Comment by GenTelGuy on 24/02/2025 at 06:55 UTC

50 upvotes, 3 direct replies (showing 3)

View submission: Do NOT Sleep on Dungeon Crawler Carl

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Yeah maybe I'm being too prejudiced but I got Ready Player One vibes

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Comment by SandoVillain at 24/02/2025 at 22:25 UTC*

12 upvotes, 3 direct replies

This is why I'm so on the fence about giving this a try. All the praise is giving me *heavy* Ready Player One vibes, from when that book first came out. People said the exact same things back then as they are in this thread, to the letter. I absolutely fucking hated Ready Player One. Worst book I've ever finished, and I have no clue why I finished it. Nowadays it's pretty common for people to crap on it, but it was popular for years. Is this book actually good, or is it just the first book in the subgenre to gain real steam?

Comment by AH_BareGarrett at 24/02/2025 at 17:16 UTC

9 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Damning statement.

Comment by ssAskcuSzepS at 25/02/2025 at 03:39 UTC

6 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Fair point, but: Dinniman does a great job of actually building characters who have emotional pasts. RPO is nothing without its references. DCC is nothing without the relationships between Carl, Donut and eventually other crawlers.

That said, I always tell people that if they get through Book 1, ch 4 and they aren't intrigued, to put it down.

The series gets stronger as it goes on, but taste is subjective, yadda yadda