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BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 4: The Gate of the Feral Gods

Erin Penn Leave a comment

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Comments I wrote during a buddy read of THE GATE OF THE FERAL GODS

Page 1 – Remaining Crawlers – 178,887
1,172 bubbles that is 154 crawlers per bubble at about 40 crawlers per quadrant

Page 110 – “You keep destroying governmental buildings, Carl,” Donut said. “People are going to start thinking you have a problem with authority.”

Page 112 – “There are no other towns,” I said.
There is no other Earth. There is no where else to go.

Page 114 – Louis and Firas should have taken a Drunken Master specialty, just saying.

Page 120 – You received a bronze benefactor box from Valtay Corp … you received a silver from Open Intellect Pacifist Action Network.
Oh, are they in competition with each other?
(further reading) – no, I don’t think they are, but I wonder if that happens with other crawlers.

Page 121 – The Pacifist Group – you know in previous books, it mentions some of the Cookbook crowd opted out at certain levels. Did they survive whatever deals those were to eventually become the Pacifist Action Network (PAN)? Now they are in a position to get one of their own through it?

Page 129 – Do NOT look up Acrotomophilia.

Page 131 – “As always, safety came last.”
Just one big OSHA violation.

Page 134 – “The Gate of the Feral Gods” … wait a minute, back up to p. 54 and the Feral Goose
Anything “feral is bad news”.
You know, “anything bad news” is Carl’s middle name. He is going to love this.

Page 134 – This is where these quests for this bubble overlap: the submarine, the Tomb, the Mad Mage, and the Dirigible Gnomes.

Page 152 –  “Katia, I have a job for you.”  — She blinked and looked at me. “What do you need me to do?”  — “Two things. First one is a little gross.” 

In this world, I’m going to need you to define “a little gross.”

Page 162 – He needs to do the wrap your ankles up and rub your feet on the wall thing. The dungeon really has been working overtime on his behalf and deserves a reword.
Would you reward the dungeon? I think this would be easier for hetro-females to do than hetro-men.

Page 166 – “Leon might have been a tax attorney in another life.” – in this dungeon, that might actually be the case of what they were in a previous season.

Page 229 – The things this robot says! Please stick to bad Garfield quotes please.

Page 268 – “Audiences like drama, not melodrama.”
The cold fish is both right and wrong about that. The MIX of comedy and drama is the best, with a sprinkle of pathos about in about 1% of the episodes. I mean, that is why the Dungeon-Crawler series is so popular; you get invested and are heartbroken when the poor fools die.
The episode when Buffy’s mom “She’s cold.”; the firefly “I’m a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.” Doctor Who 5th form ending “Adric?”, etc.

Page 275 – Donut grumbled something under her breath. It was something along the lines of “Talking Fancy Feast.”

Page 302 – Revisiting childhood trauma is always fun. But, yes, important to realize the mindset his father and programmed into him and decide to do better.

Page 450 – PUPPY!!!

Page 488 – I loved the interacting storyline of “our” bubble. That particular bubble was well-written. I bet the options were rigged for the top-ten – they were matched up to the best storylines. Over 1,000 bubbles with four different puzzles each – you know over half of them were written by interns; Borton might have even done a High-School competition of “write a storyline and see it in action” to help boost numbers as parents proudly watch a story about bubbles and blood – “my kid wrote that!” for the lesser watched participants.

Page 556 – Thinking about writing up the review. Can’t really say this there, but this floor actually preps you for the lower floor. With only between 25-100 crawlers available to help you solve your quest, well, that is the number you will be facing at lower levels. Since no one has made it past level 11, I wonder if the game hosts even know how to create appropriate level activities for the final levels.

Page 572 – Oh that can’t be good. Odette, you crab-infested woman, what are you doing?

Page 572 – Carl is playing the long game in a game where you not suppose to think beyond surviving the next hour. Him taking out about a quarter of the issue with the next level is genius.

Page 580 – I hate the Hamsters Twins, but…it is in character for this type of species.
My dad did an aquarium with guppies at one point while I was growing up. So guppy males are attracted to a black spot on the female – this black spot gets bigger the more pregnant she is – so they are ALWAYS chasing her when she is pregnant.

Series of Transcripts for Dungeon Crawler Carl

  1. Book Review (SERIES): Dungeon Crawler Carl Books 1-3 (12/16/2025)
  2. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1 (12/17/2025)
  3. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2 (12/19/2025)
  4. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 3 (12/20/2025)
  5. Book Review (SERIES): Dungeon Crawler Carl Books 4-6 (2/17/2026)
  6. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 4 (2/18/2026)
  7. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 5 (2/20/2026)
  8. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 6 (2/21/2026)

Book Review (SERIES): Dungeon Crawler Carl (books 4-6)

Erin Penn Leave a comment

I made it through three more amazing Dungeon Crawler Carl books!!!!

