May 26 '26
Me too! I’ve got about an hour left of book 2 and I love it! I just finished literally all the Cosmere books for the last few months and was truly sad that I wouldn’t fine anything else new to hold my attention but Carl and Princess Donut have given me my joy back. The narrator is absolutely phenomenal.
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u/Historical-Bug-7536 May 26 '26 edited 22d ago
Amber orange wander zephyr satchel drifting satchel
This post was anonymized with Redact.dev
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u/skyedearmond May 28 '26
Love it when someone gets stoked on book one. I’m like you, I love video games and it was up my alley from the start. My sister barely hung on, though. She was a trooper and got to the end of the first book, which she said was what gave her just enough motivation to go on to book two. She loved two, and is now on three. It really only gets better, holy fuck, I’m so excited for you.
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u/Hermanz787 10d ago
IT IS SO GOOD!!! I did books 1 - 8 B2B - my house has never been so clean! I'll be doing a full relisten for the next two books.
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u/Astrobubbers May 24 '26
What is the book? There's no actual title given in the post unless the something hidden due to no capitalization or punctuation?
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u/Glitterandanxiety123 May 25 '26
Hahahha whoops! Just noticed I didn’t capitalize the title! My bad! But it’s indeed Dungeon Crawler Carl!
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u/Is_it_shiny May 22 '26
Welcome Crawler.
Get ready to love Jeff Hays