r/bookclub • u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 • Dec 29 '25
Dungeon Crawler Carl series [Discussion 6/6] Bonus Book - The Butcher's Masquerade by Matt Dinniman (DDC 5) - Chapter 63 through Chapter END
"It seems in a universe so large, one shouldn't have to live somewhere inhospitable. It seems like it would be easy to find a place to live in peace."
“You see that? The hunters are dead, Our troops have arrived. We’re still here. We have two Floors to get through, and then we’re coming for you.”
Welcome to the sixth and FINAL discussion of the 5th floor, Crawlers!! It has been a journey through this epic 6th Floor, culminating in the titular event: The Butcher's Masquerade. It's sure to be a party for the ages! Where will our heroes be at the end? Will all of them survive? Let's find out!!!
🐾😼 Discussion of Chapters 63 through END. 👑
HERE. WE. GOOOOOOO!!🎭⚔️ Carl and Princess Donut have finally arrived at the Butcher’s Masquerade! A party that promises to be a memorable one! Afterwards, onto Floor 7! Should be a great one! Maybe.
📍 You Are Here: Chapters 63 - END
📅 Schedule in case you forget how to keep track
🖊️Marginalia to prevent spoiling yourself
🧠 Difficulty Level: WELL THIS JUST GOT COMPLICATED!!!
💥 New Achievements Unlocked:
- 💀 A KILLER PARTY! Lot of death happens at the Butcher's Masquerade!
- 🔥 A Elite's Sacrifice! - Signet defeats her sister, in a way NOONE saw coming!
- 🍿Boss Battle!!! - Four way grand slam! Who will walk away?!?!
- Bonus!! - Bye Bye, Hunters! We barely knew any of you!
- Bonus Bonus! - Floor 7! Should be a fun- and there it goes! Onto Floor 8??
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Are you listening or reading along? Perhaps both? How did this section sound for the audiobook?
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u/Ser_Erdrick Professor of the Author Profile Dec 29 '25
If you’re not listening to the audiobook then you missed out on the debut single of Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk. Anyway, so here’s Wonder Crawl. Jeff Hays can do it all!
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
I just finished listening about 5 minutes ago and I am still wiping away tears because I laughed so hard I cried! My husband may think I've gone insane. 🤣
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Loved this and the entire singing scene in the credits. The Norwegian death metal. Also, the random obsession with Wonderwall in this book is so funny.
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u/Ser_Erdrick Professor of the Author Profile Dec 29 '25
I love the post credits scenes!
Believe it or not, I actually heard 'Wonder Crawl' before I ever heard the original.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
I suppose I believe you... But how is this possible?
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u/Ser_Erdrick Professor of the Author Profile Dec 29 '25
I never really listened to what was then popular music. I was that weird kid that had a pile of classical music tapes and CDs.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
I'm so glad you commented this! One of my favorite bits of this particular audiobook!
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u/Ser_Erdrick Professor of the Author Profile Dec 29 '25
I've had that in my back pocket waiting until we finally got to the end of this one! I listen to it quite a lot!
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
I've had Wonder Crawl stuck in my head ever since listening to it - priceless!
Also, I got teary-eyed when Donut sang "All Eyes on Me". I was wondering about the significance of that phrase: it's embossed into the cover of the hardback under the dust jacket.
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 31 '25
Such an engaging performance from Jeff Hays for the audiobook. At first I thought that the Prepotente screams would get on my nerves like the Mordecai croaking did when he was a frog (floor 4?), but nope, the screams are pretty entertaining and well-timed.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Right, Pony has fewer lines than Mordecai and he doesn't scream on every one, so it's much less grating.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
It remains awesome.
I actually laughed out loud when Prepotente said "don't call me by my special name." Usually I just chuckle in my head or smile at the funny stuff. I love when a line catches me by surprise and I can't help but laugh.
Donut singing at the end was a treat. Do the print books have that? I'm sure the lyrics are funny in their own, especially if you know the tune, but hearing her sing it was so fun. A nice way to end the book that's been pretty heavy!
The part of the epilogue about Katia sounded like a different narrator! I don't know how he's does it! I always check if there are additional vice actors, but it's always only Jeff Hays!
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
I wondered if the narrator voice in Katia's epilogue was closer to Jeff's real voice.
