The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 3
4.6 | 37,979 ratings
Price: 24.49
Last update: 02-02-2026
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- Lisa LesserBEST BOOK SERIES EVER!!!!Sentient cats. Video games. Trains. Aliens. Betrayal. Strategy. Traps. Bombs. Death. Anyone who is interested in these topics should read The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman. This book portrays mind-bending puzzles, terrifyingly strong creatures, and Earth-destroying aliens, all disguising the message of how important trust and teamwork are.
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook is the third book of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, which follows Carl and his articulate cat Donut when the world is taken over by aliens. They are transported to a videogame-like world where they must fight mobs, level up, and descend floors that increase in difficulty, all while trying to keep their views up on an interstellar show available to everybody, and everything, in the universe. In this particular book, Carl, Donut, and newfound friend Katia are transported to a giant train-themed floor called The Iron Tangle. They discover that the entire floor is a giant maze and must try their best to navigate it. There are hundreds of thousands of different colored train lines, along with a couple of named ones. They start to recognize a pattern, and by continuing to explore the floor, they uncover a hidden storyline larger than they could’ve imagined.
Fans of science fiction, puzzles, and more-or-less human psychology would thoroughly enjoy this book. Since the book is written from the perspective of Carl, the protagonist, the audience can easily understand his view on things. However, at times, the book has so much information about the story it can be difficult to understand what is happening. The actions that the characters make are risky, but overall rational given their circumstances. When the characters make plans for their next move, they are generally stated clearly in the book, which helps for comprehension. When plans are not stated clearly, it leaves the reader wondering and wanting to read more to find out what Carl and his friends are scheming. Throughout the series, it is realized that people are becoming more and more savage to survive. Carl is determined to keep his humanity no matter what happens, which adds an interesting factor to the book as well as making Carl more likable to the reader.
Overall, this book is very enjoyable and would be recommended. The plot and characters, along with the small touch of them trying not to go insane, come together really well to make an entertaining and unique story. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, along with the entire series, puts a distinctive spin on the aliens-taking-over-Earth trope, and anyone reading this should give it a try. - LeeFantastic, hilarious read!Definitely start with book 1; you could read this stand alone but the plot builds with each book. I keep thinking “he can’t keep this going” but I’m up to book 3 and these books are fantastic!!! Warning, if you are offended by swear words, gross video-game-type melee attacks and general snark, this is not the series for you. This is one of my favorite book series - excellent character development, twisting plot lines, serious suspense and loads of hilarity (glad I bought the whole series on kindle). Makes me want to have a beer with the author (and I hate beer.). A friend of mine bought the audible version and told me I am missing out on the incredible narrator; he let me listen to some - he’s right, the narrator is awesome!
- Karissa EckertStill amazing, but a bit less amazing than the first two books.Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I bough this on audiobook.
Thoughts: I am just going to put out there right away that this has been my least favorite Dungeon Crawler Carl book so far. I still really enjoyed it a lot, but I didn't absolutely love it like the first two. I think this is because The Iron Tangle is too technical and confusing and hard to follow. My family listened to this on audiobook and by the end we were still confused about exactly what the Iron Tangle was and how it worked.
Welcome to Level 4 of the dungeon. Character races and classes have been chosen, and now Carl and Donut are on to the more mysteries and adventures. For Carl and Donut, finding the stairway to the fifth floor is going to be more of a mystery and more dangerous than any floor yet.
While I respected that there was a complicated puzzle here, it was really hard to follow what was going on, especially on audiobook. The plot started to feel incredibly repetitive with them getting on trains and getting off on stations and fighting stuff and repeating all over again. The environment was just too monotonous.
I did enjoy some of the new characters we met and some of the abilities Donut and Carl gained. I also enjoyed that we got a deeper look at the employees on these levels and what they are going through. With less achievements happening, there was a bit less humor in this book as well. This felt less like an adventure and more like a strange mind game full of twisted trains.
I still really liked the book. I love Donut and Carl as characters and enjoyed how the subplot involving Helka's (sp) daughters played out. I just didn't like the setting and working behind this level that much, and my family agreed. We have just started listening to the fourth audiobook and that one has been much more interesting so far.
My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I really like this book but not as much as the first two in the series. The train setting got repetitive and seemed overly complicated. I continue to enjoy the world-building and characters. There is also a lot of awesome action and the politics external to the dungeon are getting increasingly interesting.