What do you think?
Rate this book
Dungeon Crawler Carl #5
The Butcher's Masquerade
Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose. Run, Run, Run.
A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”
The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.
As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.
But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.
Dungeon Crawler Carl and Princess Donut return in book five of the acclaimed litrpg series.
A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”
The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.
As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.
But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.
Dungeon Crawler Carl and Princess Donut return in book five of the acclaimed litrpg series.
726 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2022
About the author
Matt Dinniman
19 books2,977 followersMatt Dinniman is the best-selling writer and artist from Gig Harbor, Washington. He is the published author of dozens of short stories and a gaggle of books. In addition, his art publications—from greeting cards to stationery kits to calendars—can be found in boutique and stationery shops around the world. Also, he strongly feels like a pretentious twat when he writes about himself in third person.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 844 reviews
January 28, 2024
Equal parts wacky, explosive, ridiculous, epic, hilarious, addictive, and FUN!
March 1, 2022
Well worth reading
Honestly this series isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that's fine. But for those of us that love this stuff this is another excellent addition. It's heartbreaking in so many ways to think about this but just like the spectators in this novel I can't get enough of it. It's incredibly well written fiction that can make you feel emotion which is the mark of an excellent author. That's first and foremost on my mind, I find myself rooting for the main characters because while they might always come out on top in the end, it is a harrowing journey of adventure which they didn't choose for themselves. They weren't called, they were simply on of the many unfortunates caught up in this mess. Donut is an amazing foil to Carl, and the supporting cast is really good to. People you hardly know become painful to loose a few chapters later. And make no mistake in good books that's what the characters become, people, real people with hopes and dreams, with tragic stories we might never read or hear. That is what Dinniman gives us each time around and just like the last four books, I am glad I read this. Once more I find that even though I'm physically done with this book I am not done with it at all. I look forward to the next installment in the series and I hope beyond hope that it is just as well written as it's predecessors.
Honestly this series isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that's fine. But for those of us that love this stuff this is another excellent addition. It's heartbreaking in so many ways to think about this but just like the spectators in this novel I can't get enough of it. It's incredibly well written fiction that can make you feel emotion which is the mark of an excellent author. That's first and foremost on my mind, I find myself rooting for the main characters because while they might always come out on top in the end, it is a harrowing journey of adventure which they didn't choose for themselves. They weren't called, they were simply on of the many unfortunates caught up in this mess. Donut is an amazing foil to Carl, and the supporting cast is really good to. People you hardly know become painful to loose a few chapters later. And make no mistake in good books that's what the characters become, people, real people with hopes and dreams, with tragic stories we might never read or hear. That is what Dinniman gives us each time around and just like the last four books, I am glad I read this. Once more I find that even though I'm physically done with this book I am not done with it at all. I look forward to the next installment in the series and I hope beyond hope that it is just as well written as it's predecessors.
December 29, 2023
Fuck, fuck, fuck, Matt Dinniman. You sick fuck. Do you enjoy inflicting pain on your readers? Gosh damn. I’m so shocked.
Gut-wrenching, unexpected, and having so much death. Amidst all the action, Matt brings in such heart-string-pulling moments. Not the romantically-warm kind, sadly, but rather moments where you take a moment to just look up and wonder if you should be reading this book at 12 AM. ‘Cause I could not put this book down fr. And when it ended, I was just shell-shocked for a good half an hour, I was doing things and still thinking about it.
Compared to other LitRPG books, this blows so many out of the water it's insane. I was always on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down longer than an hour. Only some have come close to the world-building in this, and very few have made me giggle this much. This was definitely one of the more serious books in the series, if not the most. But oh goodness me, it was such a rollercoaster of death. So much death.
This is gonna stick with me.
Major Spoilers:
This is gonna stick with me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2023
I'll be honest. This particular LitRPG is getting better as time goes by. Every time I get a better feel for the greater asshole universe, I just want to see it all go boom. Thanks, Carl, for putting things into perspective. Although, perhaps, I ought to give all credit to the most charismatic of the fighting party, that being Doughnut, the former child actor star, aka display cat, animal tamer and penny-pincher supreme.
Or maybe I should just thank the bombs. The many, huge, bombs.
Yeah, I think I'll go with the last one.
