Read Time: 3 Minutes
Definitely one of my most eagerly anticipated listens for this year, book seven of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series landed and my preorder sent it straight to my phone. After the buildup to floor nine of the dungeon that has been coming for the last couple of books, this was always going to be a hell storm of violence and mayhem, and it most certainly did not disappoint.
The crawlers have finally reached floor nine. Traditionally, this is one where the crawlers do their best to avoid the various factions of off-worlders as they play their war games. But not this season. Carl and his allies have been working hard to earn a spot in “Faction Wars” and start getting their revenge on the sickos running the universe.
There was tonnes of story and backstory packed into this one, which was good to finally expand what we know about the universe and the nature of the crawl. Where it came from, what it really is all about, and more on the gods, the NPCs, and the former crawlers who have suffered through countless seasons.
There’s so much packed into this one that I’m sure I missed some details on the first listen. Fortunately, Dungeon Crawler Carl is a series that I find myself returning to again and again when I’m between books. This one, I suspect, will take a few listens to catch all the hidden eggs and clues, some of which won’t pay off until later books.
Like all good plans, virtually everything that can go wrong, does go wrong when it comes to the crawlers fighting the factions, which makes this book so hectic. It features some intense action, some incredibly horrific violence and mayhem, parts that made me laugh-out-loud and even some bits that brought a few tears to my eyes.
One downside, which isn’t unique to this series but is common in long-running ones, is character bloat. From less than a handful to follow in the first, Carl and Princess Donut now have allies that number in the thousands. There is still a “core” team they work with, but even that has expanded over the time. It’s a fine line that needs balancing, and I found at times I’d lost track of who someone was or where they had come from.
As I said, not unique to this series but one that many suffer from as the books get longer and the stories more in-depth. This typically leads to other characters getting screentime which can bog down the momentum at times. I know at times I felt that, while yes, this is interesting and maybe useful to know, I found myself getting irritated and just wanting to get back to the main meat of the story.
It’s possible I am making a bigger deal over that than warranted, and maybe on a relisten it won’t bother me as much, but it’s something I noted down while listening.
The other thing I am mildly concerned about is the in-between levels. Book six, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, was a good example of this. It was a good story, but much of it felt like filler while getting us to the main levels in the dungeon where the real fights will take place. With new themes for each level, not every is going to be a winner, and the deck building system book six was built around isn’t one of my favourites of the series.
As a culmination of so much that we’ve been waiting for while building out ground to move forwards with as Carl tries to bring about the end of the crawl and the downfall of the alien government running the show, I think this one will hold up as one of my favourites in the series. Things are heating up and while heaps of arcs have been closed, there’s just as many kicking off.
As always, I can’t wait until the next one.