Dungeon Crawler Carl

[chef]

2 hours ago, Jamalisms said:

I read the A Song of Ice and Fire books and had them as my favorites before the show. 

 

Truly, fundamentally sad that he hasn't (and never will, imo) finished the series.

 

The show is super faithful through the first three seasons. Then he stepped away from the show and they passed his books while cutting significant storylines and it all turned into spectacle and fan service absent all cleverness and in decreasing episodes. I remain convinced the show runners actively wanted to move on by the end.

 

Perused enough from folks who read it to gather that.  We all know what transpired last 1.5.

 

Feel a bit like classic case of reading one's press clippings wee bit too much for D & D.  Hear you made the Greatest Show Ever and eventually your head believes it's your story (no, it's not].

 

In my mind, bit like a chef given an absolutely stellar heirloom tomato, freshly hand pulled mozzarella, basil just picked from the garden, some Ligurian early harvest EVOO and a bottle of Villa Manodori 25 Yr Balsamic with the instructions Put These Together.  Which they did nicely.  And everyone loves them for it and calls them geniuses.  Then eventually they use a crap winter red cardboard Roma from Safeway/Kroger, old dried basil, Kraft shredded mozz AND their shit shelf stable balsamic dressing...BUT they add all sorts of cool stuff they love like artichokes, olives, grilled squirrel meat, a confit of Ed Sheeran's sweetbreads, put it on a HUGE shiny plate, stack it 3 feet high, play cool loud music, and pat themselves on the back with how awesome they are.  Meanwhile of course drawing up plans for their new Mos Eisley Cantina-themed taco truck chain.

 

Broken record of Hollywood Hubris where everyone forgets it begins and ends with a story from a writer.  The ones with words at least.

 

 

[Yoshimitsu]

The audiobooks are simply the best, not just because they are great, but they are genuinely a step above most others.  The series is super silly, but the stakes rise immensely.  It never loses the absurdity, but you are eventually invested enough that you, like Carl, want to break them all.

 

I commute quite a bit so I’m always listening to  books.  Besides Carl, I’d recommend the Malazan series, all of Joe Abercrombie‘s books but specifically The Devils and the original trilogy featuring the Bloody Nine, Project Hail Mary (just a lovely book with a great voice actor).  All of those are great listens.  Honorable mention to most of the Warhammer 40k books as well.  

Edited August 20, 2025 by Yoshimitsu

[chef]

Just finished Book 1.  

 

And yes, hard to imagine simply reading it only vs listening to the audiobook.  Hayes does amazing voice work. 

 

Definitely going to keep this ball rolling.

[Jamalisms]

@Yoshimitsu

Joe Abercrombie is my favorite but The Devils is more bubblegum and written for a movie than anything else he's written. I wanted to like it more than I did.

[Number9]

On 7/31/2025 at 3:44 PM, CreepingDeath said:

(Funny how the tags have so many options including "Movies" and "Television" but not "Books")

 

I think many here will dig this series.  As the title suggests, it uses a "dungeon crawler" theme for the story.  Just in case, a "dungeon crawler" is type of game (video or table-top) where adventurers work through some labyrinth fighting monsters, gaining experience points, and acquiring new skills, weapons, etc. 

Short version of the setup:  Aliens show up and make Earth a giant "dungeon."  Carl is the main protagonist.  The humor and violence fits well for the intended audience.

 

Also, the voice actor for the audio book is supposed to be great (I have the book version) - for those of you who like to LISTEN to story-telling.  I imagine this will become a series on streaming in the next 5 years or so.  Book 7 comes out this fall.  If you are going to buy the books, I'd suggest shopping around as I've found big differences in prices at B&N, Amazon, Target, and others.  Thrift Books has a good price if you don't need it within the next day or two.  

I hope I enjoy it.  I love these long series of book, GOT, HP.  

[Number9]

I'm sure you guys use the public library systems.  I used it as often as I could when I was traveling.  Every city has the service and they share books from all over the country.

[Jamalisms]

It's audiobook or bust for DCC, imo.

[CreepingDeath]

On 9/27/2025 at 3:40 PM, Jamalisms said:

It's audiobook or bust for DCC, imo.

Big disagree.  The audiobook is fine.  I listened to an hour+ of book 2 (driving back from Houston) and it was pretty damn good for an audiobook.  But my friend and I both agree that we prefer the books.  Maybe it was that Carl sounded like Putty from Seinfeld (or Kronk.  Or wheelchair Joe from Family Guy).  All things being equal (meaning having time to listen or read - not trying to be "efficient" with your time), it's a matter of preference. 

 

But maybe my imagination is better at painting pictures and making sounds.  *shrug*  

[Jamalisms]

4 minutes ago, CreepingDeath said:

Carl sounded like Putty from Seinfeld (or Kronk.  Or wheelchair Joe from Family Guy).

 

It's a Patrick Warburton impression, though he fades that out a bit after book 2.

 

The fun thing about that is Patrick Warburton himself makes a guest appearance to voice a character in book 6.

[CreepingDeath]

54 minutes ago, Jamalisms said:

 

It's a Patrick Warburton impression, though he fades that out a bit after book 2.

 

The fun thing about that is Patrick Warburton himself makes a guest appearance to voice a character in book 6.

I've heard Prepontente is a great voice.  Or maybe the screaming.  I don't know why, but I was hoping for more of a "radio play" with more sound effects (like Mongo).  It was still a very good audiobook.  But I'm not going to switch from the books.  

[Jamalisms]

1 hour ago, CreepingDeath said:

I've heard Prepontente is a great voice.  Or maybe the screaming.  I don't know why, but I was hoping for more of a "radio play" with more sound effects (like Mongo).  It was still a very good audiobook.  But I'm not going to switch from the books.  

 

You want the Immersion Tunnel version, which is sold directly by soundbooth theater.

[Starkiller]

The narrator of an audiobook definitely makes a big difference. People got (understandably) pissed when they re-released the audiobook for The Martian with Wil Wheaton instead of the original narrator. 

[chef]

I'm halfway through book three already. Really enjoying this. Just a nice bunch of silly out loud laughing fun. But with enough character development and story that it keeps you moving forward. And again it's a great break from a lot of my heavier stuff or dry non fiction.

 

Feels like I'm playing hooky from school

[Jamalisms]

https://bsky.app/profile/jamalisms.bsky.social/post/3m25fp6qllc2e

 

(for those into comic books and an expanded universe)

[CreepingDeath]

1 hour ago, Jamalisms said:

https://bsky.app/profile/jamalisms.bsky.social/post/3m25fp6qllc2e

 

(for those into comic books and an expanded universe)

I put in a $5 reservation during September.  I guess I'll check out the options towards purchasing!