Scott's Take: A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl series) by Matt Dinniman

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman is the eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I read this as an eBook so I did not have access to the short story. At the time of writing this review at the end of May, the hardback version is still on order at the Dallas Public Library System. I have a hold on one, whenever they get them in, so that I can read the short story.

 

In this action-packed installment, Princess Donut, Carl, and the remaining Crawlers, compete in various races and must try to survive and win them. Then, once the races are done, the evil AI is planning to have “A Parade of Horribles.” The AI is calling it a coming out party for himself.

 

This one is heavy on the lore building at the end. There is a lot of violence, but it is a lot less than one would expect in this series.  I also found the races to be very different than what I was expecting. I was kind of disappointed in that aspect of the read.

 

Carl and Donut get some more quality character development but some of the gimmick jokes drag on longer than I think they should have. Also, a lot of the plot points that have been running in the background for more than one book are still not followed up on  here. I kind of wish we would get a novel focusing on the kinder facility or the human resistance on Earth against the aliens.  Instead of a few sentences here and there. I feel like a lot happened in this book,  but mostly towards the end.

 

I enjoyed this read, but maybe I was overhyped for it. I thought this one was one of the weaker books. In the next book,  The Ascendery Games begin as the Crawlers will attempt to escape various floors while trying to stop one of the gods from becoming the King of The Gods.  There should be quite a lot going on as the large cast of the series has been scattered to so many other places by this point. It is going to require some very good scene switching to make it all work.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dCSpDE

 

 

My reading copy came through the Libby App by way of the Dallas Public Library system. I have a hold on the hardback through the system. Sometimes the short stories are important, sometimes not, but either way I want to read it.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Scott's Take: This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl Series)

 

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman is the seventh book in the Dungeon Crawler series. Warlords Donut and Carl are leading the former Crawlers who have returned to the Dungeon, alongside the remaining Crawlers, against the alien tyrants and their mercenary forces. Luckly, they have allies in the NPC army, but they are still vastly outnumbered. Can Donut and Carl beat thousands and thousands of soldiers even with the help of the former crawlers? Can Donut and Katia find a way to escape the curse of the Sepsis Whore?

 

This is action packed humor filled war tale with Donut becoming a sniper. Yes, she even has her own little ghillie suit. The main former Dungeon Crawlers are fully realized heroes of their own tales and one could imagine them having their own separate series. Jamal the mechanical shark (an NPC hero) is introduced and is given a giant flamethrower. I enjoyed this character’s sense of humor immensely.  I really liked how the author explored the toll the war is having on Donut and how the Crawlers band together to help Donut deal with the trauma she goes through.

 

There is no shortage of villains in the tale and plenty of high stakes. The third act gets incredibly weird. Even weirder than the last book and I did not think that was possible.

 

The short story in the hardback highlights the Shadow Mimics that have infiltrated the backstage of the Dungeon and their plans.

 

 The next book in the series comes out May Twelfth and is titled, A Parade of Horribles. Donut, Carl, and those who chose to remain are going to compete in a death race while the AI continues to lose his mind.

 

As of right now, there are two more books planned, a Peacock tv series in production, a graphic novel adaption which can be read for free on webtoon, a separate graphic novel planned for next year that will feature, Florin, the shotgun wielding human turned into a Crocodile. There is also an increasing amount of merchandise such as shirts and other things. There is also now a table top game. And, Libby signed a deal to be the exclusive home of the eBooks for  libraries. It is rather amazing how this series has exploded in so many ways.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4nqN6uq

 

  

I read the eBook by way of the Libby/Overdrive App in the Dallas Public Library System. While in the middle of the eBook, the hardback showed up at my local branch as it had been transferred from the Lakewood Branch. That allowed me to read the short story.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Scott's Take: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Dungeon Crawler Carl) by Matt Dinniman

 

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman is a weird book even for this series. This is also the sixth book in a series that must be read in order.

 

So, the Crawlers are sent back to a copy of Earth before Earth’s destruction. Our heroes are sent to Cuba. There is now a new battle system in place based on cards. Donut, now as squad leader, must use cards to battle the monsters on this copy of Earth. There are quite a few new characters added to the squad on this level. That includes my favorite two new characters -- Uzi Jesus and the Yule Cat. 

 

On this copy of Earth, Crawlers can defeat enemies, and flag them before they die in order to put them in their own squads Pokémon style. Donut and Carl decide to recruit one of the most dangerous creatures to help them. The Bedlam Bride, a Demigod Spider Woman sort of thing, with her own plans and own motivations is the one they want. Of course, things get worse for our heroes.

 

This is an action-packed adventure that sees Donut and Carl traumatized even further.  This is even darker book than what has gone on before as there is drug use, bestiality, child abuse, suicide, and more in this read. There is also plenty of humor as there has been all along in the series.

 

The third act consists of twists upon twists upon twists. While there are always twists upon twists, in this case it was ridiculous. There are way too many twists in my opinion. Most of them are based on information the readers do not have.  That was annoying.

