Modern showcase · New York Times bestseller
The world ends. The show must go on.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman is the first book in the wildly popular series about one guy, one very spoiled cat, and an alien game show built on the ruins of Earth. This print edition includes exclusive bonus material.
Sold through Book Haven & Co., our independent bookstore in Madison, Indiana.
The story in 30 seconds
01
Earth gets wiped
Aliens flatten every building on the planet. The survivors are dropped into a trap-filled dungeon beneath the ground.
02
It's on TV
The dungeon is a reality show watched across the galaxy. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.
03
Carl and Donut
Coast Guard vet Carl teams up with his ex's prize-winning show cat, Princess Donut, to fight their way down, level by level.
Pick it up if…
- ✓ You love The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- ✓ You grew up playing video games
- ✓ You want a book that makes you laugh out loud
- ✓ You've heard “LitRPG” and want to see what the fuss is about
Good to know
- Author
- Matt Dinniman, writer, artist and bass player from Gig Harbor, WA
- Published
- Ace paperback, December 2025 · 480 pages
- Series
- Book 1 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series
- Feel
- Wild, funny, violent, surprisingly big-hearted
- Best for
- Gamers, sci-fi fans, binge readers
Read it slowly, in person
Survive one more floor. Then sleep upstairs.
BookInspo is made by Book Haven & Co., a bookstore in an 1845 building on Main Street in historic Madison, Indiana. Grab a copy downstairs, then stay in the Book Haven Suite upstairs and binge the first book in one weekend. Nobody will judge.
Ships to your door
Can't make it to Madison?
Order through Bookshop.org and your purchase supports Book Haven & Co. and independent bookstores everywhere.
Book Haven & Co. earns a commission from Bookshop.org purchases made through this page.