A funny and surprisingly emotional series that's perfect for binge-reading on holiday. Take it on a Kindle, because you won't stop at one book.
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Matt Dinniman
8 books
466 (book 1)
450g (book 1)
21.4 × 14.4 × 3.2cm
Adults. Read it first before older teens
Adults who want a funny, addictive series to binge on a long holiday, by the pool or on a long-haul flight. Gamers and non-gamers alike
Children, readers who dislike strong language and violence, and anyone who only wants one standalone book
Dungeon Crawler Carl: Book 1 (paperback)
The best place to start. We weighed our paperback at 450g with 466 pages, so it's a good poolside read if you'd rather hold a real book.
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series
All eight books in one place, on Kindle or in hardback. This is how we read the series, and it means you'll never run out of book halfway through your holiday.
Amazon Kindle
At about 158g, it weighs roughly a third of our book 1 paperback but holds the whole series. It's smaller than the Paperwhite, which makes it our pick for travel.
I don't read many books, but I always take one on holiday. Dungeon Crawler Carl is the series that turned one holiday read into eight: I read all eight books on my Kindle in six weeks. My wife picked them up after me and is now on book 3.
This guide is completely spoiler-free. It covers what the books are like, who will love them, whether they're suitable for teenagers, and the format to pack: Kindle, paperback, hardback or audiobook.
Worth taking if: you want a funny, addictive series that you can binge-read on a long holiday, by the pool or on a long-haul flight.
Probably not for you if: you dislike strong language and violence, or you only want one standalone book.
Best format for a holiday: Kindle, so you can carry the whole series in one bag. Or try the audiobook for long car journeys.
The series is by Matt Dinniman. In the first chapter, every building on Earth vanishes, and the survivors are dropped into an enormous alien dungeon that is broadcast as a galaxy-wide TV game show. Carl is still in his boxer shorts. With him is his ex-girlfriend's prize-winning show cat, Princess Donut. To survive, they have to keep heading down the dungeon, floor by floor.
The books are "LitRPG", which means the story works like a role-playing video game. Levels, loot boxes, skills and power-ups appear on the page as Carl and Donut earn them.
It isn't a children's book. There's strong language, plenty of violence and some moments that aren't appropriate for children.
We listened to the first audiobook as a family with our 13-year-old daughter, and we all loved it. But the series doesn't stay at that level. Our advice is to read it yourself first before deciding whether older children should read the books.
This is how I read all eight books. The whole series sits on one device, so you'll never finish a book on day three and have nothing left to read. A standard Kindle weighs about 158g, roughly a third of the weight of the book 1 paperback, and it's small enough to slip into a beach bag or a coat pocket.
We'd pick the standard Kindle over the bigger Paperwhite for travelling. Lots of people who own both keep the Paperwhite at home and take the smaller standard Kindle away with them.
We weighed and measured our paperback of book 1:
It's a good way to try the series by the pool if you prefer a real book. The catch is that the later books are very hard to get hold of in paperback. Eight books at around 450g each would also come to about 3.6kg, more than a third of a typical 10kg hand-luggage allowance.
The hardbacks are easy to buy, but they're large. They're fine for a car holiday or if you're only taking one, but we wouldn't pack them for a flight.
The audiobooks are narrated by Jeff Hays, and the narration is fantastic and very funny. It's perfect for a long drive to a holiday cottage or campsite. Just remember the content warning above if you've got younger children in the back.
More than you think. I read eight in six weeks alongside normal life, and with time by the pool you could easily read two or three in a week.
The series is very hard to put down once you've started. If you start it on holiday, have at least the first two books with you. That's easy on a Kindle, but much harder with paperbacks.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is the most fun I've had with a book in years, and it's ideal for holidays. It's funny enough for a poolside read, and it gets you hooked enough to keep reading on a long flight. It also has far more heart than you'd expect from a book about a man in boxer shorts and a cat.
Take it on a Kindle if you can, try book 1 in paperback if you'd rather hold a real book, and save the audiobook for the drive. If you'd rather do something together as a family, have a look at our travel games too.
Is Dungeon Crawler Carl a good holiday read? (Spoiler-free)
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book 1)
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