I think the story is getting better, honestly. The funny plot items are fine and all, but the real meat is really pushing me along. I can't wait to see what happens to all these assholes running this game. It better be GOOD.
Or maybe I should just thank the bombs. The many, huge, bombs.
Yeah, I think I'll go with the last one.
I think the story is getting better, honestly. The funny plot items are fine and all, but the real meat is really pushing me along. I can't wait to see what happens to all these assholes running this game. It better be GOOD.
July 21, 2024
So, I've been recommending this series. It's always a struggle to describe because I need to know my victim pretty well.
For some, "It's like Hunger Games, Battle Royale, Gladiator, and Running Man. It's tragic, gross, funny, horrifying, exhilarating and heart-warming. Sometimes all at the same time."
For the savvy, I add, "It's Cosmic Horror, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction set in a dystopic Dark Forest universe with no chance to avoid being detected, but with a lot of awesome fun and dark, ridiculous humor."
For the gamers, "It's one of the most creative meta-adventures of Dungeons and Dragons you wish your DM was good enough to run with elements of modern video games."
Most people just nod politely and say, "So... did you want cream in that coffee or not?"
For some, "It's like Hunger Games, Battle Royale, Gladiator, and Running Man. It's tragic, gross, funny, horrifying, exhilarating and heart-warming. Sometimes all at the same time."
For the savvy, I add, "It's Cosmic Horror, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction set in a dystopic Dark Forest universe with no chance to avoid being detected, but with a lot of awesome fun and dark, ridiculous humor."
For the gamers, "It's one of the most creative meta-adventures of Dungeons and Dragons you wish your DM was good enough to run with elements of modern video games."
Most people just nod politely and say, "So... did you want cream in that coffee or not?"
October 25, 2023
This is fifth in a LitRPG series and you really need to read them in order.
The sixth level. We've been hearing about this (in conjunction with the 9th, 12th, and mythical 18th) from the beginning. This floor has a thousand or so aliens who have bought into the "game" to hunt the crawlers for their treasure (to supply the armies that will do the factional combat on the 9th floor). Carl decides to take this as a challenge along the lines of "I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me". Because he has learned that the hunters who die here don't have a backup or out in order to "make things fair". So dead is dead for the hunters, too, and Carl wants that to be an opportunity.
And I loved this right from the start where Carl goes in hard and opens up by killing literally dozens while they think they're safe in their starting city waiting for the countdown timer to expire for open season. Plus, Dinniman has built up a couple real antagonists of aliens who Carl has provoked into hatred—taking on actual galactic factions and taunting them to humiliation.
In this one, we complete Carl's turn to solidifying his hatred for the game. He has developed a talent for wrecking stuff, and that only goes double when he finds the aliens are cheating (and how they're cheating). His talent for chaos is a thing of beauty, and moreso when you consider the imaginative chops of Dinniman for pulling this all together in a believable and organic way.
I'm still deeply into this story, despite a serious gut-punch in the epilogue. I hate . This alone has nearly tanked my desire to continue reading the series. Dinniman has earned some trust here, so I'll probably snap up the next when it drops. But I admit that I'm worried.
A note about Chaste: So this world has dinosaurs. They're all female. Mongo, Donut's pet mongoliensis, is male. Mating happens, much to the hilarious distress of mommy Donut. It's all off-page, but only because Dinniman illustrates those scenes through Donut's distress. Which was hilarious. But also chaste in an oblique way. So you could argue it's steamy, but it'd be a bit silly to do so.
The sixth level. We've been hearing about this (in conjunction with the 9th, 12th, and mythical 18th) from the beginning. This floor has a thousand or so aliens who have bought into the "game" to hunt the crawlers for their treasure (to supply the armies that will do the factional combat on the 9th floor). Carl decides to take this as a challenge along the lines of "I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me". Because he has learned that the hunters who die here don't have a backup or out in order to "make things fair". So dead is dead for the hunters, too, and Carl wants that to be an opportunity.
And I loved this right from the start where Carl goes in hard and opens up by killing literally dozens while they think they're safe in their starting city waiting for the countdown timer to expire for open season. Plus, Dinniman has built up a couple real antagonists of aliens who Carl has provoked into hatred—taking on actual galactic factions and taunting them to humiliation.