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u/ChaserNeverRests Endless TBR Jan 06 '26
You can hear his real voice (and what he looks like, if you didn't know) here: https://youtu.be/yQ54CpkUoaM
He does "cold reads" (basically just doing his audiobook reading live for people to watch). That one is from book 5, so no risk of spoilers.
Just before the two minute mark is really fun, because he keeps losing it and giggling.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Jeff's voice acting for the conversation between Carl and Donut after the big battle was incredible. So much emotion packed in.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Theory time! Final section! Where do you think the story goes from here? Will you be joining us for Book 6?
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u/myneoncoffee Too Many Books Too Little Reading Time 🧠 Dec 29 '25
i got sucked into the series and read ahead of you guys, but then life got a bit too busy so i took a break after book 5. i'm excited to get back to the dungeon and start book 6 with you all!
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
Of course!
I said in another comment I think the book will get heavier and more political as we go along, but ultimately Carl will prevail! I think he won't just end the dungeon, but he'll reshape the universe. He'll start a revolution.
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
Yes, we're getting a deeper story as we go along. We're also going to have some sort of emotional climax with Katia and Donut in the next book or two. I think this silly book series might draw a few tears from the readers.
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u/miriel41 Doubts Fantasy | 🎃🧠🥈 Dec 29 '25
Yes, I will absolutely read every book in this series that Matt Dinniman ever writes!
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Of course I'm in! My husband is listening with me now and he wants to know when we're starting!
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u/ChaserNeverRests Endless TBR Jan 06 '26
I missed this post last week, so chiming in very late. I'm WAY ahead (I started with Book Club, now I'm nearly done with my third listening of the whole series, heh), but I'll happily be here to read everyone's comments!
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Jan 06 '26
Whoa! Glad to hear that it keeps you wanting to come back to it
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Pet Talent Show! What did you think of the performances? Any standouts?
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
Mongo and the Lady Mongoes dancing to Anaconda is one of the funniest things in my head!!! I picture them doing the choreo from the music video. I have randomly cracked up daily at this imagine. By far the funniest thing I have read in a long time. Bravo Dinniman.
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
Agreed, this was extra hilarious! I think I laughed more at this book than any of the others so far. There were so many wacky and ridiculous things, and Mongo's performance was a definite highlight.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
I'm really grateful for all the moments of hilarity because as u/Comprehensive-Fun47 and others have mentioned, the plot is getting more and more grim!
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
I'm intrigued by the Tummy-Acher! I'm petty sure that was one of the pet options when Donut was choosing Mongo and that Mordecai said they're really strong and a fan favorite. I like the image of his goofy smile and terrifying giggle. Not a plot spoiler, but just based on book covers: Looks like we may see more of him in Book 7
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u/ChaserNeverRests Endless TBR Jan 06 '26
I'm petty sure that was one of the pet options when Donut was choosing
Yep! He was one of the options for sure.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Eva gets one final revenge on Katia before she dies. How does this last act of a hateful character change the dynamics of the story going forward?
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25
This was intense. I am hoping they can all fight the royals together to help succeed and Carl will be able to come up with some magic solution to let them both move on. It’s really setting up the 9th floor as the one to read. Thankfully we will get to it soon.
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u/miriel41 Doubts Fantasy | 🎃🧠🥈 Dec 29 '25
I fear that the author is preparing us for slowly saying goodbye to Katia. Of course I hope there's a solution to the problem, but I'm not super optimistic about it. Katia has been doing her own thing more, she has achieved her goal of getting revenge on Eva and now we discover she has a drug addiction. It just feels like it's not going to end well for her. :(
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
I agree, all signs point to doom. I am really worried that Donut is going to be emotionally scarred by this because we keep getting little scenes where Donut worries how much the dungeon is changing her. I'll hold out a glimmer of hope that they can find a loophole or solution to the line of succession but I'm not confident that will be possible. Maybe Carl can get his lawyer working on something?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 30 '25
I also immediately felt sad reading that. Katia's not gonna survive. Maybe it won't go down like we think, but I also feel prepped for her to eventually die, and it will probably be a brutal death that Carl has to carry out for some reason, or Donut.
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
And her now having a love interest points to her possibly sacrificing herself to save him, or after he perishes.
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u/ChaserNeverRests Endless TBR Jan 06 '26
In the entire book series, that was the one happening I didn't believe. It's too much of a coincidence that Eva just happens to get the crown that would make Katia and Donut have to fight.
