October 31, 2025sarahylockwood

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

Of Note: This series is getting better and better with my reread!

Rate: 5/5

Medium: eBook

Overview (No Spoilers): 

Wow. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook and its Iron Tangle is delightfully ambitious. Tangle is an apt word to describe this third book by Dinniman. Every book so far seems to have a different focus, with book one focusing on introducing this cataclysmic reality TV show with its impossible boss battles and book two is occupied with quests. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook instead humanizes the NPCs, while the Crawlers struggle to figure out the Iron Tangle. One of my favorite aspects of this series, the sassy AI system is less front and center than the first two novels, with the maze taking the lead.

I spent much of this book mildly confused regarding the mess of stations, trains, and unique floor rules. Level four was Dinniman’s most ambitious design yet. My mind kept gnawing at this tangle throughout this read but honestly, this didn’t deter from the read as Carl and his fellow Crawlers also had to try to wrap their heads around this mess too. Plus Dinniman gives a warning ahead of the story to not try to get caught up in the numbers and colors too much. 

Dinniman continues to pack in various Easter Eggs, from Jurassic Park and Homeward Bound to Judge Judy. He also adds in other obscure names like Christopher Pallies and Unsinkable Sam, both of whom I had to look up to see if they were real. Spoiler. They both were. Dinniman continues to invent some interesting mob combinations, such as pairing an earth baboon with a Florida jail drunk tank. 

The first two novels mostly limits our circle to Carl and Donut. While we have a good grasp of the moral fiber of our two favorite characters, Carl still holds his secrets tight. In The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook we start to get an inkling that his past holds an unspoken tragedy. Also in this third book we start to meet and reunite with more Crawlers and Carl’s circle grows bigger. Mrs. McGibbons is back and mouthier than ever. I love every scene that she is in and wait till you see who she’s transformed into. NCPs also take a larger role, with a great example being the bodyguard, Sludgie, who Donut dotes upon. 

Overall, I can’t express enough how much I’m enjoying this series. I’m even peer pressuring my friends and random parents in my children’s gymnastics classes into reading this series. I even went as far as to pull a friend card to absolutely demand a friend read it. She’s now even further in the series than me. The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook might even be the best yet in the series as Dinniman leads us on a maze that is chock full of action and clever twists and turns. Now bear with me as I charge head first into book four of this series. Zero regrets. 

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound): 

  • Similar to Helka, who else will misjudge Carl based on how the show portrays him.
  • The Maestro survived! I was expecting the Rust King or his son to be the Groll. Carl really is the luckiest guy.
  • When Elle said that she felt like Carl was cheating, it hit a little close to the mark. Donut to the rescue. 
  • I want to know what rewards Carl got for everything at the end.
  • I still don’t understand why Helka would have sacrificed Katia. I get the reasoning but it seemed like such a risk.
  • Where is Zev?
  • Why did Odette sponsor Helka?
  • What happened to Mordecai to illicit such a strong response? He was sorely missed from much of this story.
  • We are starting to see our first breaks between Carl and Donut. Donut kept the coupons for killing someone in her party a secret and Carl kept his book a secret.  
  • Why did Chris kill Frank? What will happen now that Frank gave Carl the cursed ring. Their exchange was heartbreaking. When will Frank’s ex wife find Carl?
  • Agatha showed up! What has she been up to?
  • Mongo jumping on the counter of the kitchen, clicking his claws on the industrial sheet metal countertops is such a shout out to Jurassic Park. What a vivid memory. 
  • Brandon dying was such a surprise. I’d almost started feeling safe with our characters.
  • Li Jun was in the top 10! So good to see him show up again with his family. Other familiar faces showed up too such as Ifechi.
  • It feels like Carl’s Escape Plan skill has been under utilized so far. 
  • I so expected the bolt Katia recieved to be used against the Maestro to finish him for good.
  • Quan Ch must be an asshole. He wrecked all the trains, screwing over other crawlers.
  • Where did Eva go? Carl’s getting a list of enemies now. Did Katia revoke the Daughter’s access to their safe space? What if Eva is hiding there?
  • We met Miriam and her talking goat, Prepotente! I’m loving all these little details. Bautista has also become a big character. What will happen when he discovers that Donut has a ring from someone in his family.
  • If Carl is being misrepresented, are other crawlers’ images being manipulated? Maybe the young girl, Lucia Mar isn’t as bad as she seems. 
  • Who was the other bounty that was claimed?
  • How much research did Dinniman have to do to come up with all these colors? Sinopia? Mindaro? Zomp?

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