The Gate of the Feral Gods – Matt Dinniman
At this point, I’ve accepted that reading this series means two things: I’m going to laugh out loud multiple times, and I’m also going to get completely lost in the mechanics of the dungeon at least once per chapter.
“The Gate of the Feral Gods” is probably the most video game entry so far, in both good and bad ways. For once, it feels like there’s an actual structure holding everything together — even if everything inside that structure is, naturally, pure chaos.
I’m also increasingly convinced that the even-numbered books are just better.
What I liked
This is one of the more cohesive entries in terms of the main quest. The four castles setup gives the story some direction, and for a while, it actually feels like Carl and Donut are working toward something tangible instead of bouncing between side quests.
It’s also one of the more fun books, at least on the surface. There’s a definite Indiana Jones and Super Mario Bros. 2 vibe, and some genuinely funny moments, especially from Donut, who continues to be the best part of the series.
At the same time, the darker undercurrent is getting stronger. The mental tax of the dungeon — especially for crawlers who aren’t backed by wealth or audience favor — is starting to come into focus in a way the earlier books only hinted at.
There are also some standout developments:
Katia really stepping into a leadership role
The AI getting glitchier, more hostile and honestly more interesting
The continued unraveling of the larger system and Carl’s growing ability to push back
Per usual, the last ~50 pages absolutely rip.
What I didn’t like
These books are just too bloated.
There’s a great 350-page version of this somewhere, but instead we get nearly 600-pages of complicated details, side quests and increasingly convoluted mythology. I’ve accepted that the systems are fluid, but at a certain point it stops being immersive and just becomes frustrating to the reader.
This is especially true in the back half, where things start to drag. The Ghost of Quetzalcoatlus, the minor deity, Samantha, in a sex doll body, the sand ooze child — it all tips from weird (good) into ridiculous (less good). Samantha in particular feels like a step backward into something more juvenile in a book that otherwise feels like it’s maturing.
A lot of the new characters also feel disposable. There are so many NPCs and one-off storylines that it’s hard to stay invested in any of them. The sole standout here being Juice Box, the shapeshifter.
While I’m used to getting lost in the details at this point, this is the first book where I wasn’t really hungry to keep going. I trust Matt Dinniman will connect the dots — he always does — but I don’t love how much work it takes to get there.
What I’m hoping moving forward
At this point, I don’t need the world to get bigger, it needs to get tighter.
I’d love to see more focus on the core characters and less on piling on new gods and side quests that may or may not matter later.
This book also introduced a whole slew of new characters, but I’d rather have more continuity with the characters that do work. Katia’s arc is getting interesting, Donut is consistently great and the glimpses we’re getting of the broader politics are far more engaging than another layer of dungeon logic.
And selfishly, I want fewer things I need to diagram in my head.
Spoilers [do not read on unless you’ve finished the book]
Carl opening the gate to escape the octo-shark and accidentally unleashing a blind fire god (who is, somehow, just trying to find his son’s puppy) is exactly the kind of bonkers escalation this series thrives on. The fact that the “puppy” is a massive two-headed monster that everyone else is incentivized to kill is peak “Dungeon Crawler Carl” logic.
The tribunal after killing Loita, the escalating conflict with Quan (including Carl literally ripping off his arm) and Katia deciding to go her own way all feel like meaningful turning points — even if they’re buried under a lot of noise.
The biggest hook, though, is the reveal that hunters are pulling Earth survivors into the dungeon, and that Bea and Ferdinand are now part of that system, with Odette behind it. That’s the kind of larger narrative thread I want more of.
Spoilers ended
For the “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret” bonus material, we meet Cock-a-Doodle-Doo, a hamster from Earth who was captured and thrown into the melee the AI unleashed on Carl to force him to squish more creatures with his feet.
The hamster is intelligent and remembers life before the dungeon, so there are some interesting observations about the NPCs and the world. But at this length (about 10-pages), it doesn’t give us much to work with or enough time to feel invested in what could be a compelling concurrent storyline.
Final thoughts
Even with the bloat, the series is working for me more often than not. I’m invested enough to keep going, and diving into this world has become a nice distraction.
I just wish getting there didn’t feel quite so much like…a grind.
Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): N/A
Format: Hardcover (personal library)
Dates read: February 22 – March 17, 2026
Multi-tasking: N/A
