Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler series, which is about to expand to eight volumes (and counting) has been on my radar for a while. LitRPGs are not my wheelhouse, and I’m kind of allergic to endless series with cliffhangers, and my TBR pile already reaches halfway to Mercury. But one thing I did not know, and it trumps them all.
There is a cat. Not just any cat. A champion show cat. Her name is Princess Donut, and she is the Protagonist.
Yes, yes, the title character of the first volume is Carl, a human male of the Galoot subspecies as they used to be called back in the days of Heinlein and the Great Old Ones. Carl is the narrator and the viewpoint character. Donut is the heart of the team. She’s the leader. Carl is the (unwilling, frequently annoyed, ultimately resigned) sidekick.
Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you she’s the co-protagonist or “deuteragonist.” Certainly don’t believe that she’s any kind of secondary character. It’s all about Donut, as she herself will tell you.
As soon as I started reading Dungeon Crawler Carl, I understood why it’s such a hit. It’s compulsively readable. The characters are broadly drawn but they have depth to them; they’re not caricatures. They make you care about them. Even the monsters.
What could be a mind-numbing sequence of gaming moves with detailed stats and frequent blood, guts, and loot, becomes a surprisingly nuanced commentary on, among many other things, end-stage capitalism. It was painfully relevant in 2020 when the series first appeared. It’s even more so now.
But we’re here for the cat, and she’s worth the trip. GC BWR NW Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk is the reason why Carl happens to survive the destruction of Earth and the vast majority of the humans on the planet. She leads him into the dungeon, and quickly graduates from Pet to Dungeon Crawler, with magical upgrade from sentience to sapience, including the ability to talk.
She’s still a cat. A tortoiseshell Persian, to be precise. Various fans have tried to explain what that means (and managed to get into the Great Debate between tortoiseshell and calico, since Donut is described as being brown, black, and white—with white being the Mark of the Calico). One points to an Instagram star, Amber the Irish Persian, and that works for me. Just dab in some white if you prefer.
Torties are, by tradition, extra. All cats have cattitude. Torties crank it up to 21, never mind 11. That’s called tortitude.
Donut has it. She adapts seamlessly to sapience. There’s no shock, no learning curve. She has clear memory of her previous life. For her, it’s all one thing.
Sure, it’s magic. But who’s to say she wasn’t already most of the way there?
She’s a diva. She loves attention. She’s fiercely competitive. She worked at being a show champion. She works just as hard to be a fan favorite in the game, and she’s ruthless in pursuing her goal.
A cat is a predator, after all. Ruthless is what she is. Vain and pampered Donut may be, and she thinks it’s icky to use her claws, but she does what she has to. If she has to get down and dirty, she’ll hiss and mutter and snarl and try to get out of it, but eventually she’ll do it. Especially if it gets her more views and favorites.
By the end of book one, she and Carl are just about to really commit to the game by choosing a race and class. Donut has made it clear that she intends to remain a cat. There are indications that she has a range of choices within the species, but she’s also been warned that she’ll lose her fandom if she goes for something big and dramatic. They want her to stay what she is: some ten pounds of tortoiseshell floof and outsize attitude.
That’s her appeal. The contrast between the small, pet-presenting being and the extraordinary intelligence and powers. Most of all, her greatest asset, which she brings with her and increases the more time she spends in the dungeon: her charisma.
As any cat person (and any cat) can tell you, a cat is charisma. If anyone can make it all the way to the eighteenth floor of the dungeon, no matter what obstacles rear up along the way, or how impossible it is for any crawler to get that far, I’m betting it will be Donut.
Welcome to the dungeon! Count me a member of the princess posse.
I read DCC,to prove to myself I wouldn’t like it. Well, that failed epically. I’ve read all seven multiple times, my wonderful offspring and their equally wonderful partner got me the hardcovers for xmas, and I’m eagerly awaiting the eighth book.
I have heard that this is not a unique situation. The series is addictive and people just. can’t. stop.
Dinniman is incredibly good at what he does. He works hard at it, too. I read an interview in which he said that Donut is his most complex character–and I can see it. She maintains her essence, her fundamental tortitude, but she grows and evolves. She’s the brainchild of someone who knows cats and who also knows how character development works, and it shows.
He’s also said that he runs huge spreadsheets to keep all the details straight. As a recovering historical novelist, I am impressed.
I’ve heard that also. The only thing I haven’t done is the audiobooks, not dissing them, just not my thing. However, I keep hearing how incredible Jeff Hays is that I might have to try them
Yes, the audiobooks are amazing, especially as the series goes on. You can find some readings from Jeff Hays on YT to sample as well.
Note: There are at least two versions in progress, the regular audiobook and an Immersion Tunnel experience – this last is an edited adaptation with a larger cast, enhanced audio effects, etc. I have heard both good and bad about this version and chose not to try it. The original audiobook versions are faithful and highly entertaining.
Second note: DCC’s popularity has gotten the attention of AI scammers with fake books, so be alert for related scammery.
IF YOU HAVE READ “The Butcher’s Masquerade”, here’s a YT link to a Jeff Hays cold read including “that scene” with Donut, Odette, and a guest star I will leave unnamed here, this is from the original audiobook, not the Immersion Tunnel. Massive spoilers if you haven’t read that book, obviously.
https://youtu.be/fyGb7vCAAoo?si=aeAvxF3QsJP4BWZR
In the spirit of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, I am not a member of the Princess Posse.
I am however a Donut Hole.
I’ve not read any other LitRPG series because I never thought I’d be a fan of anything that leans into the gamifying nature of the sub-genre, but Dinniman’s characters are just so real, and so traumatised by the dungeon, that I was completely hooked.
They will not break him. He will break them. He will break them all.
Indeed, it’s a bad book (#1 is the only one I tried. Grim, nasty and GAME-y!
But Princess Donut is GREAT 😻😸
I’ve never read this genre, but something w/ a cat as a main character sounds interesting! Our cat is a queen in her own right, and I am the Chosen One (she did choose me–she’s the only kitty in her litter who paid any attention to me) and will sometimes respond with a “Hmm?” to her name or nickname.
One of my favorite cat protagonists is the cat in Jim Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass. The cats are literally saving society in that one and it is wonderful.
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Do we have a picture of Princess Donut?
She’s clearly the star of the series. 😻😻😻
Damn right!
“I’m kind of allergic to endless series with cliffhangers”
Well it’s a good thing that Dungeon Crawler Carl has neither of those attributes, then.
#teamdonut