A Parade of Horribles

By Matt Dinniman

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - It's off to the races in the explosive eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series--featuring bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

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.

Includes part eight of the exclusive bonus story "Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FY26HLTD
• ISBN13: 9798217190065
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.3" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! That is a reaction meaning I loved this wild race of a book and I am so happy I got to read it and learned many new things and I am now quite frustrated because I need the rest of this series that hasn't been released yet! I think Dungeon Crawler Carl is my favorite Litrpg series (though I have read many other great ones too) because it hasn't fallen into a formulaic pattern so you can guess what is going to happen by the end of each book. Yes, the crawlers are very powerful now, they have been through the wringer and many good ones have died. The ones left are the cream of the crop, from Carl to Donut, Imani, Prepotente, Louis, Florin, and the others, they have survived to face this latest challenge of the races and it is not something to just be powered through. There a plans and plots and it was so wonderfully twisty that things remain a mystery till the very last minute. I blown away by that climax and I also have quite conflicted feelings about the AI (for what was done to it but also how it is looking for vengeance and wants death and suffering!) but it is great to finally see the why and more of its history. This is a great and fantastic series that I will happily read and reread and listen to over and over again (they are great audiobooks!). I do need the next book stat but I am so glad I got the chance to read this and be blown away. Go Carl and Donut and the others! Break the system!!!!