A Parade of Horribles

Dungeon Crawler Carl #8

by Matt Dinniman

It’s off to the races in the explosive eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

As chaos and mass panic spread outside the dungeon in the wake of Faction Wars, Carl and Donut find themselves on the tenth floor, where they’re forced to compete in a surprisingly normal set of tasks. Well, normal for the dungeon.

Races. Get from point A to point B, and don’t come in last. After each race, they pick an upgrade for their vehicle and the track gets more challenging. It all seems a little too normal, a little too simple.

Ignore those strange glitches that are occurring with increasing frequency. Don’t listen to those whispers about what’s happening on the mysterious eleventh floor, something the system AI calls A Parade of Horribles. Nobody, not even the showrunners, knows what that means. Just that the AI has ominously dubbed it “a coming-out party for the ages.”

Everything is fine, Crawler. I repeat, everything is fine.

Carl hates that it’s business as usual. The rules of this floor have taken away his agency. That just will not do.

So Carl is planning a party of his own. It’s a plan so dangerous, so insane, he can’t even consult his friends lest the AI put a stop to it. Because if it goes wrong, it’s not just the end of Carl and Donut. No. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Humor, Dystopia, Adult

704 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication May 12, 2026

About the author

Matt 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.

Reviews

[AC2316 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mongo shrieks with excitement!" 🦖

[baohua]

i 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

[Melanie (meltotheany)]

i 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 ★★★

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Patreon Reader*

Uh, Carl? Are you fucking sure? Holy shit.

[Mattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unity, support, family, and kneecapping bitches.

[Sara]

matt hurry up I'm dyin over here

[Evan O’Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the sake of spoilers I will say nothing except this is the best one.

[taylor ❤️‍🔥]

𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ⋆˚࿔
guys... THE TIME HAS FINALLY COME FOR ME TO START MY ARC?!? im truly so excited i think i could cartwheel around my entire house right now.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 / 𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

[Brandi]

I 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...

[LambchoP]

Will this be the last book of the series, or are there more books planned?

[Ashley]

A+ 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.

[Jasmine]

I fear I will become insufferable the day this releases

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!*]

Really sad this is no longer titled Carl's Book 0' Boom.

[Agnus Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Ben Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i simply cannot wait to see where this series goes from here

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive the way these books have grown increasingly batshit insane while also maintaining a tenuous hold on comprehensibility

[Liz S ( Liz & Liz get Literary) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars. Infinity stars. I am so obsessed with this series.

This was the first book in the series where I actually felt as though we were in an apocalypse situation. Everything is literally life or death and as weird as it is...it's even more cutthroat then the other books. Every single page was filled with the question, how the HELL are we going to survive this?

Dinniman just does a fantastic job of keeping you on your toes..whether that is laughing, stressing or crying because yes I did all 3.

Thank you to Matt and the publisher, Ace, for the ARC. I am so entirely grateful.

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy shit, lol.

that was a wild ride. i thought the pacing of this one was excellent; though it was shorter than the last few, it felt just right. things are speeding up and i can’t wait to see what’s coming.
side note, my guess about carl’s plan was not in fact correct, but I’m not mad about it.
however. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT FOR BOOK 9
*I read the NetGalley ARC*

[Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my god

[Emma Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. I realize I am biased because I 100% love this series, but alas, here we are. I will admit I didn't love the 10th floor. I was bored a lot of the time, and the races weren't really my favorite. If this review had been based solely on that floor, I probably would not have rated it as high; however, the 11th floor made it all worth it. Some of the quotes in the last 20% of the book gave me chills. It made me so excited to see where the story is going to go. I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

[Saul Aro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just re read the entire series to prep for this next book. I cannot wait until May, it seems forever away.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you haven't read the series yet you need to.

yesterday.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and ACE for the advanced copy!

I thoroughly enjoyed the racing theme of the 10th floor, and all the different plot lines are tying together in a really exciting way! Donut and Carl continue to be one of my favorite duos of all time, and they are supported by such an amazing cast of characters. A random NPC you think is just going to be a funny gag for a few scenes in one book can somehow become a favorite a few books later, and that’s just a testament to the care the author has put into the world he’s created. The balance of humor and intensity also continues to be fantastic; one moment I’ll be fearing for a character’s survival, only to be laughing out loud at a Gossip Girl reference in the next. With everything ramping up in the Dungeon and that suspenseful ending, I absolutely can’t wait to find out what happens next!

[Graeme Rodaughan]

Due in May 2026...

Pending... pending... pending... pending...

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in a single day (same as all the other books lol) and to quote a certain GPS : "What the fuck is even happening right now?".

p.s. - at least got more answers than questions in this one. can't wait to hear Daddy Jeff narrate it again in 69 days.

[Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the fuck. What the fuck????????

Wow, this series has become something really incredible. Trying to imagine where this is going to go when it ends. I actually wasn't sure what I was going to think of the book for the first 3/4, emotionally coming straight out of book 7, I felt pretty Done? Like at the end of my emotional rope? But so was Carl, so it wasn't like I was feeling something out of step with it. But then the last quarter did its thing and my brain exploded and wow, okay, yeahhhhh uh! Okay!

[Klowey]

DONUT: MATT WE'RE WAITING, MATT. REALLY, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE, THIS WAITING!

[Stella Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the eighth installment of Matt Dinniman’s “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series, “A Parade of Horribles” once again blew me away with yet another plot line that was over the top (in a good way) creative and captivating. On this tenth floor everyone’s favorite crawlers, Carl and Princess Donut, must participate in seven death defying races with the only objective to not come in last place. We also find ourselves, along with the fellow crawlers, struggling with the AI being extremely elusive as to what will come after all seven races are completed if you are one of the “lucky” survivors. The “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series has easily become some of my favorite reads of the year with this book eight being no different. One thing that I find myself continuing to love about the books is the found family (especially since it is one of my favorite tropes). The relationships between Carl and Donut specifically, but the rest of their group too, is something that I find myself getting emotional over many times. The way the friendships have developed, the trust that is built, is just a beautiful thing to see especially when you are in such a dire situation like our beloved characters are. One more thing that I feel like I must point out that I already touched on slightly, is how creative this series continues to be. Never have I once found any of the levels, monsters, creatures, characters, quests, or any other components of the story to be repetitive. I think that’s why this series sets itself apart from so many things in the fiction genre. I picked these books up because I felt like everything I was reading up until this point was feeling too similar and Dungeon Crawler Carl will always set itself apart. I can’t think of a single thing to compare it to. It is really one of a kind and “A Parade of Horribles” was no different. Thank you again to NetGalley, ACE publishing, and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this early and give an honest review.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started Dungeon Crawler Carl, I never expected to be invested in all of the characters. Matt wrote characters that make me laugh, while also having moments that I want to tear up. Book 8? Oh boy, I went on an entire ride with all of the crawlers. I was sad to see some go, and happy to see some continue on. But one thing that doesn’t lack, is the absolute humor and moments that I’m giggling like a schoolgirl.

Absolutely wonderful book, and now I have to wait for book 9.

Thank you to Berkeley and NetGalley for an ARC copy!

[Namrata Deka · Rating 5 out of 5]

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🥺🥺