Dungeon Crawler Carl
**The apocalypse will be televised!** A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible. In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground. The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe. Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style. **You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.** You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a followin
Books in conversation with Dungeon Crawler Carl
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about Dungeon Crawler Carl
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
When alien hosts demolish Earth and turn what is left into a planet-spanning dungeon game show, ex-Coast Guard Carl and his ex-girlfriend's Persian cat Princess Donut start descending the levels in their pajamas.
No. Matt Dinniman has written seven Dungeon Crawler Carl books so far, with the series planned to continue. New books typically release annually.
Yes. A film and television adaptation of Dungeon Crawler Carl is in development, with Hugh Jackman attached to produce. The project was announced in 2024 and details remain limited.
Yes. Dungeon Crawler Carl is one of the most popular books in the LitRPG and progression fantasy genres, blending video game mechanics like levels, stats, and skill systems into the narrative. It is often recommended as an entry point for the genre.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is aimed at adults. It contains profanity, graphic violence, dark humor, and some sexual references. Mature teen readers may enjoy it, but it is not marketed as YA.
Dungeon Crawler Carl was written by Matt Dinniman, published in 2020 by Ace.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is 465 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Dungeon Crawler Carl takes most readers 7 to 10 hours to finish.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is a standalone novel by Matt Dinniman, not part of a series.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.