149 upvotes, 17 direct replies (showing 17)
View submission: Do NOT Sleep on Dungeon Crawler Carl
What I’ve read of LitRPG I haven’t been a big fan. I think all of them I didn’t even finish. They all felt like fan fiction of a video game and the whole stats and leveling up thing really put me off. Is this book different?
Comment by Smooth-Review-2614 at 24/02/2025 at 01:29 UTC
121 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Nope. It’s just more meta aware and tuned to comedy. It’s still a LitRPG and it’s just broken containment.
Comment by Glendronachh at 24/02/2025 at 05:09 UTC
32 upvotes, 2 direct replies
After DCC, I tried a few of the other litrpg headliners. Nothing is even close.
Comment by GrumpyAntelope at 24/02/2025 at 10:31 UTC
69 upvotes, 2 direct replies
No. I’m glad people like it, but reads like a teenager spending hours telling you about a video game that they played.
Comment by Christoq7 at 24/02/2025 at 18:05 UTC
12 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I haven’t liked any litrpg that I’ve read (and similarly haven’t been able to finish them) with two very notable exceptions: dungeon crawler Carl and the Wandering Inn. Both of which I thought were spectacular.
Dungeon Crawler Carl feels more like Hitchhiker’s Guide to me rather than anything else I’ve started in litRPG. It’s also got a some very well developed, meaningful, non-romantic relationships, which I’ve been looking for recently.
Comment by RogueModron at 24/02/2025 at 11:12 UTC
10 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I remember when I first heard about LitRPG and I am still reeling in horror and shock from that moment.
Comment by itsableeder at 24/02/2025 at 11:09 UTC
12 upvotes, 4 direct replies
Nope. I wanted to try LitRPG to see what all the fuss was about and was almost universally recommended DCC, and that seemed great because I'm *also* always craving good dungeon fantasy fiction.
It's genuinely one of the worst things I've ever read and I fully don't understand why people like it. I'm happy for them that they *do* like it, and I'm not about to tell them they're wrong for enjoying it, but I thought it was complete trash. And I don't mean trash in a good way like Dan Brown or John Grisham, I just mean trash.
Comment by ExternalSelf1337 at 24/02/2025 at 03:13 UTC
9 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I've only read one other that I found totally boring but Carl is really well done. It actually made me want to play a dungeon crawler and open the loot boxes myself. The characters are all great and as the books progress it becomes more and more about what's going on outside the game and less about the stats and levelling. In fact I'd say only the first book is really about that. And given that all the characters are very aware of the meta makes it feel natural.
Comment by Noctolus at 24/02/2025 at 18:11 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
to be fair though, in the litrpg category, it goes DCC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> every other book in the genre
Comment by SnackerSnick at 24/02/2025 at 04:29 UTC
-1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It's different in that it's amazing. It's the best litrpg I've read by leaps and bounds.
Try the sample of the audiobook.
Comment by RedRedditor84 at 24/02/2025 at 11:25 UTC
2 upvotes, 3 direct replies
It's great if you want every joke in the series to be about sex or some sort of bodily fluid. And the women are generally categorised as "complete psychopath" or "needs saving", (the two offhand exceptions are one who grows into not needing saving and another who's both categories) so that's fun. And if that's not your cup of tea, maybe you'll enjoy MC being the anthropomorphic personification of arrogance.
It found it fun at first but it got a bit much.
Comment by cthulhubert at 24/02/2025 at 18:21 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have to disagree with some of the other comments. I enjoy the occasional LitRPG on its own merits (I like numbers), and when I picked up Dungeon Crawler Carl, I was almost disappointed. It quickly becomes very "meta", the actual LitRPG aspects are side-lined because the titular dungeon is run more like a reality TV show. It does still have some of those aspects; like trying to paint a picture of battles as they happen for instance, like any sort of combat focused thriller. I know that's a turn off to some readers. I did enjoy it, but I think it's closer to "wearing the genre as a costume" than "cast from the same mold".
Comment by WizardWolf at 24/02/2025 at 19:31 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It's easily head and shoulders above anything else in the genre, if that helps. It's the only one I'd recommend to non-litRPG readers
Comment by cairaxmurrain at 24/02/2025 at 18:57 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
DCC is the paragon of LitRPG, yet doesn’t confine itself to typical LitRPG tropes and should appeal to a wide variety of readers.
Comment by Due-Shame6249 at 24/02/2025 at 19:51 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The first couple of books are light litrpg but I think by book 4 it pretty firmly breaks those chains and becomes its own gloriously weird thing. Litrpg is not a genre I enjoy but DCC has jumped into my top 3 with WOT and Dresden Files.
Comment by VokN at 24/02/2025 at 10:55 UTC
0 upvotes, 0 direct replies
You should try godclads, polished cyberpunk with strong themes
DCC is more meta humour than conceptual but still has great themes
Comment by FrancisCStuyvesant at 25/02/2025 at 10:10 UTC
0 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It was a fun idea for a book or two but never should have been a genre on its own. It's just so dumb.
Comment by thegroundbelowme at 24/02/2025 at 02:07 UTC
-9 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes