Every Dungeon Crawler Carl Book, Ranked

Published Sep 24, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT Carrie is a Senior Writer at ScreenRant who previously managed Geek to Geek Media and wrote for SwitchRPG. She is particularly knowledgeable when it comes to WoW, Diablo, and cozy games. She has a passion for supporting the indies and always enjoys sharing her passions with others through her writing. Topping all the book charts and TBR piles, the massively popular LitRPG series Dungeon Crawler Carl seems to have taken the world by storm in recent months. Author Matt Dinniman's creative take on the apocalypse is a unique one and blends wonderful humor alongside a dark dystopian tragedy. After the destruction of Earth as we know it, Carl and his now-talking cat, Princess Donut, find themselves on an intergalactic reality show that focuses on the death of humanity. Survivors must try to fight their way through floors of a massive dungeon located under Earth's surface while gaining their own new skills and levels like a video game brought to life. The series currently has eight books in it, although Dinniman says there is at least one more coming. The final book may have to be split into two, but the series is nearing its finale either way. All eight of the available books have impressive ratings, none of which go below 4 stars according to Goodreads collection of reader ratings and reviews. Curious which books have been the biggest hits? We were too, and therefore this list was born. 8 The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook Book 3, 4.38/5 Stars One might expect the first book in the series to have the lowest score simply due to readers who don't stick with the series reading it and reviewing it. Surprisingly, in the case of Dungeon Crawler Carl, it's the third book that has the lowest rating. Of course, this "lowest rating" still comes in at 4.38 out of 5 stars for The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook. According to the majority of reviews on Goodreads, the main reason for this book having a slightly lower fanbase is that the humor was a bit less apparent in the story, and the Iron Tangle could get a bit difficult to follow while reading. Of course, the Iron Tangle was supposed to be confusing, as it certainly was for the characters as well. Regardless, the book also serves to set up a lot of mechanisms and plot for future books in the series. 7 Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1, 4.43/5 Stars As I mentioned previously, it's common for the first book in a series that has seen viral success to end up getting the lowest scores. Many readers who haven't read the genre before and wouldn't normally pick up a book like this may grab it simply due to the viral trend that it's caused. Therefore, while the initial book, Dungeon Crawler Carl, does come in at the second least popular with a star rating of 4.43, it isn't necessarily the second worst. This book has over 200,000 more recorded ratings than its sequel, and over twice the number of reviews. Lower-rated reviews for this book seem to be pretty consistently made up of people who state that the writing and plot just aren't for them, which is absolutely natural. 6 Carl's Doomsday Scenario Book 2, 4.47/5 Stars Carl's Doomsday Scenario is the second book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and essentially kicks off the real dungeoneering of the plot. As the synopsis states, "the training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin." This book introduces readers to a lot of the reality of this reality television show that Carl and Donut are learning about, and starts to lay a lot of the foundations for things that could end up playing a large role in the ending of the series eventually. For some readers who gave it lower ratings, it seems that they often felt that the story wasn't as much fun as the first book was, and many didn't appreciate that the themes in the books were becoming darker. 5 The Gate Of The Feral Gods Book 4, 4.53/5 Stars The fourth book in the series, The Gate of the Feral Gods, is where it feels as though Dinniman really reaches his stride. Just as those who are in charge of the dungeon seem to catch on to what Carl and other crawlers are doing and mix things up by separating people by bubbles, Dinniman helps readers focus in on certain characters and personalities as Carl and a small group is cut off from large areas. Also, coming off of the confusing tangle that was the Iron Tangle in book 3, readers who keep going to this point find themselves getting more invested without trying to puzzle out where people are. Most of the readers who left even three-star reviews admitted that they still liked it a lot, showing how the series continues to grow and improve with each book. 4 A Parade Of Horribles Book 8, 4.61/5 Stars Next up, we take a massive jump to the most recent release, A Parade of Horribles. The eighth book in the series, and one that just released this year, we certainly don't want to give any spoilers here. A lot of the overarching plot points of the series are coming to the forefront in this volume as we head towards the finale of the series, making things a bit darker and at higher stakes than ever. With the emotional baggage that the characters are struggling under and the depth of the storylines as we get to the end of the series, it naturally felt a bit darker for many readers. Dinniman has said that this series is a tragedy rather than a comedy, and this book seems to be driving that point home more. In that same thread, many of the things that readers have been eagerly watching and waiting for are coming to the surface in A Parade of Horribles. Throughout the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, many things have led up to this. Readers are excitedly left on the edge of our seats waiting for the next entry. 3 The Eye Of The Bedlam Bride Book 6, 4.63/5 Stars Anyone who has a serious aversion to spiders may struggle with some parts of this one. However, the sixth book, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, is also one of the most memorable, for better or worse. Video game players and LitRPG fans can easily appreciate the more traditional feel of crawlers given a task to find and capture monsters. Then the added deck-builder theme makes things even more game-like. Some readers loved the card mechanics that it introduced, while others really didn't like it and found it cumbersome or annoying. Also, you might have trouble eating olives on toothpicks after this one. 2 This Inevitable Ruin Book 7, 4.66/5 Stars It's interesting how, looking at the ratings, the books follow a pretty similar order to their releases. Ranking just above the sixth book is book seven, This Inevitable Ruin. This book introduces the Faction Wars with many of the powerful alien families that have popped in and out of other books, making a much stronger focus here. There's a lot that happens in this book, and it somehow is all written in a way that not only is understandable but keeps everything moving at a good pace. Most readers by this point are so locked in with the series that having this much happening is a treat that we all loved. Although for some, it did feel like a bit too much. Plus, one of the big situations between two beloved characters was difficult to handle. 1 The Butcher's Masquerade Book 5, 4.68/5 Stars Despite being somewhat in the middle of the series, The Butcher's Masquerade seems to be the best out of all the currently available Dungeon Crawler Carl books. In the fifth book, things are really getting intense here as Carl, Donut, and the rest of the remaining crawlers head down to the sixth floor for The Hunting Grounds. Seeing our favorite characters presented as prey was hard for some readers, but overall this book was also the most exciting and entertaining of the series. Matt Dinniman manages to create a perfect balance in this book between the wacky humor and the dark and serious themes that are addressed. Of course, this is a series that you can't just jump straight to this book and have any idea of what's going on, but once you get here in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, you won't be disappointed. Dungeon Crawler Carl Publisher(s) Penguin Random House Publication Date September 21, 2020 Number of Pages 444 ISBN# 979-8688591507 Author(s) Matt Dinniman