The Gate of the Feral Gods (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #4) (2024)

Watch my video review by clicking here.

While it still has the charm from the previous books, it was a bit of a mess with way too much going on, and ultimately filled with quests that didn't engage me as much as the previous books in the series.

4.75 stars.

This was amazing! Fantastic floor setup. Love that the floor had 4 parts for variety. It made the plot much more interesting given that it’s just one floor per book.

The action was great. The pushback by Carl against the Borant was great. Loving the snippets from the Cookbook. The author should totally write the whole book and publish it as a companion with info added in from Carl.

The only negative in the book is the dead queen storyline which felt messy.

f*cking loved the setup for the next floor. Very excited.

Dinniman delivers again!

A very unique story told brilliantly, Carl and his squad get up to more shenanigans and things get crazy as usual. There were some aspects of the story in this that didn’t quite sit well with me but everything still made sense. And the ending/epilogue more than made up for anything else that may have been lacking.

I liked this one more than the previous one but not as much as the first two, still becoming one of the greatest series out there.

This is absolutely insane, but I am finding it unputdownable! It's a LitRPG train wreck and I am all in for it!

Here is where we left our heroes
"“Another floor ending with a big explosion,” Katia said after the train disappeared. “Spoiler alert, Katia,” Donut replied. “It’s always going to end with an explosion.”"

And here is where this new level begins:
"We had to step out of the way as a group of tall camels strode by on steampunk-like, metal and spring stilts."

Dinniman is no Douglas Adams (*The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) but he is in much the same vein. Instead of Earth being destroyed for a “superhighway,” here it is being “mined” for its entertainment value as millions of humans (and a few “others”) are put through a multi-level dungeon for the entertainment of galactic citizens and corporations who can: watch; cheer; and participate in various ways from betting to sending “gift boxes” to specific “dungeon crawlers.”

Our “hero,” Carl, is a survivor of the first several levels of this challenge (see books 1-3). He now has a reputation for blowing things up and, maybe, for being crazy. He is also resourceful and increasingly resentful of the corporations and empires behind this “sick show.” "I had a better design in my head, but it would take too long to build. As always, safety came last.” Just the way we want it!

Dinniman is remarkable for maintaining his original momentum and his zeitgeist.

This is fourth in the series that you should really read in order for full impact.

This time, the survivors are all split up into different bubbles. Which means Carl and Donut have to work with the tools at hand. And some of them are real tools. Plus, it looks like the System went for level averaging, so the others in our team's space are under-leveled and some have been coasting.

A running theme has been Carl's determination to save as many as he can for the next level "because it's right", sometimes jeopardizing his own chances and taking very real risks to do so. I kind of liked how it worked this time out, though. I liked that the coasting losers he runs into responded with some backbone and gained enough functionality to turn themselves around—and be useful for the plans and plots Carl and Donut made. And I particularly enjoyed how Donut was as much a part of their turn around as Carl.

And I seriously liked Carl turning the doomsday plot device on its head and using it as a tool just like any other. This book is a continuation of the pivot to the more serious as Carl starts deliberately sabotaging the game itself. He's using all the hints and foreshadowing the dungeon has been throwing out to turn things on those exploiting his planet for entertainment. There's some serious ju-jitsu in this one with Carl wrecking things the aliens didn't know were on the table and I just loved every minute of that.

This comes in a solid five stars even as things turn a bit darker for the series. I predict that will continue. Which I find apprehensive because I'm not a fan of the dark places this could go. It's a certainty that friends and people we have come to care about will die. Things are too dangerous and the setup too overpowering for this not to happen and still take the setting seriously. It's going to be a question of whether I can get past those kinds of things to stay with a team I've come to really enjoy.

A note about Chaste: Still very chaste. Katia was a possibility as a romantic interest, but the emotional beats at this point are solidly sisterly. I'm okay with that.

Un libro más de esta saga que estoy disfrutando muchísimo desde la primera a la última página.

Similar a los anteriores: personajes de 10, mucha diversión, mucha acción y unas subtramas chulísimas.

Una pequeña pausa y continúo con el quinto (y a día de hoy último publicado)

Reread update: just as great as the first read, and it was fun to catch a bunch of tiny foreshadowing details for some important things later. Also even though I just listened to this a few weeks ago, enough crazy stuff happens that a lot of the little details that bring so many of the scenes to life had already fled my memory and were fun to re-experience fresh all over again.

