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Dungeon Crawler Carl #8
A Parade of Horribles
Not yet published
Expected 12 May 26It’s off to the races for Carl and Donut in the eighth book in the New York Times bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series.
Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat Princess Donut must compete in increasingly difficult and unhinged challenges in order to survive the tenth floor of the dungeon.
Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat Princess Donut must compete in increasingly difficult and unhinged challenges in order to survive the tenth floor of the dungeon.
704 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication May 12, 2026
236 people are currently reading
37710 people want to read
About the author
Matt Dinniman
36 books16.1k followersMatt Dinniman is the best-selling writer and artist from Gig Harbor, Washington. He is the published author of dozens of short stories and a gaggle of books. In addition, his art publications—from greeting cards to stationery kits to calendars—can be found in boutique and stationery shops around the world. Also, he strongly feels like a pretentious twat when he writes about himself in third person.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
March 12, 2025
"Mongo shrieks with excitement!" 🦖
Want to read
June 5, 2025i think about this book at least 50 times a day and i question what i'm supposed to do with life until it is in my hands. i have never needed a book so bad or wanted a year to pass by in the blink of an eye more than i do now when it comes to carl's book of boom
Want to read
November 6, 2025i can't believe i am actually caught up :[
1.) Dungeon Crawler Carl ★★★★★
2.) Carl's Doomsday Scenario ★★★★
3.) The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook ★★★
4.) The Gate of the Feral Gods ★★★★
5.) The Butcher's Masquerade ★★★★★
6.) The Eye of the Bedlam Bride ★★★
7.) This Inevitable Ruin ★★★
1.) Dungeon Crawler Carl ★★★★★
2.) Carl's Doomsday Scenario ★★★★
3.) The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook ★★★
4.) The Gate of the Feral Gods ★★★★
5.) The Butcher's Masquerade ★★★★★
6.) The Eye of the Bedlam Bride ★★★
7.) This Inevitable Ruin ★★★
Want to read
September 24, 2025matt hurry up I'm dyin over here
Want to read
March 24, 2025Will this be the last book of the series, or are there more books planned?
Want to read
January 14, 2026A+ cover, no notes. Love the colors. Love the tiny Sir Rendlegore, and the judgmental Donut in her sunglasses. Happy to see also that Carl still has his luscious locks. Don't know why there's a truck with a chicken on it, but happy to find out.
Want to read
October 8, 2025I fear I will become insufferable the day this releases
Want to read
November 6, 2025I am not embarrassed to admit - I started this series in June 2025 - and have since listened to books 1-7 - TWICE as of November 2025. I don't know what to do with myself without Carl & Donut. I need this book yesterday. May is so far away...
Want to read
October 27, 2025Really sad this is no longer titled Carl's Book 0' Boom.
February 8, 2026
*Patreon Reader*
Uh, Carl? Are you fucking sure? Holy shit.
Uh, Carl? Are you fucking sure? Holy shit.
Review of advance copy
I just re read the entire series to prep for this next book. I cannot wait until May, it seems forever away.
February 20, 2026
For the sake of spoilers I will say nothing except this is the best one.
February 9, 2026
Unity, support, family, and kneecapping bitches.
Want to read
January 22, 2026Due in May 2026...
Pending... pending... pending... pending...
Pending... pending... pending... pending...
October 2, 2025
June 2026 is TOO FAR AWAY. Dear Matt you have to understand that some of us want time to slow down because we don’t want to get old but if this is going to come in JUNE 2026!!!! I WOULD TURN THE CLOCK RIGHT NOW. Please give🥺🥺
Want to read
January 18, 2026DONUT: MATT WE'RE WAITING, MATT. REALLY, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE, THIS WAITING!
Read
February 16, 2026if you haven't read the series yet you need to.
yesterday.
yesterday.
February 20, 2026
oh my god
Review of advance copy received from Author
I was able to read the first posting of this as a Patreon member. Its pretty good. I'll be interested to hear the audiobook because Jeff Hayes is brilliant and there are fucking songs in this one. I think I know how the series is going to end...but I'm not going to say anything here.
Want to read
December 1, 2025Hey matt we waiting over here man
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is a provisional review based on the advanced draft Matt published on his Patreon.
Overall, this is the weakest book of the series. It certainly doesn't hit as hard emotionally as books five, six, and seven. But it's still entertaining, and it ends with a banger of a climax that sets us up for a barn-burning final two volumes (which Matt has tentatively titled The Beautiful Place, Vol I and II). Since the last two books are probably going to be almost non-stop over-the-top crazy shiznit, it does kinda make sense that the first half of this one would be a bit of a breather, in terms of series-scale pacing and tension.
