The Butcher's Masquerade: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 5

Series Info/Source: This is the fifth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series . I bought this on audiobook through Audible.com.Thoughts: This was a fantastic addition to the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I really loved this one, although I am a bit skeptical about some things that happened right at the end. However, Dinniman hasn't let me down yet, so I am willing to trust him.We have been hearing about the sixth floor, The Hunting Grounds, since the first book and we are finally there. Between trying to take out the hunters, dealing with Vrah, dodging vampiric dinosaurs, and trying to stick it to the producers of this insane dungeon, Carl and Donut have their hands/paws full.I don't have a ton to say about this book except that this series continues to be absolutely awesome. The story has so many layers to it and just keeps getting more complex, but it is done in a way that is never confusing. All of the characters in here have a lot of depth, and there are so many of them at this point. However, again, they are introduced in such a way that I never struggle to keep track of who is who.The action scenes are perfect, the world-building is amazing (just like the characters), and I love the layers of complexity. Things keep happening that I find surprising and highly entertaining. I just don't even really know what else to say, if you aren't reading this series you should. I guess keep in mind that this whole series has been very violent and gory, so if that bothers you, this may not be the series for you.We (my whole family listens to these; my son is 17 years old now) listened to this on audiobook, and everyone in my family loved it. The audiobooks for these are really well done. I feel like the last couple audiobooks in this series have had better balance in the volume between different narrators (we struggled a bit with the first book because when the AI talked it was really soft). I would highly recommend listening to this series on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this book and continue to adore this whole series. I would highly recommend this series to pretty much everyone (who is near adult age because of violence, gore, and sexual references). This is a wonderful post-apocalyptic, science fiction, fantasy dungeon delving mash-up that is highly entertaining and engaging. The story is just so well done, keeps me guessing, and is so entertaining. I am going to start listening to "The Eye of the Bedlam Bride" shortly.

I loved this intense continuation of the Dungeon Crawl game show with Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo as they try to survive and get to the next level with the help of Mordecai. Despite the similarities between the books, each storyline is fresh and engaging. This level had the perfect balance of humor, love, real life issues, cuteness, danger, machinations, supernatural elements, surprises, and morality. This book continues exactly where the last book left off though this one feels darker and more emotional. Carl, Donut, and Mongo are now on level 6 of the Crawl - where the Hunters join the fun to hunt down the crawlers in addition to the continuing danger from the mobs. They are still very popular with the fans, Mordecai continues to assist them, Carl continues to come up with crazy dangerous plans, many of the characters from previous floors are back, Katia has decided to leave the Carl and Donut crazy train party, crawlers will die, and Donut continues to be Donut. I still love the interplay and the connection between Carl and Princess Donut and that Carl’s character is a sweet, snarky, messy, lucky, sarcastic, kind of dumb, angry, and awkward man who regularly screws up which just makes him a very likeable and relatable hero. I especially love his mantra of “you will not break me. I will break you” and his continual sneaky subversive efforts. The story includes what you’d expect from this genre - fighting, dangerous situations, supernatural creatures, evil entities, henchmen, loyal friends, tragic back stories, mystical coincidences, snark, plot twists, death, and laughs. There was once again some light ethical, moral, and philosophical undercurrents which added to the depth of the story but did not detract from it. I will definitely keep reading the series to see what the next levels are like and what happens with Carl and Princess Donut and to see what Carl’s continued plans are to mess up the game especially after the way this one ended.

Great time reading this book. Carl and Dout are great characters. I can't wait to see what happens next each time I pick them up. I tell everyone to read these books!

I feel weird about giving this 4/5 same as the previous one(s). The 5th book is clearly the best of them all.The story is coherent without being overly complex. There is action, reaction and danger, along with loss.Donut is again meaningful and important and Samantha is a unique character that adds some little spice to the narrative.Carl continues his descent into the path of revenge. A critical mistake not to explicitly mention and keep mentioning how class selection influences the character. That would have explained things so well. He is more aggressive now and it suits this new persona.He now plays the long and the short game and things make sense.The bad guys are ok. Nothing too memorable but still they don’t feel overly rushed. They are good enough.I should also note down that this is the first book of the series where it tickled emotionally. That was a surprise.The 5th installment of this story was the best read in my eyes. The most coherent story out of all. You are here - maybe you had some doubts after the 4th one, well, don’t think too much, get on with this book! I don’t give 5/5 because while this was a very fine read, it’s not a memorable one - probably the whole series is more of a fun read than something I will never forget

Longer than the rest but so good. It's intense at times, emotional, still fun and if carries through to the end of the epilogue.

This book is hilarious, will get you invested deeply, and will keep you guessing. While it doesn't require knowledge of D&D, Morrowind, or Warframe my basic understanding of those universes really enriched my comprehension of some of the mechanics.