The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

I am officially whole-heartedly hooked on this series, and listening to the audiobooks alongside my person made this a 10/10 experience! These books are his happy place, and seeing his face light up—plus having him pause every now and then to act as my personal D&D translator when the gaming mechanics got complex—made reading this together absolute perfection.

What Made Floor 4 So Addictive:

• The Subway System from Hell: Floor 4 throws Carl, Donut, and the rest of the crawlers into “The Iron Tangle”—a giant, nightmarish, knot of interdimensional train tracks where the floor layout changes constantly. Watching them navigate moving trains, runaway tracks, and lethal traps was total edge-of-your-seat chaos.
• The Anarchist’s Cookbook: The introduction of the Cookbook itself takes the story to a whole new level. Finding the hidden notes left behind by past crawlers adds a deeper, more rebellious layer to Carl’s strategy. It isn’t just about surviving anymore; it’s about breaking the game.
• Donut, Mongo, & The Dynamic: Donut continues to completely steal the show (Mongo is appalled!), and the bond between Carl and his cat remains the beating heart of the story through all the dark, ridiculous violence.
• God-Tier Narration: Jeff Hays is an absolute wizard. His range, comedic timing, and emotional delivery make this feel less like a standard audiobook and more like a full cinematic production.

The Verdict:

Hilarious, surprisingly heart-wrenching, and unbelievably fun to experience with someone else. We finished this back in early July and immediately devoured Book 4 right after—I am just wildly slacking on posting my reviews, but what else is new!

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman