1 day ago December 18, 2025sarahylockwood

The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman

Rate: 5/5;

Of note: With the extensive recovery I decided to do a reread of the series to make sure I remembered all of the fantastic twists and turns. With the reread, the change of pacing did not feel as stark, instead more of a refreshing break. The setting is a nice change from the chaos of the Tangle.

Rate: 5/5

Medium: ebook

Overview (No Spoilers):

After reading four Dungeon Crawler Carl books in a row, I’m officially dreaming about Carl and Donut. I finished The Gate of the Feral Gods just minutes before being wheeled back for my double mastectomy surgery. I spent the next three weeks while recovering reading the rest of the series. I’m only now just getting caught up with my reviews. 

I was initially thrown off by the change of pacing on this new dungeon level. This level is much more strategy and investigation, with new Crawlers thrown into the mix. Compared to the last two books the pacing sometimes felt like a crawl. 

Dinniman’s choice of setting for this level works to elevate this series as a whole and the chaos that ensues is so different than anything we’ve experienced yet in the dungeon. Our poor crawlers are now grouped into bubbles that contain four castles, which are separated by quadrants. The castle in the quadrant must be defeated before venturing into others. In an interesting twist, the castles and storylines are all interwoven in complex patterns that force Carl, Donut, and Katia into ever more dangerous situations.

We are introduced to new Crawlers in The Gate of the Feral Gods, who initially seem to have shallow, limited potential for growth. As Carl, Katia, and Donut build their confidence we soon grow attached to these new characters who become part of the family. 

Dinniman packs in so many familiar references from Nine Tails to Joe Camels. Not to mention Mad Max, Space Jam, Twister, and a particularly notorious wardrobe mishap in the Super Bowl. I find it curious that in comparable books like the Ready Player One’s sequel constant references grew forced and tired, but I’ve never felt that way about any of Dinniman’s references. Plus Dinniman has me looking up real people who I’ve never heard of before such as Vesta Stoudt. Go ahead. Look up this remarkable and persistent woman.

The Gate of the Feral Gods also finds Carl starting to make stands against the greater evils. He starts small, but with the big twist at the end we start to see a spark of hope that the future levels will be unlike anything the worlds have ever experienced before. 

Overall, this series keeps getting better and better, especially as Carl finds himself pulled into the larger political theater while navigating even more complex dungeon designs.

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

  • How are Dimitri and Maxim listed the same?
  • Why did the benefactor send Carl a vegetable?
  • What is happening to Lucia Mar? Is she really crazy?
  • What was going on with those glitches and the changing descriptions?
  • How powerful is Juice Box? Will Louis survive long enough for his wedding?
  • Zev’s transformation following her ‘retraining’ was hard to read. I miss her old personality. 
  • Who is ‘promising’ Maggie things if she kills Carl? How could the system suspend Chris’ ability to talk?
  • Thank goodness Carl was able to save Chris. How heartbreaking that Brandon thought that his brother had turned against him when it was Maggie all along.
  • What does it mean Miriam is cursed as a vampire? Can she be cured?
  • I was so worried when Carl split up with Donut to go back in the water to go to the submarine. I was worried that someone, especially an unknown would try to cash in on a bounty. 
  • Pregnant women disappear and women are not able to conceive. Where are all the children and pregnant women?
  • Donut calling depth charges, death charges is a great example of some of Dinniman’s clever wordplay that adds levity where it would seem impossible. 
  • Did any of Juice Box’s advice on killing other monsters pay off?
  • How will the Gate of the Feral Gods be used on other floors?
  • How is Carl ever going to get the changlings down floors 7 and 8 to floor 9? 
  • What are the full implications for the 9th floor that Carl just drowned half of Larracos?
  • Who is Dr. P. Hu.?
  • How will the Ring of Divine Suffering corrupt Carl?
  • They found Ferdinand!! And Bea! Odette somehow saved her but how will Odette use her?
  • Who is the dead crawler whose twin they are looking for?
  • What role will Samantha play?
  • I seriously love the AI descriptions. One particular one hit a bit home talking about collecting souviners while traveling only when you get home to focus on the ones you don’t have instead of enjoying the travels you’ve been on. 
  • We are slowly learning more about Carl and his past. We keep getting heartbreaking glimpses like his Dad and his goldfish. And that especially heartbreaking thoughts about never wanting to get a pet again since all they do is die. 
  • I loved that Katia flourished while Carl and Donut were gone. Will she really be leaving?
  • When will Quan show up again?
  • This cleaner bot is so funny with it’s sad beeps at every mess.
  • Will Carl regret worshiping Emberus?
  • Who is the The Open Intellect Pacifist Action Network? What did they mean by sending the yam? Slit getting killed by Samantha’s mother who we thought would attack her. Does that mean the pacifist group sponsored Samantha’s mother?

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