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Series · LitRPG / science fantasy

Dungeon Crawler Carl

by Matt Dinniman

The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman has 8 known books (8 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is A Parade of Horribles.

Books
8 known books (8 novels)
Published
8
First published
2020
Status
ongoing
Shelved under
Science Fiction, Fantasy
Last checked

Start here: Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl

Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Dungeon Crawler Carl

    Novel

    Dungeon Crawler Carl opens Matt Dinniman's LitRPG / science fantasy series of the same name, published on 21 September 2020 at 465 pages. It's followed by Carl's Doomsday Scenario, the second of eight books published so far in an ongoing series.

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  2. Carl's Doomsday Scenario

    Novel

    Carl's Doomsday Scenario is the second book in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, published on 2 January 2021. It follows Dungeon Crawler Carl and precedes The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook.

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  3. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

    Novel

    The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook is the third entry in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, published on 19 March 2021. It follows Carl's Doomsday Scenario and precedes The Gate of the Feral Gods.

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  4. The Gate of the Feral Gods

    Novel

    The Gate of the Feral Gods is the fourth book in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, published on 14 June 2021 at 586 pages. It follows The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook and precedes The Butcher's Masquerade.

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  5. The Butcher's Masquerade

    Novel

    The Butcher's Masquerade is the fifth entry in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, published on 19 February 2022 at 744 pages. It follows The Gate of the Feral Gods and precedes The Eye of the Bedlam Bride.

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  6. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

    Novel

    The Eye of the Bedlam Bride is the sixth book in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, published on 14 June 2023 at 762 pages. It follows The Butcher's Masquerade and precedes This Inevitable Ruin.

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  7. This Inevitable Ruin

    Novel

    This Inevitable Ruin is the seventh entry in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, published on 7 November 2024 at 801 pages. It follows The Eye of the Bedlam Bride and precedes A Parade of Horribles.

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  8. A Parade of Horribles

    Novel

    A Parade of Horribles is, as of this catalogue, the eighth and most recent book in Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, published on 12 May 2026 at 704 pages. It follows This Inevitable Ruin in a series that has run continuously since 2020.

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About the Dungeon Crawler Carl series

When alien real-estate developers demolish every building on Earth to make way for a galaxy-spanning dungeon, unemployed Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut are among the handful of survivors dragged into the crawl: a rules-lawyered, ad-sponsored, deliberately lethal game show broadcast to billions of alien viewers across the galaxy, complete with levels, loot, character sheets and a mercilessly gamified system of stats and perks. Surviving means beating floor after floor of monsters, traps and rival crawlers while building an audience — because in this dungeon, viewer approval is itself a resource, and the games' alien producers are always looking for a better story.

Matt Dinniman's series is LitRPG at its most gleefully unhinged: profane, very funny, structurally inventive (Princess Donut gets full point-of-view chapters as a foul-mouthed, increasingly self-aware fantasy cat), and surprisingly sharp about reality-TV exploitation and corporate cruelty underneath the video-game trappings. It became one of the biggest self-published/indie fantasy hits of the 2020s, propelled by audiobook narrator Jeff Hays's performance as much as the books themselves, and Matt Dinniman has confirmed the story is heading toward a planned ending with its ninth entry, to be split across two books.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series?

Eight books have been published so far, from Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020) to A Parade of Horribles (2026). Author Matt Dinniman has confirmed the series will end with a ninth entry, split across two books, both still unreleased.

What order should I read Dungeon Crawler Carl in?

Publication order, starting with Dungeon Crawler Carl. The series is one continuous story told across successive dungeon floors, with no side books or alternate order to consider.

Is Dungeon Crawler Carl finished?

Not yet. It's ongoing, but Matt Dinniman has said the story is heading toward a planned ending in a ninth entry that will be split into two books; neither has a confirmed title or release date as of this writing.

Is Dungeon Crawler Carl a LitRPG series?

Yes — it uses explicit game mechanics (levels, stats, loot, character sheets) as part of the story, combined with satirical reality-TV and corporate-dystopia elements, making it one of the best-known series in the modern LitRPG boom.

Do I need to listen to the audiobooks?

No, the print and ebook editions stand on their own, but narrator Jeff Hays's audiobook performances (including voicing Princess Donut) are widely credited with helping the series break out, and many fans consider them the preferred way to experience it.

Reading order last verified .