I Binged the Entire Dungeon Crawler Carl Series in One Month: Here’s My Review

“Hello, crawlers! Welcome to another His and Hers Book Club blog post! Now go out there and read, read, read!”

Okay, I admit it. I was bullied into this.

If you follow us on socials, you know I like a good fantasy series. Heck, I read over 70 books last year and probably 50% of those can be classified as some type of fantasy.

But for the last six months, my TikTok For You Page has been an aggressive, unrelenting stream of people screaming about a guy named Carl, his cat, and something called a "Dungeon Crawler."

I resisted. “LitRPG?” I said, the first time it came up. “Video game stats in a novel? Is this for me?” Answer - fuck yeah!

What a lot of people don’t know is that I’m a massive… MASSIVE… World of Warcraft player. So when I saw that this was actually a genre? Oooooh boy, did I blast straight down the rabbit hole.

I just spent the entirety of January 2026 absolutely locked in. I emerged from my reading cave approximately three days ago, unwashed, slightly delirious, and ready to fight a goblin with nothing but my bare feet and a bad attitude.

Here is my honest, verified, completely unhinged review of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman.

How I Read It (And Why You Need the Audio)

I started this journey like a traditionalist. I bought Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1 in hardcover because the cover art already looked absolutely unhinged. I read it with my eyeballs, like a normal person.

But then, the internet whispered to me again: "Listen to the audiobook."

I am usually not an audiobook guy. I tend to zone out and miss crucial plot points, like who died or who did who. But I gave Book 2, Carl's Doomsday Scenario, a shot on audio.

Oh. My. God.

The narrator, Jeff Hays, is not a human being. He is a shapeshifting vocal demon. His voice for Carl is uncannily similar to Patrick Warburton. Yes, imagine Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove or Joe Swanson from Family Guy describing gruesome alien murders and the collapse of society. It is the funniest thing I have ever heard.

By Book 3, I was doing a hybrid strategy: listening while driving, reading on my Kindle before bed. By the time I hit the latest release, I was fully digital, injecting the words directly into my brain via Kindle because I couldn't wait for shipping.

Wait, What is LitRPG?

For those of you who, like me a month ago, think "LitRPG" sounds like a type of sandwich: it stands for Literary Role Playing Game.

Basically, the characters know they are in a game system. They have inventories, stats, and levels. They get loot boxes. It sounds nerdy (and it is), but in Dungeon Crawler Carl, it works because the system is actively trying to kill them for the entertainment of a galactic audience.

Bellelement Princess Donut and Mongo Carl T-Shirt Dungeon Crawler Shirt

The Vibe: Memelords and Millennials Only

This series is written for the internet generation. If you specialize in obscure references, you will have an absolute field day. If you wanted to see what Rory and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls would like as goblin “shamankas”, then there is something seriously wrong with you. But you’re definitely in the right place!

It’s dark, violent, and deeply cynical, but it’s also laugh-out-loud funny. Matt Dinniman manages to balance the horror of the apocalypse with the absurdity of a man fighting for his life in his ex-girlfriend’s pink crocs.

My Favorite Characters (Don’t Judge Me)

Obviously, we all love Carl (the straight man to the universe's insanity) and Princess Donut (the Persian cat who gains sentience and instantly becomes a diva). But my true favorites are the side weirdos:

• Quasar: Imagine Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad, but as an alien lawyer who is addicted to questionable substances. He is sleazy, chaotic, and I would trust him with my life (legal fees pending).

• The AI: The artificial intelligence running the dungeon is… unwell. It slowly gains sentience and develops a very specific, very uncomfortable foot fetish. It operates exactly how I imagine an AI would if it was force-fed 4chan and Reddit for a decade. Absolutely unhinged.

• Samantha: Look, explaining Samantha is difficult. She is a sex doll head. Just the head. She is also a powerful, chaotic entity that screams obscenities and causes problems on purpose. Why? Because fuck you, that’s why. She is my spirit animal.

Ranking the Books

I’ve read them all now. Here is the definitive ranking from my January binge:

The Best: This Inevitable Ruin (Book 7)

The most recent book (released late 2025) is a masterpiece. The stakes are impossibly high, the emotional payoff is the literary equivalent of eding, and the "faction wars" mechanics were superbly thought out. It feels like the Empire Strikes Back of the series.

The "Meh": The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook (Book 3)

Don't come for me! I still liked it, but the "Iron Tangle" level involving the trains was confusing as hell. I spent half the book trying to visualize the subway map and failing. It’s the only time I felt like I needed a literal wiki open to understand the movement. But it only gets better from there!

📚 The Carl & Donut Reading List

1. Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book 1)
2. Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Book 2)
3. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook (Book 3)
4. The Gate of the Feral Gods (Book 4)
5. The Butcher's Masquerade (Book 5)
6. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Book 6)
7. This Inevitable Ruin (Book 7)

Note: Book 8 is currently in the works!

Frequently Asked Questions

I scoured the internet (and the very active Dungeon Crawler Carl Reddit) to answer the questions you’re probably typing into Google right now.

Is there a Dungeon Crawler Carl TV show?

Yes! It’s in development. The rights were picked up by Seth MacFarlane’s production company, Fuzzy Door. We don't have a release date yet, but knowing MacFarlane, it will likely lean into the adult humor. I am personally praying they keep Jeff Hays involved for the voice work. Or better yet - Patrick Warburton!

When is the Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 8 release date?

Rumors are swirling for a May 2026 release, potentially titled A Parade of Horribles. Since I just finished Book 7, I am currently entering my withdrawal phase.

Is the series finished?

Not yet. Matt Dinniman has hinted the series will likely go to floor 18 (or however deep the dungeon goes), so we likely have a few more books to go.

Is there romance?

Barely. This isn't A Court of Thorns and Roses. There are "relationships," but if you're looking for spice, you're in the wrong dungeon. The main love story is between a man and his survival. And his cat, platonically. And the AI, one-sidedly. And a sex doll’s head, not in the way you think. Right… let me put it this way: if you’re looking for the Hallmark idea of “romance”, you’re reaaaally in the wrong place. If you ever randomly wonder whether dementia patients in care facilities get it on like rabbits… you’re going to get some VERY uncomfortable answers.

Final Verdict

If you enjoyed our deep dive into Sage The False Prince but thought, "Needs more cursing and explosions" read this series.

I give it 5 out of 5 frantic screams.

“Which Dungeon Crawler Carl Character Are You?” Quizz

Oh yeah, you’re gonna love me for this one. Let’s hear what everyone got!

Which Dungeon Crawler Carl Character Are You?

1. The apocalypse starts. What is your priority?

Find my cat and survive. Check my followers and fix my outfit. Find a legal loophole. SCREAM AND KILL! Watch the chaos and eat popcorn.

2. How do you handle a Boss Fight?

Explosives and duct tape. Magic and insults. Negotiate a plea deal. Bite its ankles with rage. Create a trap to humiliate everyone.

3. What is your toxic trait?

I repress trauma until I explode. I need constant attention. I am a sleazy lawyer. I have violent mood swings. I am an unhinged computer.

Get My Result