A Parade of Horribles gets us through the 10th and 11th floors of the dungeon. The 10th floor has a racing theme that pits teams of crawlers against teams of NPCs in a series of 7 heats, but as teams are eliminated (permanently), crawler teams get matched up against other crawler teams. Carl feels responsible for saving as many crawlers as possible, so he and his buddies devise plans to prevent as many crawler-against-crawler matchups as they can. Meanwhile, things with the AI and the rest of the galaxy are spiraling into chaos both inside and outside the dungeon.
The first half of this book feels unbalanced. It feels like we now have too many characters and not enough page time for them all. Many of our favorite characters feel like they have accrued plot armor by now. Each race is entertaining, but by this point in the series, these individual challenges feel like distractions from the larger story arc of galactic crisis and Carl's role as an unlikely mashup of Spartacus and Che Guevara.
That said, the larger arc is not entirely absent, and the second half of this book picks up pace and presents some horrific dilemmas that make you wonder whether maybe Carl's friends are finally fucked. Finally, the 11th floor pays off at least one of our long-running quests, and we end up with the kind of gargantuan boss battle that, frankly, I didn't think we'd get until the final volume of the entire series.
I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Carl survives to see the 12th floor (though I won't spoil who else makes it or doesn't make it), and even the AI is impressed with how he does it, awarding an entirely New Achievement: "What The Actual Fuck, Carl?"
I'm looking forward to the Jeff Hays audio version of the published edition of this book, which I imagine will be better than the draft manuscript I've been reading a few chapters at a time over the last year or so. And beyond that, can't wait to see how Matt pulls off the series climax in the last couple of books. (Also, I'm interested to see if he can actually do it within two volumes, or if he might need to add more. I'm sure the publishers — and probably readers — wouldn't mind if the series went on a little longer....)
Overall, this is the weakest book of the series. It certainly doesn't hit as hard emotionally as books five, six, and seven. But it's still entertaining, and it ends with a banger of a climax that sets us up for a barn-burning final two volumes (which Matt has tentatively titled The Beautiful Place, Vol I and II). Since the last two books are probably going to be almost non-stop over-the-top crazy shiznit, it does kinda make sense that the first half of this one would be a bit of a breather, in terms of series-scale pacing and tension.
A Parade of Horribles gets us through the 10th and 11th floors of the dungeon. The 10th floor has a racing theme that pits teams of crawlers against teams of NPCs in a series of 7 heats, but as teams are eliminated (permanently), crawler teams get matched up against other crawler teams. Carl feels responsible for saving as many crawlers as possible, so he and his buddies devise plans to prevent as many crawler-against-crawler matchups as they can. Meanwhile, things with the AI and the rest of the galaxy are spiraling into chaos both inside and outside the dungeon.
The first half of this book feels unbalanced. It feels like we now have too many characters and not enough page time for them all. Many of our favorite characters feel like they have accrued plot armor by now. Each race is entertaining, but by this point in the series, these individual challenges feel like distractions from the larger story arc of galactic crisis and Carl's role as an unlikely mashup of Spartacus and Che Guevara.
That said, the larger arc is not entirely absent, and the second half of this book picks up pace and presents some horrific dilemmas that make you wonder whether maybe Carl's friends are finally fucked. Finally, the 11th floor pays off at least one of our long-running quests, and we end up with the kind of gargantuan boss battle that, frankly, I didn't think we'd get until the final volume of the entire series.
I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Carl survives to see the 12th floor (though I won't spoil who else makes it or doesn't make it), and even the AI is impressed with how he does it, awarding an entirely New Achievement: "What The Actual Fuck, Carl?"
I'm looking forward to the Jeff Hays audio version of the published edition of this book, which I imagine will be better than the draft manuscript I've been reading a few chapters at a time over the last year or so. And beyond that, can't wait to see how Matt pulls off the series climax in the last couple of books. (Also, I'm interested to see if he can actually do it within two volumes, or if he might need to add more. I'm sure the publishers — and probably readers — wouldn't mind if the series went on a little longer....)
Review of advance copy received from Author
Getting to read book 8 as it unfolds on Patreon has been a truly unique, communal experience and worth every penny. Reading through this series, every book has had me wondering how Dinniman will top the next. After This Inevitable Ruin and the insanity of Faction Wars... how? But holy f*** he does it. Just... damn. I'm still processing. I'll probably still be processing when I reread for the audio release in May. Damn. So many highs. Even the lows were effin' highs.
It's amazing to see how far the survivors have come, how strong they are... and how little that matters in the face of the rules of the floor. In many ways this is a spiritual successor to The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, when crawlers' hands were tied by the game mechanics and the AI kept trying to push them into conflict with each other. Only their ingenuity and indominable spirit keep them going. So many cool and crazy things, so many twists I could never have imagined. And yet, looking back, everything was well seeded.