In this one, we complete Carl's turn to solidifying his hatred for the game. He has developed a talent for wrecking stuff, and that only goes double when he finds the aliens are cheating (and how they're cheating). His talent for chaos is a thing of beauty, and moreso when you consider the imaginative chops of Dinniman for pulling this all together in a believable and organic way.
I'm still deeply into this story, despite a serious gut-punch in the epilogue. I hate . This alone has nearly tanked my desire to continue reading the series. Dinniman has earned some trust here, so I'll probably snap up the next when it drops. But I admit that I'm worried.
A note about Chaste: So this world has dinosaurs. They're all female. Mongo, Donut's pet mongoliensis, is male. Mating happens, much to the hilarious distress of mommy Donut. It's all off-page, but only because Dinniman illustrates those scenes through Donut's distress. Which was hilarious. But also chaste in an oblique way. So you could argue it's steamy, but it'd be a bit silly to do so.
November 18, 2023
4.5 stars.
Man, I love this series. The world building is just excellent and I love how our characters are holding up. It’s harrowing and quite heartbreaking at times.
Loving the intergalactic politics. I love all the different monsters, aliens, spells and stories. It’s honestly so fun to read. It’s quite lengthy but entertaining nonetheless.
0.5 stars less cuz the butcher’s masquerade was kinda messy and a lil disappointing.
Man, I love this series. The world building is just excellent and I love how our characters are holding up. It’s harrowing and quite heartbreaking at times.
Loving the intergalactic politics. I love all the different monsters, aliens, spells and stories. It’s honestly so fun to read. It’s quite lengthy but entertaining nonetheless.
0.5 stars less cuz the butcher’s masquerade was kinda messy and a lil disappointing.
June 3, 2024
This is my favorite in the series so far. I laughed, I actually cried?! It happened. I'm so emotionally invested in these books.
Also, I cannot stop praising the audiobooks. Currently listening to the end credits. Absolutely hilarious.
If you haven't started reading these books yet, what are you waiting for? Do I have to beg?
Also, I cannot stop praising the audiobooks. Currently listening to the end credits. Absolutely hilarious.
If you haven't started reading these books yet, what are you waiting for? Do I have to beg?
July 3, 2023
Dinniman might not be your J. K. Rowling or Robert Jordan, but he has created a fantasy world as valid and consistent as either of them.
Furthermore he has the writing chops to pull it off, where so many others fail.
By that I mean:
He is able to juggle an immense cast of characters without losing track of any or making mistakes of inconsistency.
He has set himself a great challenge which now spans six books (of which this is number five).
The number of species, personalities, puzzles, environments, magical objects and spells far exceeds the competition.
He goes beyond that tropes of RPG
His sense of humor is often sophomoric, but not to the extent that it overwhelms the tragedy in his drama.
He has not succumbed to any writer's slump so far.....and now the sixth book has dropped!
My thanks to friend, David F, for his recommendation.
4.5*
Furthermore he has the writing chops to pull it off, where so many others fail.
By that I mean:
He is able to juggle an immense cast of characters without losing track of any or making mistakes of inconsistency.
He has set himself a great challenge which now spans six books (of which this is number five).
The number of species, personalities, puzzles, environments, magical objects and spells far exceeds the competition.
He goes beyond that tropes of RPG
His sense of humor is often sophomoric, but not to the extent that it overwhelms the tragedy in his drama.
He has not succumbed to any writer's slump so far.....and now the sixth book has dropped!
My thanks to friend, David F, for his recommendation.
4.5*
June 3, 2022
I'm so glad I waited for the audiobook release of this. Donut's little performance at the end of the book was such a treat! I guess my attention did start to drift a little towards the end but it was still a fantastic read. I love this series!
August 25, 2022
4.75/5
Another Explosive Entry in the already Spectacular Series
I honestly have no idea how this series get better and better with every entry. Five books in and it's still fresh and unique.
Humor, Heart, crazy ass planning (that almost always goes sideways), Twists and of course the Explosions. I know I said it in the Book 4 review and I'm gonna say it here again. This is my favourite entry in the series along with the series opener.
There are some minor issues like page count and some scenes, which felt like it should have been cut down but it's as I said only minor.
To put it simply, The Butcher's Masquerade is absolutely stunning.
Another Explosive Entry in the already Spectacular Series
I honestly have no idea how this series get better and better with every entry. Five books in and it's still fresh and unique.
