5 mins ago June 17, 2026sarahylockwood

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman

Rate: 5/5

Medium: Audiobook/ebook

Overview (No Spoilers):

My Dungeon Crawler Carl journey began almost exactly a year ago and I have not stopped pushing this series on family, friends and even strangers. For example the woman at the doctors office who took my before and after photos from my double mastectomy got to hear the DCC pitch not only once, but twice. The cashier at the grocery story listened to me talk about my love of Donut, Pony, and Mongo, only to find out she’s three books in. And my poor coworkers have heard me rave about this guy and his heart boxers for over a year. That said, leading into A Parade of Horribles I was nervous that the series might finally lose some of its magic. Delightfully, it not only lived up to my lofty expectations but far exceeded where I thought Dinniman might take this novel, especially with that shocking twist at the end of book seven.

Speaking of that revelation at the end of This Inevitiable Ruin, I couldn’t imagine how Dinniman would be able to wrangle this story back into the confines of the Dungeon. The transition from the 9th floor to the 10th floor was jarring both from the change in rules of survival to the pacing between races. This was the perfect recipe to abruptly pull the focus back to the here and now.

Carl’s struggle to hold tight to his humanity was palpable throughout A Parade of Horribles. With all of the terrible decisions Carl been forced to make to survive, his rage is palpable and bubbling just at the surface, constantly in danger of losing control. Aware of his limit approaching, it was during this stage of the dungeon we find Carl redefining his purpose and humanity with his found family. Thankfully through this tempering we find Carl holding a flickering of hope for the first time. That said, the contrast of Donut becoming harder during several incidents left evidence that her humanity (kittyanity?) is fraying under the constant threat of survival. 

Pony broke my heart in A Parade of Horribles. While this abrasive character had slowly been worming his way into one of my favorite characters, his vulnerability in this book made me want to give him the biggest hug. The scene in the sixth race with his alternative reality broke me in so many ways. I was listening to this scene in the middle of one of our farm fields as I was picking up rocks with the Gator before planting. Crying while picking up rocks was not on my bingo card for 2026. And while Pony’s loneliness started the tears, it was Carl’s reaction that made me cry harder. 

Speaking of crying, my drive to work is approximately thirty minutes. One morning A Parade of Horribles made me cry twice between 7:30 am and 8:00 am. And the thing is, no one even died. Still big ugly tears for two different events. After eight books, I find that I’m so invested in many of these characters, especailly after all the trauma they’ve endured. 

Dinniman severely whittles down the ranks in book eight. So many familiar characters are now off of the playing field. That said, Dinniman masterfully achieves this without wholesale slaughter, but through a clever work around that leaves the possibility for some of the Crawlers to return in the future, while leaving the fate of players as mysteries. 

Confession time, I’ve read this book twice now. Doing something I’ve never done before and reading a book again, immediately after completing it the first time. On my second reread, I had the astonishing discovery. I had never actually finished this book the first time. I had somehow gotten distracted in the middle of the second epilogue and never finished it. When finishing this read for the second time, I was shocked to discover all the revelations I’d missed the first time around. Just amazing. 

There are countless reasons why this series has stood out as elite, but perhaps the main reason each book has felt so fresh to me is how Dinniman completely reinvents each level. A Parade of Horribles is no exception with Level 10 feeling like a high stakes Mario Kart race with seven courses. Level 11 has gladiator vibes along with a parade and storytime. Pure delightful chaos. The next level in store for the crawlers has been referenced and building since early on in the book. I can’t wait to see what twists and turns Dinniman has in store.

Overall, A Parade of Horribles is everything and more I could have dreamed the next installment of Dungeon Crawler Carl could entail. I cried. I giggled. I stressed. And I loved every moment of my time reading this novel. This series just gets better and better. “Boop.”

Yes. “Boop” is a direct quote.

Check out some of my other favorite quotes:

“Physics are gonna physic. Some shit is gonna break.”

”Unity. Support. Family. And Kneecapping Bitches.”