Original Review:

Goddamnit Donut, I'm giving in. Here's my first 5-star rating for this series, which has sunk its teeth into me completely and taken me on a wild ride. This is the first of the dungeon levels that hasn't felt randomly chaotic or absurdly convoluted, so I was better able to follow along with the drama of the quests and the crawlers' strategies for getting through everything.

Dinniman's formula finally clicked into place for me to have full engagement with the whole book, and my attachment to Carl and Donut and lots of side characters is at an extremely high level. I'm loving the larger worldbuilding and plotting that's hinted at with things going on outside the dungeon and how that might be playing in to events inside. The action scenes are creative and tense and often a blast to visualize, and the attention to detail is so impressive where items and skills that were picked up or mentioned at any point along the way in previous books/chapters might come into play at any time.

Kudos to narrator Jeff Hays, who is giving the audio performance of a lifetime here and is blowing me away with what he's doing. The combo of his narration and Dinniman's writing is really hitting my funny bone continuously, right alongside hitting me in the feels with the deeper and darker elements that make for quite the satisfying mix and something I may have only experienced before with the Dresden Files.

Gotta go start the next book!

4.75/5

A page-turning laugh riot with Exciting setups for the next one.

My second favorite entry in this series after book 1.

This book had everything that was in the previous entry, Carl executing a crazy-ass dangerous plan, Donut owning the talk shows and Katia doing everything in her power to keep them safe... And more... Secondary characters had some much-needed page time.

There are some minor issues like some scenes felt a bit dragged and this book could have been even better if they cut down some pages.

And... The setup they made for the next entry is exciting as fu*k. Book 5 ASAP...

I've loved the Crawler Carl books up to book 4. Yes, it starts out strong with a devious new level, but it eventually finds itself stuck in the sand.

I think this level makes sense in theory, but like the subway tracks in book 3 it gets too tangled up. The level is overly complicated, and I think it's telling that Carl didn't take out the underwater castle. I have a feeling Matt just didn't want to tackle something that was already complex.

The air castle is fine, but it's the mess that happens between that and the sand castle that slows things down. Carl decides to kill a show host, which takes away five days of grinding while his case is evaluated.

After that we have the mess with the dozens of feral gods who trash the level, and the fight with the guy who was the only one to get a celestial box.

The only reason he makes number 1 on the top ten is because of something he does later in the book. I won't spoil it, but it had nothing to do with the level itself.

For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into this book as much as the previous three. I ended up reading two complete books in the middle of this one (the new Hondo Jinx and the latest from Daniel Schinhofen). I finally forced myself to finish it late last night.

I'm not giving up on the series, and what Matt is trying to do is commendable. He's turned dungeon diving on it's head, and I expect a lot of new authors will follow his lead in the years to come.

4/5*

Another great installation in the series! Things are getting wild, but Dinniman never fails to deliver fast-paced plotting and awesome insanity. Can't wait to read the next one!

Seriously, if you haven't started this series yet, what are you waiting for?

Another fantastic entry into a stellar series, but man, the audiobook of this was top notch and took it to a whole other level. Huge props to Soundbooth Theatre for an incredible production.

This might be my favourite of the series so far.

This series continues to be brilliant!!!

ALL HAIL PRINCESS DONUT!

Dungeon Crawler Carl is a series that I absolutely love and I have been reading back-to-back. The bizarre combination of reality television, Dungeons and Dragons (or more properly World of Warcraft), The Hunger Games, and more creates a truly unique setting. Plus, it has a talking cat. What more could you possibly want from this scenario?

I really enjoy this book having Carl start to fight back against the system as best he can. He may not be very good at it but he manages to kill at least one of the administrators without reprocussions and is planning to wreck the game as best he can.

There's also hints that Earth could be restored.

But can it?

Good book!

"Carl, why are you summoning all these giant monsters?"

Best book in the series so far. 3.5/5.

A little too much chaos

I had a hard time staying interested in this one. Things got better near the end. I hope things are more cohearant in the next installment.

Another fun and entertaining story. The AI one lines are hilarious and a little weird. I can’t decide if I like the idea of Bee being alive. I’m guessing they are going to use her against Carl somehow. The idea of Gods is a little weird also. Now that Carl has a god to worship, it’s going to add a lot more stakes into the mix. I guess that’s a good way to keep it entertaining because the quest element only goes so far. The female crawler leaving the party kind of makes me sad. But I guess it makes sense for future books. I hope Carl keeps fighting back.

Oh my

Massive levels of destruction. Truly monumental kills.

Good lord, the author is twisted.

And the Epilogue turns sets up some really messed up future events.

Next, please?