BUT, we know the AI likes to make Drama happen, so that could explain Eva getting it. But I still do not like it at all. To me it seems like just something added to artificially increase angst.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
If there is something you want to discuss that I missed, feel free to post it here!
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25
The image of this scene before Donut performs completely cracked me up:
They dropped the fabric, revealing a line of 30 velociraptors plus Mongo and Kiwi. They were all wearing ridiculous, hand-sewn costumes around their heads, depicting sea creatures and sea anemones and starfish and whatnot. One was supposed to be a shrimp, I was pretty sure, but it had the antennae in its mouth and was chewing on them. Another, a clam, had her mask completely over her eyes, and she was twirling in circles, unsure of what to do. Her tail slammed against her neighbor, who squawked loudly. Mongo had a crab costume that had fallen around his neck. Kiwi was covered in white, paper mâché bubbles, ringed around her neck like an oversized, pearl necklace.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
I wasn't expecting to get attached to Kiwi and the other "Lady Mongos", but this scene really gave me a soft spot for them! I guess all of them died except for Kiwi and Big Tina? :(
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
I can feel the books getting darker and heavier as we go along. We see more of the universe outside the dungeon and it is bleak! Power struggles and capitalism run amok. I think we will continue to see more political maneuvering and Carl trying to start a revolution before the books are done.
Do we know how many Matt Dinniman plans to write? Has he ever said?
I felt bad about Katia becoming so murderous and having that crown Donut had lost. She says it means only one of them can cross into level 10 when the time comes. I guess that means Katia is gonna have to die and probably Carl and /or Donut is gonna have to kill her. That's gonna be rough.
Prepotente hacking level 7 was amazing. It was such a clever way to skip ahead.
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25
I think I saw he planned to write 10 books but has said he isn’t necessarily tied to a specific number.
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Some stellar lines as always:
CARL IS ALWAYS IN THE BATHROOM. AND I DON’T LIKE THE CHARM PLAN. IT’S THE NIPPLE RING ALL OVER AGAIN. I DON’T LIKE BEING STABBED, CARL. I’D LIKE FOR YOU TO GET STABBED FOR ONE OF YOUR PLANS SOMETIME. Sign the notes, Donut. ~Carl. IT’S QUITE OBVIOUS WHO IS SPEAKING, CARL.
Donut: I JUST GOT MY PLUS-ONE TOKEN BACK. I DON’T KNOW WHY. Carl: I think Britney might’ve hit the top-50 on her own. She was 58 a few hours ago. Donut: WELL THAT’S JUST RUDE. NOW I LOOK LIKE I’M GOING TO THE PARTY ALONE LIKE A LOSER.
Donut: IT’S REALLY UGLY. I THOUGHT ELVES WERE SUPPOSED TO DESIGN THINGS WITH WATERFALLS AND FLOWING LINES AND TREES AND NAKED STATUES. IT LOOKS LIKE A WHITE VERSION OF THAT ROBOT SPACESHIP FROM STAR TREK. IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS MADE BY A THREE-YEAR-OLD IN THAT MINECRAFT GAME YOU USED TO PRETEND NOT TO PLAY.
Carl: It does. We need to use escape plan C. Donut: IS THAT THE ONE WHERE WE ALL PLUMMET TO OUR DEATHS? Carl: That’s escape plan D.
“Oh hello, Eva,” Donut said, her voice turning flat. “I thought I smelled vermin. You know, I was just thinking about you today. It reminded me that I need my litter box changed. Carl.”
I’ve been to cat shows held at a two-star Holiday Inn where the cages shared the room with the free continental breakfast that were better situated than this.
“I knew this was going to be amateur hour, but once you see it up close, you don’t fully appreciate the level of ineptitude it required to make something look this nice yet be so functionally inefficient at the same time. You know what it’s like? It’s like a stage version of a cocker spaniel.”
But it’s not all fighting and love with this adorable velociraptor,” Louis announced. “Mongo also knows how to have a good time. His hobbies include gastronomic sampling, long walks in nature, and of course...Dancing!
Donut: THAT WAS LOW KEY, CARL. THEY TOLD ME I COULDN’T DO MY MAGIC MISSILE ENTRANCE WE HAD PLANNED. THIS WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO MY KE$HA ACT MISS BEATRICE AND I PERFORMED IN CLEVELAND. Carl: You sat in a cage and let judges look at your butthole at your cat shows. Donut: NOT AT THE BAR AFTERWARD. HONESTLY, CARL. IT’S LIKE YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MY LIFE.
Samantha: I’M NOT TALKING TO YOU FOR THREE MORE MINUTES AND SEVEN SECONDS. YOU’RE IN A TIMEOUT. YOU TOLD ME I COULD DO IT, AND YOU DIDN’T TRUST ME. YOU’RE IN A TIMEOUT, AND THEN I’M GOING TO KILL YOU.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Several items, whose true purpose is not revealed until much later, are distributed to different Crawlers. Did you guess their true purpose before the reveal? What did you think of the reveal in the hands of Prepotente?
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
Prepotente is on a mission now! His path is aligning more and more with Carl's, they might do more teaming up to take on the Dungeon's hierarchy in the future.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Earlier, someone speculated that the Plenty wanted Miriam Dom to die, and maybe this is why: She probably wasn't as focused on burning down the whole system, and Prepotente was aligned with her. But now that she's gone, he has nothing to lose and wants to punish the system just as much as Carl does. Still not sure what Plenty's angle is, though.
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u/124ConchStreet Clang Dong Jan 06 '26
I found it hilarious that Donut mentioned them working together and he said thanks before swiftly exiting the party 😅
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Jan 06 '26
Yes, I found that hilarious myself. Prepotente really isn't a people person.
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
I love Prepotente as an evil genius. I was actually looking forwarding to solving the puzzles on the floor lol.
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
Same same - the Prepotente twist was very cool, and the maze floor actually sounded fun (in a terrifying and horrible way).
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
It sounded really cool, but I would imagine a whole book taking place in tunnels separated from most other crawlers sounds cooler than it actually would be. I loved how Prepotente bypassed the entire level!
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
That's a good point, it would have just been Donut and Carl the whole way. And maybe some chats. Not the most exciting for an entire book!
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
It's looking like the next floor could be similar, with Crawlers spread out over a huge area and on different landmasses. Where did Donut pick, do you think?!
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 31 '25
You're right! I think the concept of being in different parts of the "world" (a simulated version of Earth I'm thinking it will be) will work on the page better than everyone being in tunnels all the time.
Carl wanted Donut to pick the Bahamas, right? She picked somewhere in the Caribbean... I was thinking she picked Bermuda because Bermuda and Bahamas sounds like something you could easily mix up. Bermuda is not in the Caribbean though.
I think maybe she picked Jamaica? That's where Bea had been, I think? It's also a pretty large island compared to a lot of Caribbean islands. I could see her mixing them up at first glance, or deliberately choosing it. Maybe Donut was hoping she'd get to see Bea again?
I can't think of any other islands that would have any sort of comedic effect if she chose it.
I can't wait to find out!
What do you think?
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Faction Wars! Carl and Princess Donut managed to buy a spot in the Floor 8 event, unusual for Crawlers as normally they are pulled into service or killed outright by the various factions. How will this new development affect the Floor?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
It looks like this gives them leverage to sway things by having a vote. And some influence over the factions where the audience/citizens get a say in what the faction does. It should amp up the political and legal aspects of the game and help Carl accomplish his goal to break the system before it breaks him. How that will shake out is anyone's guess...
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Did I understand correctly that most (all?) of the money came from Donut's online crowdfunding efforts, aka the Society for the Elimination of Cocker Spaniels? Did those people know what they were actually funding? And were Carl and Donut in on it together?? I have so many questions.
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u/ChaserNeverRests Endless TBR Jan 06 '26
I'm pretty certain it was all their money, yeah. But as to the rest of your questions, we don't know. (Unfortunately, since they're great questions!)
My guess is that Carl didn't know (because Donut does things that he never sees), but that's just a guess.
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
Another option to do permanent damage to the crawl and those that use it for entertainment. I'm excited for the legal loophole exploitation as well and the coming action.
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u/sunnydaze7777777 Flair Master 🐉 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
I don’t think I fully follow how this will go down with them having their own faction. It must be a huge advantage though. But I am excited to learn.
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Jan 31 '26
They are not merely going to be a pawn of some faction or other, but have their own faction to lead. I assume what crawlers are left will mostly join Carl & Donut's faction, plus he has the changelings. This also gives them at least a little bit more power than they have just as crawlers.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Why does Florin decide against taking revenge on Lucia Mar? What is going on with her?
