Dungeon Crawler Carl: Is It Worth Starting, and in What Order?
In short: Read in publication order; it's one continuous story. There are eight books, the latest being A Parade of Horribles (May 12, 2026). Carl and Princess Donut, his ex-girlfriend's talking cat, must survive a deadly alien game show broadcast across the galaxy. Funny, brutal and surprisingly moving. Peacock has ordered a TV series from Seth MacFarlane's company.
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- Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020)
- Carl's Doomsday Scenario (2021)
- The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook (2021)
- The Gate of the Feral Gods (2021)
- The Butcher's Masquerade (2022)
- The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (2023)
- This Inevitable Ruin (2024)
- A Parade of Horribles (May 12, 2026)
What it is
Aliens destroy Earth's surface and turn the survivors into contestants in a galaxy-wide reality show: a multi-level dungeon full of monsters, traps and sponsors. Carl, a former Coast Guard mechanic, and Princess Donut, a pampered show cat who gains the power of speech, try to stay alive and stay human. It's a LitRPG, with levels, loot and status screens, but you don't need to know the genre.
Is it worth starting?
Yes, if you like dark comedy with heart. The humour is crude and fast, but the books also deal seriously with grief and resistance, and the cast deepens as it goes. Matt Dinniman first self-published the series, and its audiobook success brought it to a mainstream publisher.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Dungeon Crawler Carl TV show? It's in development. Peacock ordered a series from Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door, with Eric Heisserer and Chris Yost as showrunners. No premiere date had been announced as of October 2026.
Should I read or listen to Dungeon Crawler Carl? Many fans recommend the audiobooks, narrated by Jeff Hays, which use a full range of voices and effects. Either works.
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