Why is Matt Dinniman making them larger and larger????? (I need sleep soooo badly now.)

Bonus for this series is the Storygraph BuddyRead Transcripts which I will drop during the rest of the week.

Dungeon Crawler Carl Series
Book 1: Dungeon Crawler Carl (levels 1 and 2 of the dungeon – 464 pages)
Book 2: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (level 3 – 384 pages)
Book 3: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (level 4 – 544 pages)
Book 4: The Gate of the Feral Gods (level 5 – 608 pages)
Book 5: The Butcher’s Masquerade (levels6 and 7 – 720 pages)
Book 6: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (level 8 – 832 pages)
Book 7: This Inevitable Run (level 9 – 880 pages)
Book 8: A Parade of Horribles (level 10 – forthcoming in June 2026)

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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for THE GATE OF THE FERAL GODS

New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.

You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that’s talent.

A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps.

It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the stairwell is unlocked.

Here’s the thing. It’s never easy. Carl and his team can’t go it alone. Not this time. They must rely on the help of the low-level, I-can’t-believe-these-idiots-are-still-alive crawlers trapped in the bubble with them. But can they be trusted?

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the fifth floor of the dungeon.

MY REVIEW for THE GATE OF THE FERAL GODS

Less than 200,000 left of the 8 billion, separated into small bubbles of teams between 40 and 200 people.

I loved the interacting storyline of the bubble. That particular bubble was well-written. I bet the options were rigged for the top-ten – they were matched up to the best storylines. Over 1,000 bubbles with four different puzzles each – you know over half of them were written by interns; Borton might have even done a High-School competition of “write a storyline and see it in action” to help boost numbers as parents proudly watch a story about bubbles and blood – “my kid wrote that!” for the lesser watched participants.

The fish-folk are beginning to cut back information from the outside, but they are too late with Carl. He is working two major things now: get as many crawlers networked together as possible and prepping for future levels. The networking was just beginning on paying off when everyone got chopped up into separate bubbles – but there is also a work-together needed to solve the bubble puzzles in order to get the staircase to the next level.

I love how Mr. Dinniman continues to give us so many layers to each story. We got the one puzzle in front of us within the dungeon. The interacting puzzle within the bubble. The bigger layer of the level and the Feral Gods. The interaction with other crawlers, some allies and some enemies and some just begging for help. The PR of the show. The politics beyond the show. The other dungeon levels upcoming with other problems.

This series can be a wild ride of adventure, a mystery puzzle with dozens of moving pieces, or a political statement about exploitation. Or all three. Read at whatever structure and entertainment you want.

Now it is time for me to sleep. I should not read 500+ page books in one sitting; I can’t help by read Dungeon Crawler Carl books in one sitting. These books refuse to be put down.

Read through the local library system.

 

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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for 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.

MY REVIEW for THE BUTCHER’S MASQUERADE

Each book of this series gets longer, with this installment over seven-hundred-page volume broken into four parts. Between side quests (the recital (new) and the elite storyline from level three being revisited), ongoing plans, dealing with being top crawlers and the chaos that brings, a con for the crawler fandom, and, of course, the themed challenge for level six, there are a LOT of moving parts and storylines needing building, climaxing, and resolving.

Mr. Dinniman continues to mesmerize with the fast-moving shuttle of the woven plotline. You will be mad and sad, laugh and cry and all the emotions in between with this fifth installment of Dungeon Crawler Carl.

I would like to compare this entire series to the short-story puns Isaac Asimov used to write – those things that were a little confusing at the beginning but you trusted that he would pull it all together to a very satisfying pun. Mr. Dinniman pulls everything together for some of the most epic final battles I’ve ever read while giving pathos and jokes in equal measure.

I would like to give a shout-out to everyone who loves Samantha, because I don’t like her that much but I know a lot of people do and situational jokes like her are one of the reason a lot of people are buying the Carl books. And those purchases encourages the author to keep writing them. So thank you.

Buy. Buy. Buy. (So he will write. write. write. and then we can read, read, read.)

(Book checked out through the local library.)

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for THE EYE OF THE BEDLAM BRIDE

A pantheon of forgotten gods. An old grudge between a talk show host, an heiress, and the man they shattered along the way. A rapidly deteriorating AI system. An inconvenient tiara upon the head of a friend.

It is bedlam on the eighth floor.

As management reels from the unexpected conclusion of the seventh level, the surviving crawlers stumble onto the eighth and find themselves scattered. It’s a map based on Earth’s final days before the collapse, where ethereal, intangible ghosts of humanity go about their lives, oblivious of the impending doom. Living amongst these ghosts are monsters based in Earth lore. “Legendary” creatures tied to the geographical location they inhabit.

Each team of crawlers is given a task: find and capture six of these beasts. The captured monsters will be turned into cards. Cards that can be summoned into battle again and again. The stronger, the deadlier, the better.

At the end of the floor, the bad guys will also have decks, and they will have some of the most powerful cards available. So it’s crucial to assemble the toughest squad possible.

But, like always, there is a catch. There’s always a catch.

As Carl and Donut know all too well, just because someone is captured, it doesn’t mean they have been tamed.

Her name is Shi Maria. She’s easily the most powerful monster in their area. If they want to survive, they must capture her. But she is no ordinary beast. She’s intelligent. She was once married to a god, a god who is now missing. Her special attack is known to drive one insane. They call her the Bedlam Bride.

“Beware, beware. Beware the Eye of the Bedlam Bride”

MY REVIEW for THE EYE OF THE BEDLAM BRIDE

The ride continues. The best world-building and character building and complicated plot building and mac-gyvering I have ever seen.

Not my favorite book of the series, and it shows in the “long” read-time (over two weeks). When I collapsed at night, I could sometimes go a couple-few days without returning. The reason is the mechanics for this level is not my favorite.

Each level of the dungeon has a different challenge and storyline. For the 8th level, the mechanics is a card game. I bet my friend who did professional poker playing loved it, same with the Pokemon and the Magic: The Gathering players. I’ve played enough card games to understand the mechanics, but ducked out of getting addicted. Like the Iron Tangle level, the setup is slow. The emotions stops and challenges along the way all are important, but not a wild ride (except that the whole series is a Wild Ride) until the very end.

And with a 800 page book, the “wild end” is over 100 pages, but DO NOT SKIP to the end. You need everything inbetween.

The themes of this book are addiction, trauma (always), and the power of togetherness. Addiction makes you pull away, togetherness helps you survive. A book this crazy should not be tackling themes this deep, but here we are, Carl, and Mongo approves.

Read through the local library system.

Series of Transcripts for Dungeon Crawler Carl

  1. Book Review (SERIES): Dungeon Crawler Carl Books 1-3 (12/16/2025)
  2. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1 (12/17/2025)
  3. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 2 (12/19/2025)
  4. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 3 (12/20/2025)
  5. Book Review (SERIES): Dungeon Crawler Carl Books 4-6 (2/17/2026)
  6. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 4 (2/18/2026)
  7. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 5 (2/20/2026)
  8. BuddyRead Transcript: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 6 (2/21/2026)

Flash: Summer is Here

Erin Penn Leave a comment

Picture provided as Prompt for the Flash, Origin Unknown

The sign struggled with its messaging like the last autumn leaf clinging to an oak branch. “SuMmer IS heRe.” Merideth read the various sized letters on the ancient broken marquee below the faded blue paint and blinking neon motel sign. “I guess?”

“The autumnal equinox isn’t until tomorrow so we can roll with it,” Sabine said. She always knew things like when the moon cycle was and what zodiac sign went with which, and assured Merry that they would remain best friends forever with their Capricorn and Scorpio mix. “Although I think that sign hasn’t been changed in three years.”

“So, stop here?” The white compact had slowed as far as it could without actually stopping or turning into the gravel parking lot.

“You can’t drive any further, and I can’t drive after I take my meds.”

“Thank you.” Merideth’s gratitude was heartfelt. “I don’t think there is another motel for fifty miles and the mountain fog is getting bad now that the sun has completely set.” She angled Sabine’s car into the parking lot moving around two semis parked at the edge to get to the door marked office. “The semis are promising.”

“Nah, I can hear their engines running. The guys are sleeping in the trucks, not the motel.”

Once parked in the otherwise empty lot, they both fell out of the car, using it for support as they stretched in the rapidly darkening twilight. The gravel crunched under their feet once they regained their balance enough to make their way into the office for check-in.

Merry tapped the sign right under the office sign. “Newly remodeled.” She looked around at the two wings of the motel painted a sad mix of blue and peach visibly chipping and peeling in the blinking fluorescent lights. The sign itself had faded to barely visible gray lettering. “This one I don’t think I can stretch to any form of the truth.”

“If we go with remodeled this century, it might work. We are only twenty-five years into the new millennium.”

Merry nailed Sabine with a look of overdramatic disbelief, then they both laughed as they entered the office, the door jingling as it hit a bell above the entrance. Inside smelled of air conditioning mildew, forgotten cigarettes from when people smoked indoors, and bleach. Behind what looked like bulletproof glass with a small passthrough underneath sat a largish woman knitting a brown something. The space on the customer side was chipped tiled floor, a plastic tree with more leaves on the tile than the outside autumn leaves had dropped for tomorrow’s beginning of fall, and two chairs with their pretend leather seats cracked from age.