We also get a LOT of lore in this book. I need to reread. Slower. We meet several new characters--mostly new NPCs but also a few formerly 2D crawler get fleshed out. Several of the biggest highs and worst lows come from new characters. My favorite though, is just how much quality Prepotente time we get in this volume.
And damn. Just damn. WTF Carl? WTF Dinniman? Book 9 can't come fast enough.
It's amazing to see how far the survivors have come, how strong they are... and how little that matters in the face of the rules of the floor. In many ways this is a spiritual successor to The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, when crawlers' hands were tied by the game mechanics and the AI kept trying to push them into conflict with each other. Only their ingenuity and indominable spirit keep them going. So many cool and crazy things, so many twists I could never have imagined. And yet, looking back, everything was well seeded.
We also get a LOT of lore in this book. I need to reread. Slower. We meet several new characters--mostly new NPCs but also a few formerly 2D crawler get fleshed out. Several of the biggest highs and worst lows come from new characters. My favorite though, is just how much quality Prepotente time we get in this volume.
And damn. Just damn. WTF Carl? WTF Dinniman? Book 9 can't come fast enough.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I absolutely loved this book, the eighth in the series. Dinniman is the ultimate comfort read that makes me laugh and enjoy reading just for the sake of reading. This is my literary equivalent of Gossip Girl.
I won't give any spoilers before release, but I was pleasantly surprised in the way Dinniman avoided too much 'character bloat', which seemed prevalent in the last book in the series (unavoidably so). Each time I read a new book I find myself having to reread the whole series again just to remember what characters look like. It might help to thread in one or two defining phrases of imagery that can be used for the characters just to help remind the readers the different between Miriam, Brittany, Imani, Lucia, Elle, etc. Most of these characters stand out on their own, but in larger scenes it is sometimes difficult to recall which character looks like what.
At the same time, I liked how each floor of the dungeon has a different theme and idea, and there seems to be a never-ending well of creativity with how many times these characters can do what is essentially the same thing, try to survive until they get to the next floor. The immense complexity of the dungeon rules makes it extremely hard to guess what might happen at any point, and this is definitely the case with this book specifically.
Overall, Book 8 ties up a lot of questions that I had and develops the outer-dungeon plot in a way that I wasn't expecting. You can see Dinniman lining up this series to finish sometime in the next book or two. I feel like the ending will be satisfying, as all of the books so far have been great reads.
I won't give any spoilers before release, but I was pleasantly surprised in the way Dinniman avoided too much 'character bloat', which seemed prevalent in the last book in the series (unavoidably so). Each time I read a new book I find myself having to reread the whole series again just to remember what characters look like. It might help to thread in one or two defining phrases of imagery that can be used for the characters just to help remind the readers the different between Miriam, Brittany, Imani, Lucia, Elle, etc. Most of these characters stand out on their own, but in larger scenes it is sometimes difficult to recall which character looks like what.
At the same time, I liked how each floor of the dungeon has a different theme and idea, and there seems to be a never-ending well of creativity with how many times these characters can do what is essentially the same thing, try to survive until they get to the next floor. The immense complexity of the dungeon rules makes it extremely hard to guess what might happen at any point, and this is definitely the case with this book specifically.
Overall, Book 8 ties up a lot of questions that I had and develops the outer-dungeon plot in a way that I wasn't expecting. You can see Dinniman lining up this series to finish sometime in the next book or two. I feel like the ending will be satisfying, as all of the books so far have been great reads.
Review of advance copy received from Author
[ADVANCE COPY REVIEW]
"You will not break me."
There's a gradual shift in the tenor of DCC from LitRPG hijinks (skills! loot boxes! mobs!) to a more contemplative rumination of what it means to be human and maintain your sense of self and your sense of community in times of extreme duress and oppression. We start to see that shift after the Butcher's Masquerade yet I think A Parade of Horribles is when we concretely understand this isn't just a game anymore. The 10th level mechanism is simplistic which allows for the story development to flourish. This does not mean, however, that the mechanics of the game take a backseat - on the contrary, the butterfly effect of the Crawlers trying to break the dungeon and bend the rules of the game is what moves this story forward. I wouldn't be surprised if we move forward outside of the dungeon to wrap up this series. 5/5, will re-read advance copy, listen to the audiobook, and read the official copy in May.
"You will not break me."
There's a gradual shift in the tenor of DCC from LitRPG hijinks (skills! loot boxes! mobs!) to a more contemplative rumination of what it means to be human and maintain your sense of self and your sense of community in times of extreme duress and oppression. We start to see that shift after the Butcher's Masquerade yet I think A Parade of Horribles is when we concretely understand this isn't just a game anymore. The 10th level mechanism is simplistic which allows for the story development to flourish. This does not mean, however, that the mechanics of the game take a backseat - on the contrary, the butterfly effect of the Crawlers trying to break the dungeon and bend the rules of the game is what moves this story forward. I wouldn't be surprised if we move forward outside of the dungeon to wrap up this series. 5/5, will re-read advance copy, listen to the audiobook, and read the official copy in May.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Read an advanced version through Patreon. I’ll give an overall spoiler free review but will give an overview of the premise:
The book is fantastic. A great build on book 7 with the usual carnage and chaos you expect from Carl and Donut.