4.5

Poor Jimbo

Amazing!
This was such an entertaining audiobook. The world building, the crass and often times ridiculously dark humour and the plot all came together in this enchanting story. I’ve come to expect a level of just pure fun when it comes to books by Matt Dinniman, and I’m glad to say that the narrator also gave a spectacular performance and brought all the characters to life. The direction of the character development was justified in the impossibly difficult situations that Carl and Doughnut constantly find themselves in. It just gets worse.

This is one of my best series and I honestly can’t wait for the next instalment. I’ve been trying so hard not to read the royalroad releases to not be exposed to spoilers. A solid 5/5, would recommend.

The fourth part of Dungeon Crawler Carl took me a long time to read, which had nothing to do with the book. Carl and Donut are on the fifth floor and I liked this one a lot more than the previous with the trains. The ending is one of the best ones in the series so far and I'm curious to what Carl is up to. Can't wait for the next part!

3.5 , I'd give it a 3 but I did take a great break in the middle of reading this book. The shine seem to be off and I believe I've enjoyed it less than the previous books.

10/10. This book was even better than book 3! Now that we’re getting into things “mattering” and not just being crazy entertainment the books are getting better and better. Once I get through book 6 I plan on doing an episode ranking each book. My wife has read them all as well and I’m hoping to have her on!

f*ck this series is GOOOOOD READ ITTT

Instead of the usual epic rock music, a heavy dubstep beat starts blasting, gradually getting louder, overshadowing the cheer of the crowd. Fog machines work on overdrive, giving the whole studio an ominous look. The music rises to a crescendo as the lights flair up, showing the host enter, stirring up the fog as they move towards a large mahogany desk. The music fades out together with the applause.

JG: Welcome, welcome, welcome! This is our show Last Level Tonight, thank you so much for joining us. I am your host, Jack Gulliver! Our main guest tonight is the lovely Miss Slagathor, as usual. After the wild Tangle, our heroes Carl and Donut were thrown yet again into a different environment. Slagathor, what did you think of the 5th level in the series?

Slagathor's ghost avatar bounces happily on the screen.

S: Oh Jack, after the chaotic and unnecessarily complicated Tangle, this level was a breath of fresh air! Sure, it wasn't as straightforward as 1-3, but with the added drawing you could easily visualize the layers. So instead of getting lost in the insane amount of info, we could now focus on the characters and their developments over the course of those 13 days.

JG: Were there some developments you were particularly fond of?

S: Of course! I loved the change Katia went through, considering where she started in book 3. It made the end hit even harder when she said she will leave Carl's group, but I was also really proud of her. She has grown a lot in these last two books. Also Mongo and Donut seem to be working better and better together, which is nice to see.

JG: And what do you think about Carl?

S: Oh, he's becoming quite a scary and driven dude, isn't he? But he is actually making progress in his plans, so I'm really curious to see after what we've seen from him on this floor, what he is planning on doing on the next.

JG: Was there anything you didn't like this time around?

S: Nothing major, honestly. I think the story flowed quite well and there is no lack of creativity for sure. I just hate that we ended with such major cliffhangers with no next book in sight, haha. But I guess this is the curse of any ongoing series, am I right?

JG: Unfortunately that's true. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Thank you, Slagathor for joining our show and see you all on the next level!

Heavy dubstep music starts blasting again while the crowd erupts in applause. The camera slowly fades to black as the noise fades out.

Full of sarcasm and humour, this is a unique and refreshing series that is unlike no other I've read. Fully entertaining from end to end. High quality prose, taut plot and brilliant pacing... I loved this series so much that I made a full blog post.

Highly recommended!

https://fanfiaddict.com/2021/07/07/se...

Of course there's a Sharktopus. Carl is a juggernaut and he finally takes a stand! A sneaky, crazy risky, highly satisfying stand.

I can't wait for the next floor.

Notes:

- I love how weird & wacko the world/characters are in the series. It's really great mix of the cool & bizarre.

- Action sequences were good, but I felt detached to most of the "here's another setup for the next" phase.

Just fun

The Gate of the Feral Gods (Dungeon Crawler Carl book 4) by Matt Dinniman

Genre: litRPG, science fiction

These are always are always a fun read. Carl is starting to find ways, finally to fight back against the aliens who are destroying the human race game-show style.

Although the action on this one was better than on #3, the character's development just stalled. Donut's progression especially (or lack thereof) was disappointing. And yeah, no romance?! Oh well, still a fun series to be getting through - and I wonder if it will have a satisfying conclusion!