”I CRAVE SPLOOGE”

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

  • Can we have more Samantha perspectives? 
  • What will Carl find when he finally goes into his room that Samantha redecorated.
  • What are the five pieces of Apito? 
  • What had Samantha done to Trish that everyone else would have been mad about?
  • What is neck-cootering? I can picture what i think it is in the context of Samantha moving something across the floor. Oh my. Do not Google it neck cooter meme. 
  • What was Samantha tricked into? 
  • How has Bigs the Sluggalette somehow become one of my favorite characters. Unity. Support. Family. And Kneecapping Bitches. Also, have you ever tried to explain Bigs’ origin story to someone who has never read the books. Just try and see their reaction.
  • Why did Samantha feel relief at her baby being gone?
  • Who is Samantha’s mother if Thelia isn’t?
  • Where is Juice Box? How can the Reaper Spider Minions communicate with Juice Box? How is she in Sheol?  Will her and Louis reconnect?
  • What will happen to Princess Chandra? Will Carl and Donut escape her machinations. I loved how Donut turned it around on her. Will Quazar be able to protect his family? What new side of Carl’s lawyer will we see in the aftermath of this threat?
  • Where is Agatha?
  • Who is the kid with Lucia Mar? Why won’t she take a deal and how are so many kids linked to her?
  • Poor Hedy! I wanted to have the little gremlin around longer.
  • What was going on with Mordecia’s strange forms? He took a back seat this book. Though his response to Carl piercing a pig’s nipple was fantastic. Are Mordecai’s prophecies real? What did he say to Samantha to make her cry? If they are real what is the sacrifice that is needed to save Donut? Also, Donut seemed to get two of the prophasy’s. What does that mean?
  • What did Grigori think of Samantha?
  • Why did the Apito Memory Crystal glow at the end of Faction Wars? Why was it only getting charged with the Scolopendra attacks? Why are the Memory Crystals broken? 
  • Yay! A Detroit Lions shout out.
  • What is going on with Britney? How could she talk in Carl’s mind like that and why does she need him alive? What is she doing in Sheol?
  • Who is hunting Orren?
  • What will a mean that a god donkey just joined Carl’s stable?
  • How will the nuke up Samantha’s neck come back into play?
  • Why did the Bronze Vanessa William’s box contain white spray paint?
  • Corcunda and Porky. Wow. I’m not sure where to even go with this part of the story. Poor Dong. Dinniman managed to eliminate so much of the supporting staff without mass casualties. What happened to the rest of the strippers? Also how was the fate of all biological life tied to the quest with Corcunda?
  • What happened to Dong’s sock? Who picked it up?
  • Is Harbinger really dead? That whole sequence seemed odd.
  • I was so amused by the GPS system. Will she continue to be around the dungeon?
  • Will we meet the Ogre Imperium? Who is group Six? The OI? Also who is Cock-A-Doodle-Doo?
  • How did Pony file a complaint with the Epicure?
  • How many Wall Rats are there?
  • Gluteus on drugs while driving. Wow. I initially read this one in Kindle. Jeff Hayes makes an already ridiculous scene even better.
  • What did Daniel almost do with his tea before he changed his mind?
  • THE KANGAROO SUIT! What an insane and hilarious combination.  
  • Chapter 57. Do I need to say more? Give Jeff Hayes all of the awards. Dinniman crafted that sequence masterfully. 
  • How did Jurgen used to talk to Heidi?
  • Will Li Na find her humanity? What will she find in the Pineapple Cabaret.
  • Ok so. We all have to agree that the flashback scene in race six was too easy right? Donut has to have more thoughts on the scene. What did she pick up that Carl missed? Was the scene for her? What did it mean that her cat food was there?
  • Carl getting turned into Karl. Again, I read this first through ebook and had to reread it through Hayes’ brilliant interpretation. So damn funny. 
  • I keep saying this, but Jamal is also one of my favorite characters. It cracks me up every time he talks in third person. 
  • How does Samantha know where Britney needs to go to bring the Goddess Ysalte back to life? What is the Basilica (level 12) or the Vulgar Temple (Sheol)?
  • Who is redacting the AI?
  • How is Forkith still alive? What is he doing in Sheol? How does he know about Carl and the cookbook? What about Herot?
  • What will Carl do with the Emberus Crystal?
  • What is with the dart sticking out of Carl’s leg? Who are the Kyryap? Why are they tracking and tagging Carl?
  • What is the debuff with the Emberus ring?
  • What will Penny decide to do? Will she pick a new class? Will Scolopendra?
  • The twist of Donut giving Carl the wrong pet biscuit to turn the dreaded Scolopendra into an infatuated Level 1 Crawler is brilliant. I literally laughed out loud at the twist and promptly snorted with, “Boop”. I can’t believe Dinniman managed to pull the story into that direction in a way that was both entertaining, stressful, and surprising. Just brilliant.
  • In the epilogue one of the characters reminds us that the legend of Scolopendra is a tragedy. Is this a frank reminder for all the readers?
  • What happened to everyone in club Scolopendra? 
  • A quote from Saw! “Do you want to play a game?”
  • How will the OIs come into play?

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