The theme of this floor is a whacky races / Mario Kart setup with the book taking place over multiple heats.
The catch is that one racer is eliminated from each heat.
Get prepared to be emotionally damaged and to laugh out loud at the interactions of the crawlers. There’s a scene that takes place in a bar around midway through which is my particular highlight that had me grinning ear to ear.
I don’t have any criticism - I enjoyed it throughout and as always the end quarter was an absolute roller coaster with the resolution feeling fair and hinted at throughout.
Thank you Matt for sharing with your Patreon subscribers and I can’t wait for the re-read (and listen!) this May.
The book is fantastic. A great build on book 7 with the usual carnage and chaos you expect from Carl and Donut.
The theme of this floor is a whacky races / Mario Kart setup with the book taking place over multiple heats.
The catch is that one racer is eliminated from each heat.
Get prepared to be emotionally damaged and to laugh out loud at the interactions of the crawlers. There’s a scene that takes place in a bar around midway through which is my particular highlight that had me grinning ear to ear.
I don’t have any criticism - I enjoyed it throughout and as always the end quarter was an absolute roller coaster with the resolution feeling fair and hinted at throughout.
Thank you Matt for sharing with your Patreon subscribers and I can’t wait for the re-read (and listen!) this May.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
*Patreon reader*
Oof, this is a good one.
We get back to more of the achievements and AI musings, while also progressing the story. Book 7 had A LOT going on so it felt like some of that magic was harder to find, but it’s all over this one.
The story itself is a page turner. I wasn’t sure about the racing idea at first, but it worked well. It was much better than the cards of book 6.
I’m bummed I decided to read it early because holy crap do I want book 9 already!
This one is a roller coaster of emotions and had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.
There are some editing errors that need to be cleaned up for the release, but the story itself is really progressing
Oof, this is a good one.
We get back to more of the achievements and AI musings, while also progressing the story. Book 7 had A LOT going on so it felt like some of that magic was harder to find, but it’s all over this one.
The story itself is a page turner. I wasn’t sure about the racing idea at first, but it worked well. It was much better than the cards of book 6.
I’m bummed I decided to read it early because holy crap do I want book 9 already!
This one is a roller coaster of emotions and had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.
There are some editing errors that need to be cleaned up for the release, but the story itself is really progressing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Matt hits it out of the park again. Parade of Horribles is a fantastic book, continuing the excellent Dungeon Crawler Carl series and setting up for the series to wrap up in the next couple books.
As per usual, it's a new floor, and everything changes. The AI remains unhinged, but continues to awaken to it's own reality. This book adds a lot of backstory behind the AI, how it came to be, and how the syndicate itself came to control the AIs. Carl continues to be complete chaos, and rejects every attempt to reign him in.
As per usual, it's a new floor, and everything changes. The AI remains unhinged, but continues to awaken to it's own reality. This book adds a lot of backstory behind the AI, how it came to be, and how the syndicate itself came to control the AIs. Carl continues to be complete chaos, and rejects every attempt to reign him in.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Didn't really care for the racing theme, but others will likely eat that up. In the end, it was just another way to mess with the crawlers. Carl and Donut (and everyone else) are definitely wearing down. I hope this ends well for all of them; they've fought so long and so far. One thing you can say for the Dungeon, though, nothing is static. There's no way to get used to something, because just as you do, something new comes along and smacks you upside. Many things happen - as always - and spoilers would just ruin everything. Two more books to go.
Review of advance copy
I got early access to this book via Patreon, and wow was it so worth it. This book is phenomenal (and YESSSS i was right about the AI!!) and the 10th floor was a wild ride.
we get to see some excerpts from the books donut and carl have, that the other crawlers left spells in thanks to milk in book 7, and even though its only maybe 2 pages, those excerpts really evoke a lot of emotion.
cant wait to see what we get in book 9!! especially with a certain in love crawler.
we get to see some excerpts from the books donut and carl have, that the other crawlers left spells in thanks to milk in book 7, and even though its only maybe 2 pages, those excerpts really evoke a lot of emotion.
cant wait to see what we get in book 9!! especially with a certain in love crawler.
Review of advance copy
I read the advanced copy, available from Matt's Patreon. The pace and vibe of this one are very different to the previous book, but that variety is something I really enjoy about this series. It's more of the same DCC that you love, and I mean that in the best way possible, considering the quality of the series. Holy S**t I can't wait for the next book.
My only complaint is that it wasn't longer!
My only complaint is that it wasn't longer!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews