Book Four of the Dungon Crawler Carl series, The Gate of the Feral Gods, ups the stakes yet again. Carl, Princess Donut, and Katia find themselves in all manner of trouble, and not all of it is taking place in the dungeons.

This level, the fifth, is comprised of bubbles. The crawlers have been spread out over a number of them. Each bubble is made up of quadrants, and each of those has a castle to siege and conquer before the bubble can pop and open the stairs to the next level.

But those running the crawl are manipulating things and altering the game for views and profits, and with Carl and Donut the cat as some of the biggest draws this season, they find themselves at the heart of it.

They get drawn into a quest that opens a portal, the Gate of the Feral Gods, and that is going to be a huge thing, both in and out of the dungeon.

There are litigations, an increasingly creepy AI, mobs, upgrades and loot boxes. And of course, all the great moments with Carl and Donut that we’ve come to expect.

The darker undertones of the series get pulled to the fore as the NPCs are revealed to be more than just template characters. And things are getting tense for everyone.

We also get an epilogue that takes us outside of the dungeon, and spend some time with characters that are not Carl or Donut, but they are certainly going to have an effect on our beloved duo.

And speaking of duos, there are a couple of reveals towards the end of the story that have an effect on our characters as well.

Through it all, the pair work to survive, level up, get loot, help their fellow crawlers, and face danger on the daily. And it’s a great ride.

The universe continues to expand, and they set up the next floor, which sees the addition of hunters who will track down and kill crawlers nicely.

I love seeing the upgrades that Carl and Donut get, and that cat seems to be getting funnier and funnier. The story sees them and the crawlers they are involved with coming together to help one another. This is something that Carl has been doing from the beginning, but it seems to be expanding.

But he’s also making more enemies, and not just behind the scenes. There are crawlers gunning for him as well. In fact, during the climax, when the gate is triggered, a particular crawler almost ruins everything just to gain some experience and loot, and kill a puppy!

These books are just so much fun. They are entertaining, funny as hell, and you can tell that things are building for our characters, and as the odds get stacked more and more against them, you have to wonder how long before we lose someone we really care about?

Let’s see what happens in Book 5, The Butcher’s Masquerade.