The following ratings are out of 5:
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😋😀😎😁🫣
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Solo Narration with a guest – sounds like a full cast though.
🎧 Audiobook Review: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #3)
Author: Matt Dinniman
Genre: LitRPG Adventure
Narrator(s): Jeff Hays, The Critical Drinker
🎬 Character Background and Plot Dynamics
The previous book left Carl and his team on the Third Floor of the Dungeon, and this installment picks up as they enter the Fourth. In Carl’s Doomsday Scenario we were promised that this would be the level where Mordecai finally gains access to an Alchemist’s table. That promise pays off here. Although his skills do not immediately change the team’s situation, Mordecai eventually becomes a real asset again. He regains a home base, he is no longer yanked into the game at random, and he finally gets to use his Alchemy in meaningful ways.
This floor introduces a completely different kind of challenge. The Iron Tangle is a sprawling, underground, train based city where survival depends on understanding a constantly moving transportation network. Trains loop and weave through a maze of stations, creating a chaotic knot of routes that are difficult to track. Carl, Princess Donut, Mongo, and Katia arrive expecting combat, but quickly learn that the real danger comes from ambushes, shifting alliances, and the new bounty system that encourages betrayal among crawlers.
The early chapters focus on the team establishing a foothold in the Iron Tangle, navigating the hazardous subway system, meeting other crawlers, and dealing with the growing tension caused by bounties placed on top ranked players. The world feels more complex and more alive, and the stakes feel heavier as trust becomes a rare commodity.
🌟 What Worked for Me
• The dungeon feels like a puzzle rather than a straightforward battleground. Understanding the train network becomes essential for survival.
• The new bounty system creates a tense atmosphere where alliances feel fragile. Carl continues to share strategies with others because he hates seeing so many crawlers die, but the risk of betrayal is always present.
• Carl’s rebellious streak grows stronger. He no longer wants to simply survive the game. He wants to break it, sabotage it, and push back against the system that treats crawlers like disposable entertainment.
• The Scooby Squad becomes a true team. Carl and Mordecai once assumed Katia Grim would leave at the first opportunity, but she begins to show real loyalty. Her complicated history with other crawlers, including Hekla, adds depth to her arc. Carl, Donut, Katia, and Mongo work together with increasing efficiency and trust.
• Carl’s loyalty continues to shine. His memory of Beatrice planning to replace Princess Donut with a new cat shows how deeply he cares, even when he did not like Donut in the beginning.
• I loved the first two books so much that I tried to pace myself with this series, but I could not wait any longer for this one. I went in with high expectations and the story delivered everything I hoped for.
⤵️ What Did Not Work as Well
• The Iron Tangle is imaginative and ambitious, but the layout of the train system is difficult to visualize. Stations appear and disappear quickly, and it can be hard to track where the characters are at any given moment. The concept is clever, but the geography sometimes feels slippery.
🎙️ Narration
Jeff Hays continues to prove why he is one of the best narrators working in audio today. His range is so wide that the performance often feels like a full cast production. Carl’s voice, which carries a Patrick Warburton quality, remains a standout. Hays’s portrayals of Princess Donut, Mordecai, and the various computerized voices are consistently sharp and full of personality. His ability to shift tone and emotional nuance elevates every scene. This series feels designed for audio, and Hays is a major reason why. This installment also features The Critical Drinker as Vernon the train conductor, which adds another fun layer to the performance.
💬 Final Thoughts and Assessment
This third entry expands the world in clever ways and deepens the emotional bonds between the characters. The Iron Tangle is chaotic, dangerous, and full of surprises, and the story balances action, humor, and character development with impressive skill. Despite the occasional difficulty visualizing the train system, the book delivers an exciting and emotionally satisfying continuation of Carl’s journey. The narration enhances every moment, making this another standout installment in a series that continues to impress.
💭 Quotes
“Miss Beatrice once used scissors to get poop off my butt,” Donut said.
“Uh huh,” I said. “Once?”
“We’re having a moment here, Carl. Don’t ruin it.”
“I got an achievement just for looking at it! At the boss, I mean. Not your friend’s butt. But I should’ve received an award for having to see that, too.”
“There are some pretty weird ones, though. There’s a guy here who is a mushroom. Why would you turn yourself into a mushroom? He looks like a penis. Like one of those weird ones that’s really wide and short. My boyfriend before my Barry had a dick like that. It smelled like mushrooms, too.”
“I couldn’t believe people could’ve gotten this far and still remain such idiots.”
“Mole men and mole women actually just call themselves “Men” and “Women,” and quite frankly, it’s exhausting. These losers spend most of their days and nights reading. What a bunch of nerds.”