Matt Dinniman's A Parade of Horribles: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 8
A Book Review
Dungeon Crawler Carl has become a bit of a cultural phenomenon. That makes me happy, not just because I love LitRPG in general and DCC in general, but because these books all tend to be published on smaller publishers. I do the occasional review of something put out by the big guys, but I’ve made my reputation (such as it is) by being a champion for the little guy. There are many reasons for that, not the least of which is that they deserve it. So when A Parade of Horribles: Dungeon Crawler CarlBook 8 debuted, I was going to read and review it. It was that simple. Fortunately for me, I also enjoyed it.
Carl and Princess Donut are as well known as they are for a reason. Dinniman likes to infuse his characters with a mix of real emotion and logic and add a dollop of madcap insanity that makes it all fun. Seriously, Carl is a good man. That doesn’t mean he’s a peacenik type. He’s not. But a good man has to be able to commit acts of violence when it’s necessary to protect his own. Carl does that. Carl is not a well man. Dude needed a serious amount of therapy before he found himself in a dungeon and had to fight to stay alive.
Seriously, I’m not sure if Carl is on the edge or over the edge, but he’s definitely gone well beyond edgelord. This guy goes from cold, hard and calculating with emotion removed one moment, to screaming and angry seconds later. I like that about him. It feels right for him to act that way. But here’s the thing: It would also feel dangerous having him around.
Carl is dedicated to getting to getting as many crawlers out of the dungeon as he can. Carl is dedicated to doing as much damage as he can to the system that produced the dungeon as he can. Carl is not entirely rational about his methods for doing either and he that makes him unpredictable. That makes him dangerous to both those he opposes and his allies. He wouldn’t see it that way. He’s legitimately doing his best. But when you can’t anticipate your buddy’s next move, it’s impossible to know how to help him and protect yourself from it.
Carl’s Partner in Crime, Grand Champion, Breed Winner Regional, National Winner Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk has come a long way over eight books. She started off as what basically amounted to an infant with the ability to talk and type. She’s achieved something amazing. She still isn’t the Jean Luc Picard of Dungeon Crawler Carl but she has attained a level of emotional maturity that most adults never will. She’s also a bit on the ruthless side, but when you’ve grown up in a kill or be killed situation, that’s the rational response.
The growth of both Carl and Donut, as well as the rest of the crawlers they compete and travel with, has been enormous. It’s hard to believe how much more they can do at their current levels than they could when they first entered the dungeon and I’m saying that as a veteran player of Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games (MMORPGs). Carl is scary based on what he might do. Donut is scary based on what she can do. Some of her abilities are flat out game-breaking. The power she can put out with her spells is insane. Donut has really begun to show a concern for her fellow crawlers and that’s awesome, but her ability to create carnage is beyond impressive.
Dinniman has shown an ability to create cartoonish violence and make it believable, even visceral, throughout the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and A Parade of Horribles is no exception. The action scenes are well written and exciting but they are bigger (smaller?) than life. And given the fact that most of the novel revolves around a series of races, there is an absolute smorgasbord of action and insanity. This is the type of book you sit down to start reading before bed and realize how long you’ve been sitting there when your alarm goes off the next morning while you’re “one more chapter”ing. Then again, if you’re an insomniac that might be a good thing. At least you’ve got something to fill the time while you can’t sleep.
Reading Dinniman’s work is always a bit weird for me. I’ve been known to include some madcap zaniness to my reviews here. I tend to think I’m good at it. Picking up a copy of Dinniman’s latest work is like showing up at the master craftsman’s house and asking for an apprenticeship. It makes me wanna slap somebody. I’m not sure if it’s him for making me feel like a dweeb, or myself for feeling like a dweeb but the feeling is real. Seriously, if I find myself in the afterlife engaged in a fight with Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Muhammed Ali at least I’ll know how to take the beating with dignity. Thanks, Matt!
Asshole.
Anyway…
There were actually a couple of heart-rending moments in A Parade of Horribles as well. I’m not the type to get all weepy and I didn’t, but there were still some moments that felt like a kick to the junk. Those are rare moments in LitRPG, but they feel appropriate here.
The dungeon crawl in Dungeon Crawler Carl has been horrific. There were roughly thirteen million crawlers at the beginning of the first floor. Just over twenty thousand finished the ninth floor. Prior to the tenth floor, the only way out of the dungeon is death, whether to running late (floors have time limits, if you don’t finish before they expire), fighting, either with NPCs or other crawlers or other random misadventures with traps or accident. The truly great part of DCC is that our heroes keep fighting no matter what.
Seriously when thirteen million and change people enter a dungeon and what’s left over is less than the change, giving up is the easy part. Find a place, have a seat, the floor will collapse shortly. What’s truly inspirational about Carl, Donut, and the rest of the gang, is that they persevere. They’re going to win this thing or die trying.
I’m pretty well convinced that they’re going to come out the other end of this thing alive. We’ll see if I’m right. Dinniman has indicated that the series is almost over. We’ll see if that’s true or if he goes David Weber on us. I’ve got a theory. It might even be right. I’ll find out when you do. I can’t wait.
Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Invulnerable Beetles
A Parade of Horribles: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 8
Matt Dinniman
Dandy House, 2026
A Parade of Horribles: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 8 is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.