“Welcome to The Grand Sleeps Motor Lodge. How can I help you girls?” the woman asked as she set aside her knitting needles.

“Room for two. Separate beds if possible.” Sabine said, moving her purse to pull out her wallet. “Just for the one night. You take Visa, right?”

“Sure thing. We accept all major credit cards. I will also need a driver’s license.” The woman tapped the pass-through in front of her. The white linoleum had been worn down to wood in the valley.

Sabine shoved the two requested pieces of plastic through the dip.

Pulling out the computer tray from under the computer desk covered with yarn, the woman tapped a couple of keys and then ran the back of Sabine’s driver’s license under the red beam of a scanner after which she knocked the credit card against a second machine in the typical tap to pay manner before returning them. “All set,” she said before passing an actual set of keys through the passthrough with a large faded blue plastic number attached. “I set you up for room nine, just four doors down on your left. That one got freshened today so you should be all good.”

“That was fast, thanks.”

“Yep, we are all modernized here. Enjoy your stay. Put the keys into the key drop in the morning and we should be square.”

(words 672; first published 3/11/2026)

Created for a writer’s guild meeting off a visual prompt of a landscape picture.

Editing Rant: Building not Repeating

Erin Penn Leave a comment

Photo by Massimo Adami on Unsplash

THIS! THIS IS WHAT I MEAN BY BUILDING!!!

Okay, let me start from the beginning. A common issue with authors getting their first (or fifty-first) edit is repeating information. Now, repeating information isn’t necessarily bad, but it shouldn’t be the same as what has appeared before.

Places to repeat information include (1) at the beginning of each book in a series or serial. (a) The series needs a recap, but it doesn’t need to be more complicated than the normal background information drops; it just so happens that this time you have an actual book with the background information, not just something in the character’s head that needs to be let out slowly. (b) For a serial (where the characters don’t change (much) between stories and the books can be read in any order – for example cozy mystery “series”), just need to quickly reintroduce the characters.

Do not do the serial introduction with a cut-and-paste of previous information (for the love of everything, please don’t do this!!!). Maybe introduce them through the eyes of a different character, or by having us get to know them through observing the new murder mystery.

(2) When there is a mystery or something unfurling like it, such as a political thriller, and a recap is needed periodically to keep the reader on the same page with the character.

(3) Just the general making sure the reader doesn’t forget an important aspect of what is happening.

When not to repeat EVER – you just said the information not two paragraphs ago. (SECONDARY RANT!!!)

I need to tell him to bathe before we leave, Martha thinks as she rushes upstairs.

John, being the teenager that he is, is still struggling to get out of bed. His younger brother is tying his shoes.

“Don’t forget to shower. Hop to it or we will be late.” Martha tells John before heading down the hall to change her clothes.

You think I am joking that this sort of thing happens all the time, but it does. Don’t repeat. Build.

Options

One) Have a different character say the information so the perspective is different.

I need to tell him to take a bath before we leave, Martha thinks as she rushes upstairs.

John, being the teenager that he is, is still struggling to get out of bed. His younger brother is tying his shoes.

“Hurry up, we are going to be late. And shower!” Martha tells John before heading down the hall to change her clothes.

“Yeah John, shower. You are stinky,” says Rafe. With the skill developed over a lifetime of being the younger brother, he dodges the pillow thrown at him.

(Two) Different information. Each time the repeat is done (three times to make something real), reveal different details An example is describing the character’s car each time they get in: (a) the red sports car; (b) he loved the remote heating seats in winter; (c) the white interior fortunately was leather so the mud would clean out. This works like background information, don’t reveal certain details unless they are needed. No need for a one-page character / item description when you can drop details in throughout the book.

(Three) Build. Each time something is repeated, reveal something more. Make it richer.

Back to the THIS! THIS!

So in Dungeon Crawler Carl, one of his catch phrases is “You will not break me.” But Matt Dinniman is amazing, he only has Carl say this once per book. It is a defining line, but it is said differently each time. (Another catch phrase is “Damnit Donut.” If you are reading this series, watch this line evolve.)

Book One is the standard: “You’re not going to break me,” I said. “You might hurt me, or kill me, but you’re not going to break me.”

The wonderful confidence, knowing death is likely, but he will mentally fight them with everything he has and hold it together. He won’t become what they want. A wonderfully innocent thought.

Book Two, the sentiment builds emotionally: You will not break me. You will not break me. (Fuck you all.)

Book Three, the words are written out with planning and intent, a mental commitment: They will not break me. Fuck them all. They will not break me. But I will break them. This is my promise to myself, to my friends, and to you, anyone who reads these words. I will break them all. – Crawler Carl, 25th Edition of The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook

This is what I mean by, “if you must repeat, build.” Matt Dinniman builds.