- Author Matt Dinniman’s LitRPG series, Dungeon Crawler Carl, has taken the literary world by storm, dominating Amazon’s most-read fiction books chart with eight of the top 20 spots.
- Originally a web serial on Royal Road, the series follows Coast Guard veteran Carl and his talking cat Princess Donut as they navigate a deadly underground labyrinth in an intergalactic reality TV show, now set to be adapted for the small screen.
- Penguin Random House’s imprint Ace Books acquired the series in 2024, leading to a surge in popularity among mainstream readers and audiobook fans, with Peacock now developing a streaming adaptation co-executive produced by Seth MacFarlane.
This week, Matt Dinniman thrilled fans at Comic-Con 2026 with chitchat regarding the meteoric rise of his LitRPG series, Dungeon Crawler Carl. Its sentiment is echoed on the Amazon Charts, as the year’s hottest author is now completely dominating the shopping juggernaut’s most-read fiction books chart.
Dinniman now holds eight of the top 20 spots, with every novel in his DCC series represented on the survey, beginning with the series opener at No. 2.
‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Book Rankings
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No. 2 Dungeon Crawler Carl, 2020
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No. 6 The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, 2021
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No. 7 A Parade of Horribles, 2026
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No. 8 The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, 2023
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No. 9 The Butcher’s Masquerade, 2022
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No. 10 The Gate of the Feral Gods, 2021
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No. 11 Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, 2020
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No. 13 This Inevitable Ruin, 2024
What began as a web serial on the platform Royal Road in early 2020 turned into a global phenomenon, with Dinniman first self-publishing his now-famous science fantasy series in October2020. Kicking off with Dungeon Crawler Carl, the story follows a Coast Guardveteran named Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s talking Persian cat named Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk.
Together, they are forced to survive a deadly, video game-style subterranean labyrinth that also serves as an intergalactic reality TV show. It’s sadistic, it’s hilarious, it’s also now headed to the small screen.
Starting in 2024, the series caught the attention of Ace Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, which acquired the series, helping the books reach even wider audiences. The DCC series exploded in popularity after Penguin’s reissues introduced it to mainstream readers, while audiobook fans helped propel it into one of fantasy’s biggest word-of-mouth success stories.
‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Books in Order
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Book 1: Dungeon Crawler Carl (2020)
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Book 2: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (2021)
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Book 3: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (2021)
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Book 4: The Gate of the Feral Gods (2021)
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Book 5: The Butcher’s Masquerade (2022)
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Book 6: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (2023)
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Book 7: This Inevitable Ruin (2024)
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Book 8: A Parade of Horribles (2026)
And now, Peacock is bringing the series to streaming. Written for the screen by film, TV, and comic book writer Chris Yost, the series will be co-executive produced by Dinniman and The Family Guy‘s Seth MacFarlane.
“Me, Chris Yost, and Seth MacFarlane and his team at Fuzzy Door are all really excited to get to work,” Dinniman wrote on Instagram. “In the coming weeks I’ll have more details, and if you’re going to SDCC be sure to catch Chris and Chris on our DCC panel.”
Peacock, Comic-Con, Amazon—those are big words for a humble writer who was once releasing vignettes as a side hustle to his day job as a sketch artist for cat shows.
This story was originally published byParadeon Jul 27, 2026, where it first appeared in theBookssection. Add Parade as aPreferred
