Oct 29, 2026
Dungeon Crawler Carl Books in Order
Dungeon Crawler Carl follows Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, through an alien game show's deadly dungeon, roughly one floor per book. It's LitRPG that wins over people who've never read LitRPG: brutal, very funny and surprisingly moving.
By Matt Dinniman · Ongoing: 8 books so far, with more to come.
Where to start
Start with Dungeon Crawler Carl and read in number order. There are no prequels or side novellas to worry about, and each book picks up close to where the last one ends.
Start with Dungeon Crawler Carl
The Dungeon Crawler Carl books in order
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Book 1
Dungeon Crawler Carl Our pick
When an alien game show flattens Earth's buildings, Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, are dropped into a deadly televised dungeon where every floor gets stranger. Brutal, very funny LitRPG that wins over people who've never read LitRPG.
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Book 2
Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Carl and Princess Donut push deeper into the dungeon, where a sprawling city floor brings new races, new classes and a lot more ways to die. The sequel keeps the jokes coming while the show's cruelty gets harder to laugh off.
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Book 3
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
A floor built around trains sends Carl and Donut racing between stations while the showrunners pile on fresh traps. The series starts showing what's going on behind the cameras, and Carl starts fighting the game as well as playing it.
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Book 4
The Gate of the Feral Gods
The gods get involved, and Carl's growing fame makes him a bigger target than ever. Bigger set pieces, more of the alien politics behind the show, and the same mix of gore, gags and heart.
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Book 5
The Butcher's Masquerade
Carl, Donut and their crew face a floor where they're the ones being hunted, with new allies and old enemies in the mix. The midpoint of the series, and where the stakes get personal.
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Book 6
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
With the crawl down to its hardest survivors, Carl prepares for a war between the dungeon's factions while the forces outside the game close in. Plenty of chaos, and some of the series' biggest reveals.
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Book 7
This Inevitable Ruin
Deeper floors, nastier rules and a growing rebellion against the show itself. Carl has to keep his team alive while working out who he can actually trust.
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Book 8
A Parade of Horribles
The eighth book in the series that keeps topping best-of lists. More of Carl and Donut's run through the dungeon, with the wider war over Earth's fate moving into the open.
Good to know
- The audiobooks, narrated by Jeff Hays, are famous in their own right, and plenty of fans switch to audio partway through.