Dressing up for Halloween while you wait? Here are Carl, Donut and Mongo costume ideas for solo, couples, groups and pets.
Be honest: how are you surviving the wait for Book 9?
As of October 16, 2026, of 185 crawlers: Re-reading the whole thing (again) 19%, Re-listening on audio (Jeff Hays lives in my head now) 48%, Reading something else (cheating, but allowed) 32%.
Re-reading? The reading order and the book recaps pick up wherever you are.
Re-listening? The audiobook guide covers the narration and the full-cast versions.
Reading something else? Here are books like Dungeon Crawler Carl to read while you wait.
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What we actually know about Book 9
- It introduces a new crawler. At New York Comic Con in October 2026, Dinniman said Book 9 brings in a crawler readers have not met before, named Tabiti, and narrator Jeff Hays read the scene that introduces the new crawler. Audible posted the reading on its Instagram on October 8, 2026. Before you watch: it is a reading from Book 9 itself, so treat it as a spoiler for everything up to the end of Book 8. Audible's clip.
- It is the next book, and the ending comes in two parts. Book 9 follows Book 8. Matt Dinniman has said the ending is being written as one story and released as two books, Books 9 and 10. He has said Book 9 ends on a cliffhanger.
- The working title is The Beautiful Place. "Working title" means it can still change before publication, but this is the only title Dinniman has given the book.
- It is being written. Dinniman posted the prologue to his Patreon in June 2026 and chapters 1-2 in August 2026, so the book is underway rather than a distant plan. As of early October 2026, those are the only Book 9 chapters posted.
- There is no release date. None has been announced. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026, Dinniman called his own writing timeline "still like a year out." In October 2026 he called the ending "easily the most difficult thing I've ever written" (Collider, October 12, 2026), and Collider reported that Books 9 and 10 still have no release date. Anyone stating a firm 2027 or 2028 date is guessing.
- It continues from where Book 8 ended. Book 8, A Parade of Horribles, closed out Floor 11. The World Dungeon has 18 floors. Book 9 carries the descent on from there. We will not spoil where it goes, partly because it is not finished yet.
Is Book 9 the last Dungeon Crawler Carl book?
No. At an Audible panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026, Dinniman said of the ending: “I’m writing it personally as a single book, but it’s gonna be released separately as two books”. He said the split means the main series climax does not come at the end of Book 9, which ends on a cliffhanger instead. The story finishes in Book 10. He said the same in October 2026: "As far as my brain is concerned, this is just one book. I'm writing the last book," and "It's clearly going to be a part one and part two" (Collider, October 12, 2026).
Will Dungeon Crawler Carl be 10 books?
Yes, based on what Dinniman has said. Eight books are out, and the ending is being released as Books 9 and 10. Book 10 has no title or release date yet. Book 9's working title is The Beautiful Place. In October 2026 Dinniman ruled out stretching it: "I can't allow myself to say, 'Okay, I'm gonna write 11 books,' and I'm not. I have to resolve the story" (Collider, October 12, 2026).
When is Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 10 coming out?
No date has been announced as of October 13, 2026, and Book 10 has no title yet. It is the second half of the ending Dinniman is writing as one story, so it comes after Book 9, which has no date either. In July 2026 he told Variety at Comic-Con (as quoted by CinemaBlend), "I anticipate being done with Book 9 and probably a good chunk of Book 10 relatively quickly, as far as book people are concerned. It's still like a year out for me." That is his writing schedule, not a publication date, and nobody has said how long a finished book takes to reach release.
Dinniman calls it "the last book" and says he won't stretch the story to 11 (Collider, October 12, 2026), so Book 10 ends the series. Book 10 can't come out before Book 9, and Book 9 has no date, so any Book 10 date you see today is made up.
Is the title The Beautiful Place or Carl's Book of Boom?
The Beautiful Place. That is the only working title Dinniman has given. If you have seen the finale called Carl's Book of Boom, that is not an official title and does not come from him. Working titles can change before a cover is finalized. Dinniman said at Comic-Con in July 2026 that he is not locked on the title, partly because the story is coming out as two books. As of October 2026, neither Book 9 nor Book 10 has an official title, and The Beautiful Place is still the one to know.
Is there a 2027 or 2028 release date?
No. Any specific year you have seen circulating is a guess, not an official release announcement. Some retailer listings show dates, but those are placeholders until Dinniman or his publisher announces one. We are not going to print a fake one just because it is the thing you most want to see.
Looking for a Dungeon Crawler Carl game instead? The tabletop RPG, the Unstoppable card game, their release dates and whether a video game exists are on our TTRPG page.
How long each wait has been
The first four books arrived three months apart. Book 5 took 8 months, and every book since has taken 16 months or more. The wait before Book 8 was 18 months, the most yet.
| Book | First released | Wait after the book before | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21, 2020 | First book | 464 |
| 2 | January 2, 2021 | 3 months | 384 |
| 3 | April 2, 2021 | 3 months | 544 |
| 4 | July 1, 2021 | 3 months | 608 |
| 5 | February 28, 2022 | 8 months | 720 |
| 6 | July 2, 2023 | 16 months | 832 |
| 7 | November 3, 2024 | 16 months | 880 |
| 8 | May 12, 2026 | 18 months | 704 |
| 9 | Not announced | 5 months so far, as of October 13, 2026 | Unknown |
Length does not explain it on its own: Book 8 is shorter than Books 6 and 7, and its wait was the biggest. Book 9 is the first half of an ending Dinniman is writing as one book and releasing as two. None of this is a forecast. Release dates are first-release dates from mattdinniman.com; page counts are the Ace hardcovers.
How do I read the Book 9 prologue right now?
Dinniman posts chapters to his Patreon ahead of each public release. The Book 9 prologue went up there in June 2026, and chapters 1-2 followed in August 2026. That is the official early-access channel. We do not reprint Patreon content on this site, which is exactly why this page stays spoiler-free. If you want to stay unspoiled until release day, avoid the Patreon comments and the subreddit's early-read threads.
What happens in Book 9? (no spoilers)
Beyond one official tease, nobody knows yet: Book 9 introduces a new crawler, revealed at New York Comic Con in October 2026 (see what we know above). Anyone claiming more is guessing or reading ahead on Patreon. Here is the honest shape of it: Book 8 is the latest, and the last two books have to resolve the rest of the descent, the System AI's arc, the fate of Earth's survivors, and whatever "Goddammit, Donut" finally adds up to.
We pulled all of it into one place: how we think Dungeon Crawler Carl ends, our committed prediction for the finale, thread by thread. It leans on whether Carl breaks the dungeon or completes it, who the real final antagonist is, what the System AI is becoming, and the emotional ending for Donut. All speculation, and each page says at the top how far into the series it goes.
No narrator has been formally announced for Book 9, though Jeff Hays read from it at New York Comic Con in October 2026, and he and Soundbooth Theater have narrated every book in the series so far. This page updates when Dinniman announces a title, a cover, or a date. Until then, everything above is what is confirmed, and nothing more.