Humor, Heart, crazy ass planning (that almost always goes sideways), Twists and of course the Explosions. I know I said it in the Book 4 review and I'm gonna say it here again. This is my favourite entry in the series along with the series opener.
There are some minor issues like page count and some scenes, which felt like it should have been cut down but it's as I said only minor.
To put it simply, The Butcher's Masquerade is absolutely stunning.
September 30, 2023
Dinniman digs in. The Crawler Carl series has had a little bit of an ebb and flow with several of the books taking a different focus. Gate of the Feral Gods focused on RPG puzzles and MASSIVE boss battles. It was a creative book but the enjoyment was dependent more on your interest in oversized, absurdist kaiju fights. But The Butcher's Masquerade changes focus; less onscreen action and significantly more character development. It turns out that was the smart decision. Not to say that there isn't plenty of action. There's some refinement with a clearer focus on character abilities and strategy as well.
Throughout the series, the author has been dropping hints at potential future events. A lot of this felt more like part of the formula than a concrete plan. It was part of the loot cycle, Mordecai would warn that future floors would require events and strategies, Carl would have to look out for certain other crawlers, and certain equipment would bring a risk of dangers to come. But until this point, most of these issues had been hypothetical. So the series switches gears to better use this long-term thinking. And fortunately, for the most part, nails it. It's a little uneven for the length but the strength of the serialized narrative makes up for any shortcomings. This reads like playing an entire video game and it works.
Butcher's Masquerade focuses more on Carl's and Princess Donut's relationship, and this is what makes me a ride-or-die. Because it could have all been a joke but they love each other. They're a team, they have to make decisions that will put them or their partner in trouble and have to weigh the choices they make on their own. Donut is becoming her own person, increasingly powerful (a far cry from the prissy housecat). She has a great solo fight that shows that given the skills we've personally seen her level up, she is actually a formidable opponent. Team allegiances are discussed and Carl has to seriously consider that something could happen to him or accept that his feline teammate has to move on. This focus on character has me excited to move forward and hope Dinniman can follow through with this level of quality.
There's more to the book, of course. The world is more of what you would expect from a fantasy story than the far-out world of book four. It's a standard RPG realm with towns and an elf kingdom. Crawlers have to kill the mini-boss mayors of the towns and then they can fortify the towns and have the NPCs fight for them. A former pet goat named Prepotente who was given a magic intelligence biscuit has, himself, turned into a powerful sorcerer. This character who started off in the background for a long time comes forward and is one of the best parts. There's a legitimately emotional scene with him. And it always still feels like he's a goat who was given sentience. And there's a dangerous mantis alien and her daughters who become the main villains. And a lot more dinosaurs than you'd think. I try to pace myself with these but I'm itching to move onto number six.
Throughout the series, the author has been dropping hints at potential future events. A lot of this felt more like part of the formula than a concrete plan. It was part of the loot cycle, Mordecai would warn that future floors would require events and strategies, Carl would have to look out for certain other crawlers, and certain equipment would bring a risk of dangers to come. But until this point, most of these issues had been hypothetical. So the series switches gears to better use this long-term thinking. And fortunately, for the most part, nails it. It's a little uneven for the length but the strength of the serialized narrative makes up for any shortcomings. This reads like playing an entire video game and it works.
Butcher's Masquerade focuses more on Carl's and Princess Donut's relationship, and this is what makes me a ride-or-die. Because it could have all been a joke but they love each other. They're a team, they have to make decisions that will put them or their partner in trouble and have to weigh the choices they make on their own. Donut is becoming her own person, increasingly powerful (a far cry from the prissy housecat). She has a great solo fight that shows that given the skills we've personally seen her level up, she is actually a formidable opponent. Team allegiances are discussed and Carl has to seriously consider that something could happen to him or accept that his feline teammate has to move on. This focus on character has me excited to move forward and hope Dinniman can follow through with this level of quality.
There's more to the book, of course. The world is more of what you would expect from a fantasy story than the far-out world of book four. It's a standard RPG realm with towns and an elf kingdom. Crawlers have to kill the mini-boss mayors of the towns and then they can fortify the towns and have the NPCs fight for them. A former pet goat named Prepotente who was given a magic intelligence biscuit has, himself, turned into a powerful sorcerer. This character who started off in the background for a long time comes forward and is one of the best parts. There's a legitimately emotional scene with him. And it always still feels like he's a goat who was given sentience. And there's a dangerous mantis alien and her daughters who become the main villains. And a lot more dinosaurs than you'd think. I try to pace myself with these but I'm itching to move onto number six.
