The Dungeon Crawler Carl Books Are on Sale at Amazon and I Highly Recommend Them

I have read more than my fair share of LitRPG books, but Dungeon Crawler Carl has been a contender for overall favorite new series since book one. It's a fast-paced adventure that has everything you could ever need in a book. It's basically an ongoing story about a man and his sassy cat's descent into the madness of an apocolyptic space game show. The author, Matt Dinniman, has a writing style that perfectly blends outrageousness with intrigue in a way that makes it hard to put down once you start reading.

If that's enough to pique your interest, then I'd recommend picking up a copy to read and just diving right in. Amazon is having a buy one, get one 50% off sale on books right now that includes the hardcover editions, but the series is also free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.

Dungeon Crawler Carl Books are Buy one, Get One 50% Off at Amazon

There are a total of seven books in the series so far, but only six have gotten a hardcover release. You can read all of the books digitally by either purchasing the eBook or via a Kindle Unlimited subscription. The latest book in the series, The Inevitable Ruin, is also getting a hardcover release, but not until September 2025. Because of that, it isn't currently included in the buy one, get one free sale at Amazon.

I've listed all of the books in their correct reading order in the carousel above, but here's a quick chronological list below as well. There's also an eighth book in the series that is currently expected to arrive later this year.

Dungeon Crawler Carl Reading Order

1. Dungeon Crawler Carl
2. Carl's Doomsday Scenario
3. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
4. The Gate of the Feral Gods
5. The Butcher's Masquerade
6. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
7. The Inevitable Ruin
8. Carl's Book of Boom (Expected November 2025)

Is It Worth Getting Into LitRPG?

If you aren't already familiar with the genre, LitRPG is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. LitRPG stands for literary role-playing game, which essentially means that the story features some sort of RPG element that is similar to what you'd find in a video game. In some cases this means the main character literally gets pulled into a video game and starts leveling up, but the genre is a lot more expansive than that.

The Dungeon Crawler Carl series is a good example of how LitRPG can blend perfectly with the fantasy and sci-fi genres. The main character starts out as a regular guy on Earth only to be forced down into a dungeon controlled by alien invaders. The actual LitRPG elements of the story are introduced seamlessly via an unhinged AI that grants dungeon participants power and levels. So if you like more modern, fast-paced fantasy and sci-fi stories, you're probably going to like Dungeon Crawler Carl.

This series is a great entry point into the genre overall because it doesn't necessarily throw a bunch of stat sheets and complicated magic systems in your face. It leads with fast-paced action and some generally fantastic dialogue you'll really enjoy. The overarching story and interplay between the galactic audience and the Earth survivors also makes for a really interesting concept that never really gets old.

Jacob Kienlen is a Senior SEO Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor's degree in communication and over 8 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different topics -- from TV series to indie games and popular book series.