The Dunegon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

“There is no shame in wanting to be alone yet also wanting the comfort and the strength of your brethren.”

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

There is something so incredibly special about the Dungeon Crawler Carl books that you really can’t explain or conceive of unless you’ve read the books. They are fun, snappy, emotional, completely ridiculous (in the best way); they are big, cathartic and heart-warming. The series stands at currently eight books, and I am so eager to keep reading and find out what happens in the rest of the series. These books are a treasure and so are the characters. It is impossible not to find something to love about Carl, Princess Donut, Mordecai, Katia and even Mongo. Plus the amazing cast of side characters that fills this series, too.

While book 3 was amazing and my favorite of the series so far, I just wanted to talk about the series as a whole so as not to be spoilery for newer readers. DCC starts off with armageddon. The world as we know it is over, and the humans who manage to survive are collected in a large dungeon that they have to fight their way out of, live for the rest of the galaxy to watch, bet on and support via the televised spectacle. On the surface that might sound like a weird premise, but it isn’t. Matt Dinniman builds a world that is so incredibly believable you can’t help but be sucked in and believe yes, this is true, somehow, somewhere. And that’s the best part of stories in my opinion. The truth that lays and echoes across every page.

Carl enters the dungeon with his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Donut who once she gains the ability to talk, becomes Princess Donut and let’s face it, she is one hell of a star and character. Carl and Princess Donut team up to survive, but as the series goes on, they recognize there is more going on behind the scenes, more at stake than they ever imagined.

Each book is set on different levels of the dungeon and the book teases how wild some of these later levels will get. It sounds amazing. I’m amped and ready for the ride, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them.

Book three is set within The Iron Tangle, a maze of trains with monsters on nearly every platform. The characters have gotten more powerful and smarter, but so has the dungeon.

This series is just the best. I find myself unable to stop reading, completely enthralled. It’s fun and perfect and I dare you to read and fall in love with these characters. It will be the best experience of your reading life.