In my opinion, The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook is the point at which this series really takes off and comes into its own. Prior to this, it’s still very good, but you miss the continuity from hunt to hunt and the community that builds around Carl. This book is where we first meet Katia, who is critical to that sense of community. I believe it’s also the first time we meet Prepotente, but everything before Gate of the Feral Gods blurs together to me so much that I kind of struggle to keep it clear and different. Oh, and we also get the return of Team Meadowlark, including the new and improved Ellie (stay frosty, boys!)
After meeting Dinniman, one thing I’m shocked about is how important, but more importantly, how consistent is the material around the Cookbook. This becomes one of the most important items in the series, and it turns out it was selected with a Patreon poll! It’s difficult to imagine how the 7th book would unfold without the Cookbook’s presence. I think it’s a testament to his talent as a writer that he can take something like a random poll and make all of it feel completely planned out. Apparently very little of this series starts out as planned and he tracks everything in a massive spreadsheet in order to keep consistently. Everything that gets serialized into the story happens in the moment and not a moment before, which as someone who struggles to get through writing before wanting to change it, terrifies me.
DCC book 3 continues the trend of being absolutely fantastic. Read it you cowards.
