“You’re wearing a mask right now, Donut, and you don’t know how to remove it. That’s okay. You don’t need to. Not yet. That mask is protecting you.”
“Read Dungeon Crawler Carl”, they said. “It’ll be fun”, they said. Okay but can someone then please explain to me why The Butcher’s Masquerade had me choked up multiple times? Why my anxiety was just running wild the entire time? Why this silly ass book made me FEEL so damn much?!?!? Truly, what a fun time, I am totally fine…
Now, I have truly enjoyed every single instalment in the DCC series so far (way more than I ever thought I would honestly), but I can’t deny that The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook and The Gate of the Feral Gods were both a bit of a chaotic, bumpy ride for me despite their high entertainment factor. I mean, I was almost starting to worry that I was losing my passion for this crazy series… and then The Butcher’s Masquerade entered the chat. We have now (safely?) arrived at the Hunting Grounds, and so Dinniman apparently decided it was time to turn into a Hunter himself and come for all our hearts. This book is pure GAS, no notes, perfection.
First of all, Princess Donut absolutely fucking steals the show in The Butcher’s Masquerade. Okay yes, she always steals the show, but this is just some next level shit. She’s SO much more complex and clever than anyone, including Carl, could ever have expected, and some of her lines in this book are so iconic that I’d consider tattooing them on my body. Viva la revolución, babyyy!
But it’s not just Donut who gets her time to shine, it’s the entire cast of these messy, weird, and broken (but not defeated) characters who just absolutely rock here. See, the set-up of this level of the dungeon is still insanely wild and crazy in the best way possible, but I feel like Dinniman really struck the perfect balance between the action and the emotion in The Butcher’s Masquerade. For me, this series has always been about the characters, and I think that this instalment objectively has the best character moments with the biggest emotional weight and pay-off in the entire series so far.
Especially the reunion with a certain special someone from Carl and Donut’s past (that I had been waiting for since book 1) had me all in my feels and turned out to be even more wickedly satisfying than I ever could have imagined. But then there were also some truly brutal moments that came out of absolutely nowhere and somehow had the audacity to get me way more emotional than I would probably like to admit (Miriam… Prepotente!!). Dinniman just keeps surprising me with the level of depth and nuance that is to be found in this silly series, and the exploration of trauma, loss, sacrifice, resilience, rebellion, oppression, loyalty and love in all its complicated glory is way more hard-hitting than I ever could have imagined. Again, I thought I was here to have fun… help?!?!?
Okay no but really, The Butcher’s Masquerade might be the most tragically sad instalment in the series so far, but at the same time it’s arguably also the most hysterically funny one, and I love that this story never loses its heart and ridiculously high fun factor. I mean, we’ve got Donut becoming a Legendary Diva and entering her singing career, Mongo’s promiscuous adventures with other dinosaurs (“That hussy took advantage of my Mongo!”, I DIED), a comic con segment with the most wildly insane interactions, and a true shitshow of a masquerade party that goes absolutely tits up, to no one’s surprise. Oh and I don’t want to talk about how or why a decapitated sex doll head is one of my favourite characters in this series; if Samantha has no fans, I am dead.
And sure, there were still some moments of absolute chaos where Carl’s crazy scheming and unhinged problem solving abilities had my brain cracking from confusion, but ultimately I just can’t deny that The Butcher’s Masquerade was one hell of an engaging emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. This is easily my favourite book in the series so far, and the diabolical ending once again left me equal parts distraught, nervous and wildly excited to see where things go next. The stakes really are higher than ever before now, and I am so ready for the emotional turmoil. Can’t stop, won’t stop, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series has my heart.
