Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Book 1 of … I don’t actually know how many. This was one of two books I was reading at the same time while trying out audiobooks. Unfortunately, what I’ve learned is that audiobooks really aren’t for me. Can’t focus on them enough to actually keep track of the plot. That said, the narrator for this audiobook has excellent range, and I think it would have been nice if I’d only listened to a couple of chapters of the audiobook instead of the entire thing. Just to appreciate the artistry without detracting from the information. Would absolutely recommend the audiobook version to anyone who enjoys books in that format.
Trying to form an opinion on this book when I missed so much of it is difficult. Overall, it was ok. It reminded me strongly of old Ratchet & Clank games, except less PG, in a good way. It leans in very heavy on just straight up info dumping the tutorial/game rules/exposition, which isn’t to my personal preference. I just can’t bring myself to care about the stats and dungeon world building. When half the book seems to be dedicated to just explaining the games rules, it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. The amount of detail about the “game play” takes a decent premise and bogs it down. I’d rather just play the video game version and go through a 10 minute tutorial level.
However, the humor is usually funny enough and I really like the “voice” of the game AI.
Book 2 will be read as an ebook to compare the experience. Not sure yet if I’ll continue this series after book 2, but trying to give the series a fair shot.
