
Books · fantasy novel
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Hacker Approved
Recommended as fun, funny, light reading, with the audiobook narration especially praised. Critics call it pop fiction and say it is not science fiction with interesting ideas.
Summarized from 62 comments.
Recommended as fun, funny, light reading, with the audiobook narration especially praised. Critics call it pop fiction and say it is not science fiction with interesting ideas.
- recommend
- 48
- criticize
- 6
- months recommended
- 11 of 13
- median owned, 3 owners said
- 1 year
Why people love it
Fun, funny, entertaining read · 7
dungeon crawler carl is a great series. never read a litrpg in my life and i probably won't again but DCC is really fun
Jul 2026 · commentit is fantastic! I love how it looks like dumb, chaotic fun on the surface
Dec 2025 · commentThis is one of the funniest and most beautiful books I have ever read.
Dec 2025 · commentAudiobook narration praised · 7
Anyone talking Dungeon Crawler Carl NEEDS to give the audiobooks a listen, the voice acting is better than anything I've ever listened to.
Dec 2025 · commentThe talent of Jeff Hayes and Soundbooth Theater have ruined other audiobooks for me.
Dec 2025 · commentOne of the few novels that I think it actually much better in audio format.
Dec 2025 · commentGood escape and mental break · 4
The Dungeon Crawler Carl books really help my brain take a break without actively disengaging the actual thinking parts.
Feb 2026 · commentit’s making me happy and that’s what I’m looking for anyways
Sep 2026 · commentI recommend both as a way to try to escape the loop.
Aug 2026 · commentStrong characters and emotional investment · 4
I was impressed with how well-written it was, and how much I empathized with the characters.
Dec 2025 · commentI haven't been this enthralled with a book series in decades.
Dec 2025 · commentEasily the biggest introspective surprise of the year.
Dec 2025 · comment
What people warn about
Not really science fiction, pop fiction · 2
Dungeon Crawler Carl is not science fiction. At least I would not recommend it to someone looking for science fiction with interesting ideas.
Apr 2026 · commentDisagree for dungeon crawler carl & any of the Bobiverse - while they're fine books, wouldn't class it in the category of interesting ideas, it's just pop fiction.
Apr 2026 · commentNot for some readers · 3
Not for me but I might give it another chance
Sep 2026 · commentfound it harmless and not worth the money
Sep 2026 · commentThere's no point reading rubbish.
Sep 2026 · comment
What hackers pick instead
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. TolkienPeople recommend it for its prose, its rich sense of place, and the way it keeps rewarding rereading. The most common caveat is slow passages, especially the songs and Tom Bombadil chapters.66recommend
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. TolkienPeople recommend it as an accessible classic that introduces Middle-earth well and suits children and adults alike. Critics say some illustrated editions, especially the Tove Jansson art, don't match readers' imagery of the story.49recommend
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer YudkowskyPraised for clever subversion of the Harry Potter world and above-average prose for fan fiction. Caveat: very long, and critics find it preachy.19recommend
- Piranesi by Susanna ClarkeRecommended for its beautiful prose and otherworldly world, often likened to Strange and Norrell. Critics say the second half is anticlimactic.12recommend
- Going Postal by Terry PratchettPeople recommend it as a sharp, funny Discworld novel with a satirical edge, and several suggest it as a good entry point to the series.11recommend
Every quote
The 40 most detailed of 62 comments. Each links to the original.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is not science fiction. At least I would not recommend it to someone looking for science fiction with interesting ideas.
Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”
Anyone talking Dungeon Crawler Carl NEEDS to give the audiobooks a listen, the voice acting is better than anything I've ever listened to.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Things and Stuff of 2025”
The Dungeon Crawler Carl books really help my brain take a break without actively disengaging the actual thinking parts.
Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025”
dungeon crawler carl is a great series. never read a litrpg in my life and i probably won't again but DCC is really fun
Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “Craig Mod built his own Good Reads”
I was impressed with how well-written it was, and how much I empathized with the characters.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
The talent of Jeff Hayes and Soundbooth Theater have ruined other audiobooks for me.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
One of the few novels that I think it actually much better in audio format.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: Books in 2025”
it is fantastic! I love how it looks like dumb, chaotic fun on the surface
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Things and Stuff of 2025”
This is one of the funniest and most beautiful books I have ever read.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Show HN: See what readers who loved your favorite book/author also loved to read”
I haven't been this enthralled with a book series in decades.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Things and Stuff of 2025”
it’s making me happy and that’s what I’m looking for anyways
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
I laughed, I cried, perfect match for my sense of humor.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
A very different experience from traditional audiobooks.
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Easily the biggest introspective surprise of the year.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
the male narrator is just that good at female voices
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
I recommend both as a way to try to escape the loop.
Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Doomscrolling at work wastes time, but the real cost is what happens after”
A great fun way to unwind after programming all day!
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
was worth it for the characters and laughs
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Jeff Hays is an incredible narrator.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
I really enjoyed them as audiobooks.
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
It's light and entertaining.
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Disagree for dungeon crawler carl & any of the Bobiverse - while they're fine books, wouldn't class it in the category of interesting ideas, it's just pop fiction.
Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”
Not for me but I might give it another chance
Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
found it harmless and not worth the money
Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
There's no point reading rubbish.
Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Dungeon Crawler is doing a really good job of setting up and laying the groundwork for more meaningful conflict in future books
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
a massive commercial success where we the readers revel-wallow in the graphic suffering of the fictive protagonists/victims
Mixed · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
One of the more fun aspects in the early books is the main character Carl dealing with that cat being loud
Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “I built a low-latency AI companion that plays Skyrim with me”
kind of an implicit response to a whole class of 'what if the world worked like an RPG' fiction
Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”
It is so good :), this one is a bit more absurdist, I think, but equally dark.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Show HN: See what readers who loved your favorite book/author also loved to read”
your review saying it’s like Always Sunny made me want to read that next
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Show HN: See what readers who loved your favorite book/author also loved to read”
Just finished the latest Dungeon Crawler Carl book, bought on day 1.
Mixed · Jun 2026 · in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?”
Most books I've read in a year since I read the Expanse series.
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
I did this with Dungeon Crawler Carl, but now I finished all 7
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Ticker: Don't die of heart disease”
I've also been enjoying Dungeon Crawler Carl like many here.
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
he told me that I would probably like Dungeon Crawler Carl
Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Somewhere between being obsessed with Dungeon Crawler Carl
Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Surviving the Streaming Dungeon with Kafka Queues”
after furiously consuming all the dungeon crawler carl
Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “U.S. kids no longer reading for pleasure”
I'm on my about 10th re-read of Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
It's pretty much interesting from the very beginning.
Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Every novel is boring until it isn't”
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