I just finished the book Dungeon Hacks by David Craddock, which is a fun history of the early days of roguelikes—encompassing Rogue itself, Nethack, Angband, Moria, and the like…roguelikes had never “clicked” for me, though I wanted keenly to “get” DCSS when I’d played it previously.

I think I get it now! I’ve been playing Brogue, which I understand to be a bit more barebones than DCSS (eg no classes) and I’m loving it. I’ve been saving DCSS to savor it once I’ve really grokked roguelikes a bit more, this might be the cosmic sign / push I need to make the transition :)