June 23, 2023
This series is high quality entertainment. Very much recommended.
October 17, 2022
Maravilloso... Ojalá no tarde mucho en salir el sexto...
Más aventuras en la mazmorra, más acción, más misiones secundarias, algo más de sangre y mucho más carisma para Donut!
Como viene siendo habitual, personajes súper interesantes y una historia que va más allá del "sal y mata mata mata".
Si no lo he disfrutado más aún es por que ha habido varias partes que me han resultado confusas a causa del idioma, pero incluso con eso ha sido un disfrute máximo.
Más aventuras en la mazmorra, más acción, más misiones secundarias, algo más de sangre y mucho más carisma para Donut!
Como viene siendo habitual, personajes súper interesantes y una historia que va más allá del "sal y mata mata mata".
Si no lo he disfrutado más aún es por que ha habido varias partes que me han resultado confusas a causa del idioma, pero incluso con eso ha sido un disfrute máximo.
April 29, 2024
Second time through it is better. I went into this right after re-reading book #4 and I had a much better sense of what was going on with the secondary characters, of which there are many. I still think that the floor mechanisms are overly complicated and their explanations are often rushed through, but that is not something that ruins the book.
------
The plot continues to be over complicated, but the core characters are fantastic, so I'll probably continue reading.
My biggest issue is that it seems as though the author has a ridiculously complex world fleshed out in his mind and a vast array of characters that he knows incredibly well...and he doesn't realize that the reader doesn't have that same familiarity with world or those characters. There are lots of very detailed passages about alien races and universal politics that the reader will struggle to fully comprehend because there is very little prior context, which is pretty annoying.
Also, there are characters mentioned books ago for a single scene and the author expects the reader to know exactly who all of these people are. This is not a spoiler: there was a big "reveal" near the end of this novel where someone was shown to be "[Character A] the dead girlfriend of [Character B]" and I knew that it was supposed to be dramatic but all I could think was, "Wait, who? Who's girlfriend?" and it the scene ended up having no impact.
Again, I'll keep reading because of Carl and Donut, but I'm not sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment.
------
The plot continues to be over complicated, but the core characters are fantastic, so I'll probably continue reading.
My biggest issue is that it seems as though the author has a ridiculously complex world fleshed out in his mind and a vast array of characters that he knows incredibly well...and he doesn't realize that the reader doesn't have that same familiarity with world or those characters. There are lots of very detailed passages about alien races and universal politics that the reader will struggle to fully comprehend because there is very little prior context, which is pretty annoying.
Also, there are characters mentioned books ago for a single scene and the author expects the reader to know exactly who all of these people are. This is not a spoiler: there was a big "reveal" near the end of this novel where someone was shown to be "[Character A] the dead girlfriend of [Character B]" and I knew that it was supposed to be dramatic but all I could think was, "Wait, who? Who's girlfriend?" and it the scene ended up having no impact.
Again, I'll keep reading because of Carl and Donut, but I'm not sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment.
January 31, 2024
Reread update: Upgraded to 5 stars! This book is a masterpiece of high-octane fantasy, and I was too harsh on it before at 4 stars due to it not being perfect and having a really small part that lost my full engagement. When a read is consistently maximally engaging though and reaches epic heights where I'm emotionally invested, that's special and worthy of my top rating. There were some incredible plot twists and turns that raised the stakes for the whole series and for the main characters, and this has one of the most bravura tour-de-force climactic sequences I've ever read.
I loved how Dinniman initially withheld most of the specific plans the characters came up with for the masquerade, but then did regular flashbacks once the masquerade started so we could peek into the planning process for each stage of the event. This kept us in suspense about the plans while avoiding something I usually dislike where the reader is completely in the dark about characters' plans up to and through the unfolding of them. I enjoy being in on strategy and schemes so I can understand when they're going right or wrong, and Dinniman figured out how to toe the line on this to utter perfection. Even on reread where I knew how it was going to go down I found myself full of tension and on the edge of my seat. The mixing in of some slower emotionally heavy moments during the masquerade is what really makes it something unforgettable. Like with the Dresden Files, this middle book is Dinniman steadily building the series into something grand and epic that blindsides you with how deep you've become attached.
Original Review:
Again what a freakin amazing ending!!! Every one of these books has a Dinnimalanche that hits so hard and on their own are worth the price of admission. Dinniman wrote some heavy emotional stuff, and Jeff Hays delivered the goods in the audio performance. I find myself continually delighted by the humor in these books and with Hays's delivery, but it's the darker gritty aspects and my genuine connection with the POV character Carl and his companion Donut and many of the side characters that is making this a memorable and gripping reading experience.
I probably liked the meat of this dungeon level a bit less than the last one (my favorite) but more than in the rest of the books. I think this one would have benefitted from being a tad less complicated and a bit more focused with fewer moving parts. My least favorite story element in the entire series came back here with Carl intersecting with the in-world tv show we spent time with in book 2, and once again it made things unnecessarily convoluted for too little payoff. Luckily it wasn't a main focus of the book like it was before, so the stronger survival and collaboration with other crawler elements could shine. Dinniman is pulling some new tricks with a bit of non-linear storytelling that worked like a charm for me here, and the continued hints at what's going on outside the dungeon is raising the stakes and adding to the tension and intrigue.
If this one were a bit tighter it would have been an easy five stars, but as it is I'm happy to be deeply emotionally invested in the story and am in such immense suspense with what is going to happen next!
I loved how Dinniman initially withheld most of the specific plans the characters came up with for the masquerade, but then did regular flashbacks once the masquerade started so we could peek into the planning process for each stage of the event. This kept us in suspense about the plans while avoiding something I usually dislike where the reader is completely in the dark about characters' plans up to and through the unfolding of them. I enjoy being in on strategy and schemes so I can understand when they're going right or wrong, and Dinniman figured out how to toe the line on this to utter perfection. Even on reread where I knew how it was going to go down I found myself full of tension and on the edge of my seat. The mixing in of some slower emotionally heavy moments during the masquerade is what really makes it something unforgettable. Like with the Dresden Files, this middle book is Dinniman steadily building the series into something grand and epic that blindsides you with how deep you've become attached.
Original Review:
Again what a freakin amazing ending!!! Every one of these books has a Dinnimalanche that hits so hard and on their own are worth the price of admission. Dinniman wrote some heavy emotional stuff, and Jeff Hays delivered the goods in the audio performance. I find myself continually delighted by the humor in these books and with Hays's delivery, but it's the darker gritty aspects and my genuine connection with the POV character Carl and his companion Donut and many of the side characters that is making this a memorable and gripping reading experience.
I probably liked the meat of this dungeon level a bit less than the last one (my favorite) but more than in the rest of the books. I think this one would have benefitted from being a tad less complicated and a bit more focused with fewer moving parts. My least favorite story element in the entire series came back here with Carl intersecting with the in-world tv show we spent time with in book 2, and once again it made things unnecessarily convoluted for too little payoff. Luckily it wasn't a main focus of the book like it was before, so the stronger survival and collaboration with other crawler elements could shine. Dinniman is pulling some new tricks with a bit of non-linear storytelling that worked like a charm for me here, and the continued hints at what's going on outside the dungeon is raising the stakes and adding to the tension and intrigue.
If this one were a bit tighter it would have been an easy five stars, but as it is I'm happy to be deeply emotionally invested in the story and am in such immense suspense with what is going to happen next!
June 16, 2024
Mongo deserved the W.
May 17, 2023
This series is so damn fun!
November 27, 2023
This series levelled up hard
January 23, 2024
What else to say. More of the same but it just continues to improve in every way. Exactly the series I needed to get back to after the new Sun Eater.
September 21, 2022
THE BUTCHER'S MASQUERADE is the fifth book of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, which is an absolutely insane series that involves everything from a talking cat, a man with no pants, and a plastic sex doll head containing an evil goddess as just some of the characters involved. Carl is slowly losing his mind because of the moral compromises he's had to make but he finally has a chance to get some revenge against REAL people. The hunters are people who came to kill the survivors of Earth for sport and he's going to wipe them all out. But the cost may be higher than Carl ever expected.
This is a darker and deeper story than the most but has some truly great moments. My favorite being when Carl finally confronts his cheating ex-girlfriend who was going to give away Princess Donut.
