Read them in order. That is the whole trick.
There is no side door. Book 2 is not optional. The story does not reset. Start with Dungeon Crawler Carl and keep going. This page names books, dates, and which floors a volume covers. It does not tell you what happens. For the show, use the TV page. For the narrator, use the audiobook page.
The eight books
1. Dungeon Crawler Carl
Floors 1 and 2. Matt Dinniman self-published the Kindle edition on October 2, 2020. Ace Books, part of Penguin Random House, published the hardcover on August 27, 2024. Dinniman kept the ebook rights. Ace holds print.
2. Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Floor 3. Self-published January 2, 2021. Ace hardcover September 24, 2024.
3. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
Floor 4. Self-published March 19, 2021. Ace hardcover March 11, 2025.
4. The Gate of the Feral Gods
Floor 5. Self-published June 14, 2021. Ace hardcover March 11, 2025.
5. The Butcher's Masquerade
Floors 6 and 7. Self-published February 19, 2022. Ace hardcover April 8, 2025.
6. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
Floor 8. Self-published June 14, 2023. Ace hardcover May 13, 2025. The Audible edition has guest voices from Travis Baldree and Patrick Warburton. That is a credit, not a plot.
7. This Inevitable Ruin
Floor 9. Dinniman's site dates the self-published edition to November 3, 2024. Some listings say November 7. Ace hardcover September 23, 2025.
8. A Parade of Horribles
Floors 10 and 11. Ebook May 12, 2026. Dinniman said the Audible edition followed on May 26, 2026, and the Ace hardcover plus a Grim Oak Press paperback on June 2, 2026. The dungeon has 18 floors. Eight books have not finished it.
What is actually next
Book 9's working title is The Beautiful Place. In a February 28, 2026 Variety interview, Dinniman said he thinks the last story is book 9 split into two books, so the series would still land at ten volumes, and that this was not locked. He posted a prologue to Patreon on June 16, 2026, under that working title. No public release date exists. Anyone printing a year is guessing. When a date is real, it will be changed on this page the same day.
The extra story in the print editions
Ace's print books include pieces of a bonus novella, Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret. Read the piece that sits in a book after you finish that book. Dinniman has said he hopes to collect it as one novella later. It is not a second series and it is not required to understand book 1.
Other Dinniman books, if you are already done
Operation Bounce House, a standalone, was published by Ace on February 10, 2026. Dominion of Blades and Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon are earlier books. They are not Dungeon Crawler Carl. This site does not cover them as news.
The series is not for children. Read the content guide before you hand it to anyone.
New books and date changes show up on Latest.