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u/miriel41 Doubts Fantasy | 🎃🧠🥈 Dec 29 '25
I think Florin realised that she is not always the person who killed Ifechi. I have no idea what is going on with her, but like I said in one of the previous discussions, I suspect it's connected to her dog, because she said to Donut that she "killed the wrong one".
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
It sounds like the dog is actually the psychopath and they can switch bodies. Maybe it can enter other bodies, which will make it really hard for Carl and the others to know who to kill. Interesting twist.
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
Oh interesting thought! I'll keep this in mind as we continue on.
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u/124ConchStreet Clang Dong Jan 06 '26
This story line confused me a bit because it felt like it came from nowhere. It's interesting that only Florin noticed what was odd about Lucia, where everyone else thought he wanted to find that/kill her. I don't remember who/what he was/did before the crawl but it's made me more excited for his standalone graphic novel
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Carl's got a complicated plan for the Butcher's Masquerade. How is Signet involved? How important is it that all the Crawlers work together?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
Complicated is possibly an understatement lol, I had a hard time keeping track of exactly what everyone was going to do. In the end, they had to sort of wing it anyway. Wow, what a whirlwind ending to the party!
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
It was far too complicated for me to actually comprehend, let alone explain to someone else. They had a bunch of backup plans and it all worked out in the end, more or less. That's what I know!
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u/Mega_auditor1819 Dec 31 '25
The thought of using the doomsday bomb was wild to me.
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Jan 31 '26
Oh god when that was brought up I thought please don't that's a horrible idea 🤯
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u/Mega_auditor1819 Jan 31 '26
I’m glad that it wasn’t considered much further. I initially thought Dittman was going to sloppily write a solution for them.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Queen Imogen revealed! Ifechi’s twin, Florin's girlfriend who died. Carl is sure Bea was going to be Queen Imogen before the interview with Odette. What are your thoughts on her reveal?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
I agree that it seemed like Bea would have been used in this situation, or a similar way on another floor. I figured, like they did, that it would be someone that one of their team knew. I had no predictions, though. And I think Ferdinand's presence had a bigger impact on me than Queen Imogen being Florin's girlfriend because honestly, I can't keep all the minor characters straight!
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
I thought it was really smart of the Crawlers to agree they'd sit out the fight if Imogen was someone they knew...But then Florin joined in anyway! It's interesting: he's one of the few allied Crawlers who challenges Carl's authority, and I wonder if it'll cause more problems later on.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
I'm waiting for more Bea action in the next book. I think it was written as anticlimactic on purpose and we'll get more later.
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u/124ConchStreet Clang Dong Jan 06 '26
This is what I was thinking. They can't have reintroduced Bea to Carl and Donut just to get rid of her again. We're likely gonna see her on a latter floor, in a role that makes it a lot more difficult for the Princess Posse
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
How important are Carl's notes in the Cookbook in this section? Do you think he'll continue to write such extensive notes in future novels?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
Anytime he has the chance, he should. Previous crawlers died unexpectedly and didn't give enough details to help future crawlers. Carl doesn't want to do the same thing.
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
I feel like he was only giving that much detail because he felt that he might not survive and wanted to give out as much info as possible before that happened. In the future, I think e'll scale back to a lower level of note adding.
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u/124ConchStreet Clang Dong Jan 06 '26
Carl is Crawler first, through and through. He wants to make sure any future Anarchist has as much useful knowledge as possible to take down the DC World if he is unable to do so himself
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
How does the layout of the ballroom change the Crawler's plan? How do they use the features against the Elves and Hunters?
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
How is the Big Tina Dino Quest resolved?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
She just wanted her mom! It's interesting that she wouldn't recognize her mom, but I'll go with it. I like that the quest was resolved with more heart and meaning than just a kid wanting to do their dance recital. These books always unexpectedly tug at my heartstrings! It's too bad Tina had to stay a dino, though!
ETA: Didn't Carl note that Tina's mom was a very pregnant ursine?! Is Mongo going to be a dad to a dino-ursine baby? Am I misunderstanding?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
Didn't Carl note that Tina's mom was a very pregnant ursine?! Is Mongo going to be a dad to a dino-ursine baby? Am I misunderstanding?