This is a darker and deeper story than the most but has some truly great moments. My favorite being when Carl finally confronts his cheating ex-girlfriend who was going to give away Princess Donut.
May 14, 2024
This series just gets more ridiculous as you read. But it's done in a very entertaining way and has really tender moments. Each floor has a new theme and monsters that can kill the MC and his sidekick. I can't believe I've read 5 and I'm still not bored. This was a PVP (Player vs Player) theme and the MC went after the "hunters". The dungeon owners tried to make it unfair and the humans still pulled through. There is some politics going on with who owns the dungeon and what rules can be broken. I do think the AI going crazy makes it more fair for the humans. AI seems to be on the humans side often. The ending always has some kind of big boss and it makes me want to read the next one immediately.
November 2, 2022
Was a great lengthy audiobook, which at this point, is the definition way of experiencing this series.
Chapter 74 with Donut singing was an audio masterpiece.
The hunters were interesting in the first half of the book. The butcher’s Masquerade was kinda disappointing? Idk.
Carl getting more stats and upgrades is always enjoyable to see, ma dude is swole now.
Miriam Dom was a great character, loved that sad scene with her and Pony :(
Ma goat Pony went absolute nuts on those monsters and it was fun to read.
Katiya at the end and the damned floor though 👀
Chapter 74 with Donut singing was an audio masterpiece.
The hunters were interesting in the first half of the book. The butcher’s Masquerade was kinda disappointing? Idk.
Carl getting more stats and upgrades is always enjoyable to see, ma dude is swole now.
Miriam Dom was a great character, loved that sad scene with her and Pony :(
Ma goat Pony went absolute nuts on those monsters and it was fun to read.
Katiya at the end and the damned floor though 👀
April 24, 2023
Needs editing
Has moments of depraved brilliance and visceral, genius wordplay nestled in often painfully disjointed writing. I've never read books requiring this much pointless backtracking. The writer doesn't always realize that what's in their head isn't wholly or smoothly translated to the page.
That said, if you don't mind being waterboarded with exposition or the narrative flow of a toddler reading a book in a room lit by a strobe light, there's a lot to like here.
Has moments of depraved brilliance and visceral, genius wordplay nestled in often painfully disjointed writing. I've never read books requiring this much pointless backtracking. The writer doesn't always realize that what's in their head isn't wholly or smoothly translated to the page.
That said, if you don't mind being waterboarded with exposition or the narrative flow of a toddler reading a book in a room lit by a strobe light, there's a lot to like here.
June 17, 2022
Dark, gritty, action-packed, very well-written and definitely not for the faint of heart, or stomach... I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series. Another great performance by the narrator Jeff Hays, and once again an impressive production by Soundbooth Audio.
August 30, 2022
This series continues to amaze
January 18, 2024
By far my favourite. Absolutely amazing.
This felt like a crescendo. Everything was building, every single little thing was tied to previous floors and books and I’m so invested it’s unbelievable.
I feel like a lot of people dismiss DCC books as humour or on-the-nose comedy and that’s all. Matt managed to make me cry this time. The character development is so, so good and I love and hate it because goddamit Matt, my heart can’t take it.
This felt like a crescendo. Everything was building, every single little thing was tied to previous floors and books and I’m so invested it’s unbelievable.
I feel like a lot of people dismiss DCC books as humour or on-the-nose comedy and that’s all. Matt managed to make me cry this time. The character development is so, so good and I love and hate it because goddamit Matt, my heart can’t take it.
July 18, 2024
This one steps it up a notch like book 3 (the train one, which is my favorite so far). A lot more fighting and scheming! Carl is looking to give the hunters a taste of their own medicine here on Level 6. I enjoyed Level 7 too ;) 4.5/5
February 26, 2024
4.5⭐
It might still not be a perfect 5-star book, but this time it didn't just make me laugh, it made me cry too.
It might still not be a perfect 5-star book, but this time it didn't just make me laugh, it made me cry too.
May 17, 2024
*** 4.44 ***
This is completely insane! Action packed and as someone said, Carl is living up to the Anarchist label perfectly!!! 👍😃
This is completely insane! Action packed and as someone said, Carl is living up to the Anarchist label perfectly!!! 👍😃
Displaying 1 - 30 of 844 reviews