The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman is best read in publication order. Each book covers 1-3 dungeon floors, and the story builds continuously. No standalones, no entry points mid-series. You start at Floor 1 with a man in his underwear and a cat who just learned to talk. It only gets weirder from there.
We recommend listening on Audible. Jeff Hays' narration is half the experience. Each book below has a direct Audible link.
Start With Book 1
Do not start with the newest book, the Webtoon, or the TV news. Start with Dungeon Crawler Carl. The series is linear, and the audiobook is the strongest first experience.
Then Read More Dinniman
Caught up through Book 8? Try Matt Dinniman's Operation Bounce House, Dominion of Blades, or Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon. The recommendations page has more books in the same spirit.
The main series
Dungeon Crawler Carl
The apocalypse. The cat. The underwear. Carl enters the dungeon in his boxers and his ex-girlfriend's too-small pink Crocs. He meets Mordecai, adopts a velociraptor named Mongo, and discovers the entire thing is an intergalactic reality show. The System AI develops an interest in his feet.
First published September 21, 2020 · Narrated by Jeff Hays
Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Race and class selection. The training levels are over. Carl becomes a Compensated Anarchist (trapmaking, bomb-making, social-media dynamo). Donut gets magic. Katia joins the party. The show goes live and suddenly quintillions of aliens are watching.
First published January 2, 2021 · Narrated by Jeff Hays
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
The namesake of this site. Floor 4 is every underground railway on Earth knotted into one system, and nothing points where it should. The top 10 leaderboard goes live. The sponsorship program opens. Carl gets his hands on the Cookbook itself -- an underground guide passed between crawlers with unauthorized survival intel. Sound familiar?
First published April 2, 2021 · Narrated by Jeff Hays & The Critical Drinker
The Gate of the Feral Gods
One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. The floor is a floating island system and the crawlers have to capture castles. Sponsors are bidding. Donut refuses to go in the water. (She goes in the water.)
First published July 1, 2021 · Narrated by Jeff Hays
The Butcher's Masquerade
The dungeon evolves from survival game to political war. Guilds form. Class specialization happens. New party members join. The Masquerade event on this floor is the book's set piece.
First published February 28, 2022 · Narrated by Jeff Hays
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
Two floors in one book. Deep lore. Patrick Warburton guest narrates in the audiobook. The Syndicate's history starts to unfold. Carl's relationship with the System AI becomes increasingly complicated.
First published July 2, 2023 · Narrated by Jeff Hays, with Patrick Warburton, Travis Baldree & Annie Ellicott
This Inevitable Ruin
The largest floor in the dungeon. NYT bestseller. The scale escalates dramatically. The System AI is behaving strangely.
First published November 3, 2024 · Narrated by Jeff Hays & Travis Baldree
A Parade of Horribles
A racing floor that looks almost normal, glitches that keep spreading, and Floor 11 waiting beyond it, which the System AI calls "a coming-out party for the ages." Everything is fine. 704 pages.
Released May 12, 2026 · Narrated by Jeff Hays · 704 pages
Which format?
Audiobook (Audible): This is how we recommend experiencing DCC. Jeff Hays voices every character distinctly: Carl's gruff deadpan, Donut's imperious diva voice, Mordecai's weary exasperation, and the System AI's unhinged announcements. His "Goddammit, Donut" is its own art form. New to audiobooks? Start with this one. The audiobook guide has every book's length and narrator.
Kindle / ebook: Included with a Kindle Unlimited subscription, or available to buy. The ebook rights are still held by Dinniman (he retained digital rights when Ace/Penguin picked up print). Great for re-reading and searching for specific quotes.
Hardcover (Ace Books): Penguin Random House's Ace imprint publishes the hardcover editions, which include bonus content from the in-universe novella "Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret." Available for every book in the series.
Audio Immersion Tunnel: A separate full-cast production by Soundbooth Theater with original music, sound effects, and extra scenes. This is NOT a replacement for the main audiobook -- it's a companion experience. Seasons 1-3 are available.
Webtoon: An illustrated webcomic adaptation by Aethon and Matt Dinniman. Currently in Season 1 with 275,000+ subscribers. The print collection (Vol. 1) released May 19, 2026. A different experience from the books, with the same humor.
How long does the series take to read?
The audiobooks range from 11 hours 28 minutes to 28 hours 40 minutes each. At the current 8-book length, you're looking at about 159 hours and 22 minutes of audio or 5,136 pages in hardcover. Plan accordingly. Cancel some things. Tell your family you'll be unavailable. They'll understand. (They won't understand. Nobody who hasn't read DCC understands.)
Frequently asked questions
Can I start with Book 2?
No. Book 1 establishes every mechanic, relationship, and running gag the series builds on. Starting anywhere else is like entering the dungeon on Floor 5 without gear. You'll die confused.
Is this series finished?
Not yet. Book 9, working title The Beautiful Place, is next. Matt Dinniman has said the ending is being written as one story and released as two books, Books 9 and 10. Dinniman posted the prologue on Patreon in June 2026 and chapters 1-2 in August 2026, so it's being written, but no release date has been announced. Book 8 released May 12, 2026. Full Book 9 details.
Is there really a TV show?
Yes. Peacock gave the live-action series a straight-to-series order on June 18, 2026, after a spring in development at the streamer. Universal Global Television and Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions are producing. Chris Yost (Thor: Ragnarok, The Mandalorian) and Eric Heisserer (Shadow and Bone, Arrival) are co-showrunners. Jeff Hays will voice Princess Donut. Filming is planned for 2027. No Carl actor or release date has been announced yet. See the TV show page for full details.
What about the tabletop RPG?
Renegade Game Studios crowdfunded the DCC tabletop RPG and Unstoppable deck-builder on BackerKit. The campaign closed May 19, 2026 with over $13.29M from 55,972 backers — the #1 most-funded game campaign in BackerKit history. Missed it? Pre-order via the Renegade webstore. Renegade says participating game stores get both games from November 23, 2026; Amazon lists December 1, 2026 (backer orders ship October to November). See the TTRPG page for details.
What order should I read Matt Dinniman's books in?
Matt Dinniman's books do not share one reading order: Dungeon Crawler Carl is its own series, read from Book 1 through Book 8 in order. His other fiction sits in separate series and standalones: the Dominion of Blades books, The Shivered Sky trilogy, Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon, The Grinding, Trailer Park Fairy Tales and Operation Bounce House, which is a standalone and not part of DCC.
Our read: start with DCC. When you want more of his voice, each of his other books is described under More from Matt Dinniman.
Is there a chronological reading order for Dungeon Crawler Carl?
In Dungeon Crawler Carl, chronological order and publication order are the same: the eight novels follow the crawl floor by floor, so the main series list is the timeline. The in-universe novella Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret comes in installments inside the books themselves, so it needs no slot of its own.
The one extra is Dungeon Crawler Carl: Crocodile, a canon graphic novel following Florin DuPont. It is not out yet, and we could not confirm where it falls on the timeline.
What book comes after The Gate of the Feral Gods?
In Dungeon Crawler Carl, the book after The Gate of the Feral Gods (Book 4) is The Butcher's Masquerade, Book 5. It picks up on the sixth floor, so there is nothing to read in between. The full sequence is in the main series list.
What book comes after The Eye of the Bedlam Bride?
In Dungeon Crawler Carl, the book after The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Book 6) is This Inevitable Ruin, Book 7, which covers the ninth floor. After that comes Book 8, A Parade of Horribles. The whole run, in order, is in the main series list.
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