 

I read parts of The Eye of the Bedlam Bride: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman by way of the eBook and parts by way of the physical hardback. By having the hardback arrive from the library after I was more than halfway through the library eBook, I had access to the bonus short story. A tale that I thought was awful, but also included yet another twist, only included there, so it would be helpful to read for this series. 

 

The seventh book is in my library TBR pile and it is titled, This Inevitable Ruin: Dungeon Crawler Carl, where the Faction Wars have begun. So, its armies vs armies now as the Crawlers have formed one faction and various alien groups have formed factions of their own. The AI continues to go crazy. It now has agreed to turn the safeties off for the alien leaders. That means that the alien leaders can die just like Donut and the others. The result is a more level playing field. Now it is kill or be killed for everyone. Can Warlord Donut and friends win?

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4edRRVu

 

Entire Series Amazon Associate Purchase Link:

https://amzn.to/3R8HKaO

 

  

While both formats came by way of the Dallas Public Library System, my hardback reading copy came from the White Rock Hills Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Scott's Take: The Butcher's Masquerade: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl series)

The Butcher's Masquerade: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman is the fifth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I read this by way of an eBook so I did not have access to the bonus short story for this novel.

The publisher’s plot synopsis for this one is pretty vague. That presents a problem as the book is hard to describe as it is without spoilers. Basically, there is a giant jungle region where the hunters are now part of the game and are hunting the crawlers. There are roaming dinosaurs, Vrah, one of the Mantis, is hunting Carl. If that was not vague enough, the book ends with a cliffhanger.

 

The audible book might be worth listening to instead of reading this one as there is at least one song only included only in the audible version. However, that song is also available on YouTube. Princess Donut becomes a bard in this novel so there are songs now.

 

I enjoyed this book, but the final third act is way different than what I expected as I was reading. It also drags a bit. If you like the humor and the action of the series than you should enjoy this one. But, you are also warned that things get pretty weird.

 

I am looking forward to reading The Eye of the Bedlam Bride which is the sixth book in the series.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4u4TRUH

 

 

My digital reading copy came by way of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026 

Scott's Take: The Gate of the Feral Gods (Dungeon Crawler Carl series) by Matt Dinniman

 

The Gate of the Feral Gods is the fourth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman and continues the adventures of Princess Donut and Carl. In this adventure, the Princess Donut and friends must take down four castles in a row to escape this level.

 

They start in the desert in a little town being run by alien camels and being bombed by a bunch of airplane flying gnomes. They need to find a way to breach the flying castle in the sky to stop the bombings. If that is not bad enough, they also have the other castles to take down such as Necropolis, a submarine, and more. Obviously, some of those locations are not really castles, but they are classified as such for the game.

 

Carl and Donut also must work with the survivors assaulting the other castles. As nearly all the other survivors are pretty much idiots who have somehow still survived to this point, despite the fact that the AI clearly wants them dead, things are going to get harder for Carl and Donut.

 

This series remains fun and each book remains an action packed adventure with plenty of humor. There are things that happen in this book that should have major ramifications for the series. The print version still includes a bonus short story which I am still not sure what is the point of these characters yet.

 

This series is continued by the Butcher’s Masquerade which is book five in the series. I am currently reading this in eBook via the library. The crawlers have reached level six, The Hunting Grounds, so the space aliens who have been watching the show now can play as well. The space aliens that are now participating in the game have been classified as “Hunters” and have been assigned the mission to kill every crawler and their primary target is Carl. He has pissed off a lot of alien factions who have placed a bounty on his head. Can he survive this level?

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Q6maU7

 

 

 

I read the print version of this book by way of a copy from the Polk-Wisdom Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Scott's Take: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

  

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman is the third book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and my least favorite of the series so far. I got tired of the basic concept of the book before the end.

 

In this book, Carl and friends are forced to fight underground in a series of tunnels, subways, etc. And that’s the book. They flight underground in various locations and conditions.

 

There is intrigue from human crawlers, and world building, and a ton of action. The human crawlers are finally working together. A lot of the supporting characters get to come back here. There is humor and it is a fun read, but the concept does not really need a five hundred plus page book. I just got tired of the idea of the book before the author wounded it up. He had a lot of clever ideas in this one, but it just did not work for me.

 

There is a map that is added at one point that is supposed to help explain things.  As maps go in a fantasy series, the one here is pretty weak and not very good. I have seen way better. I did like how some of the chapters had little illustrations on top.

 

There is a short story included that continues the things happening backstage. One hopes at some point that stuff will matter.

 

The next book sounds way better. The Gate of the Feral Gods where Carl and friends deal with a series of castles. One of which is a floating fortress guarded by gnomes. A castle made of sand. A robot guarded submarine.  A haunted crypt. Somehow, I guess all four count as castles.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4a9FiXs

 

 

My hardback reading copy came from the Forest Green Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026