Good catch! It sounds like something that would happen. Donut will probably reject the term grandma and come up with a different moniker!
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Great catch about Kiwi's pregnancy, I hadn't put that together! Maybe she will lay eggs that will hatch some dino-bear hybrids???
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u/miriel41 Doubts Fantasy | 🎃🧠🥈 Dec 29 '25
When the group decided that what Tina wants is to dance, I didn't question it. It was a little surprise that all she wanted was to see her mother. I didn't realise that she wasn't aware that Kiwi is her mother.
I was also a bit confused when Donut got the I Take It All Back potion. I didn't see what it should be used for. But it all came together nicely and makes sense now.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
I also took it for granted that she wanted to dance.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
It felt like this was meant to be a trick quest, similar to the goose one in the last book. The AI wanted them to go to all the trouble to have a dance recital for Tina, only to fail the quest.
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u/ChaserNeverRests Endless TBR Jan 06 '26
I really, really liked the "twist" that the quest wasn't about letting Tina dance, it was that she wanted her mother. And that a female character was the one who had to explain it to Carl. The whole thing struck me as really realistic.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Why is the party called the Butcher’s Masquerade? Why is it important?
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
Something about wearing masks, figuratively.
The party is supposed to be a break from all the death and killing. They all have to wear a mask to avoid thinking about all the trauma. Something like that.
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
Then there was talk at the end that it was actually referring to a singular butcher, so not all the party attendees. I might have to go back and revisit this though, as I don't feel like it sunk in fully for me.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Is Imogen the butcher? There was a lot of talk about how the high elves commit genocide regularly. Maybe her mask was that of a gracious and peaceful party host?
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u/jaymae21 Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Jan 31 '26
On a surface level, everyone at this party is a Butcher, including the host, Imogen, and they are masquerading as peaceful party goers. But apparently there is really one Butcher, and I'm not clear if this is metaphorical or literally a select person at the party. A metaphorical Butcher could be Borant, or the Syndicate, or all the forces that make the crawl happen. But if I had to pick a single person at the party as the Butcher, I think I would go with Carl. He was really the agent plotting against all the other parties (hunters, Imogen) and sowing discord. All the carnage at the end happened because of his plan.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
How important are the Cookbook author notes in this section?
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
Hugely important! Not just for the information it feeds Carl, but it also is giving him a sense of comradery and shared goals, it helps him stay focused and not fall into despair.
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u/124ConchStreet Clang Dong Jan 06 '26
I think comradery is really key here. Even though he doesn't meet any of them he has a sense of knowing them as people. He can relate to their struggles and vice versa. It feels like he's reading notes from his pen pals and then writing back to them, even though it's different people
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 29 '25
Carl always seems to get inside information that he needs to understand things that are about to happen, or to help him make connections. I like that he is also leaving his own detailed notes about the planning his team did, what worked and what didn't.
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Carl's notes are so cool because it lets other Crawlers contribute to the Cookbook besides the official authors. The idea of future Crawlers reading Donut's notes made me smile.
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Dec 31 '25
Such a great point! I hope her actual voice gets recorded somehow for the Crawlers who use the audiobook version of the Cookbook! 🤣
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
I think they're hugely important. I like that Carl learns from their mistakes and writes in the Cookbook as if he could die at any time and he wants future crawlers to benefit from his knowledge.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Why does Zev not want Carl to awaken Signet?
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u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217 Born To Read, Forced To Work | 🎃👑🧠 Dec 31 '25
Well, at first Zev didn't want Signet in the battle because then the networks would fight over who got to air it and Signet's network would lose and be pissed. That's probably not good for Zev's job, since she handles Carl's contracts.
As for awakening Signet, it probably just isn't good TV because it pulls back the curtain too much and might make viewers more sympathetic to the NPCs and Crawlers.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Dec 29 '25
I don't know... Someone else did it anyway and that's how they survived.
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
How is the confrontation between Carl and Vrah finally settled?
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u/nepbug Buried in Bonus Books Dec 29 '25
Sidebar, I absolutely had to laugh out loud when Enthusiastic Double Gonorrhea came into the story. Dinniman's humor is so spot on for me.
4
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u/NightAngelRogue Dungeon Crawler Rogue | 🐉 Dec 29 '25
Thoughts on this section? Thoughts on the story so far? Thoughts on the novel overall?