Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
It’s off to the races in the explosive eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series—featuring bonus material exclusive to this print edition.
As chaos and mass panic spread outside the dungeon in the wake of Faction Wars, Carl and Donut find themselves on the tenth floor, where they’re forced to compete in a surprisingly normal set of tasks. Well, normal for the dungeon.
Races. Get from point A to point B, and don’t come in last. After each race, they pick an upgrade for their vehicle and the track gets more challenging. It all seems a little too normal, a little too simple.
Ignore those strange glitches that are occurring with increasing frequency. Don’t listen to those whispers about what’s happening on the mysterious eleventh floor, something the system AI calls A Parade of Horribles. Nobody, not even the showrunners, knows what that means. Just that the AI has ominously dubbed it “a coming-out party for the ages.”
Everything is fine, Crawler. I repeat, everything is fine.
Carl hates that it’s business as usual. The rules of this floor have taken away his agency. That just will not do.
So Carl is planning a party of his own. It’s a plan so dangerous, so insane, he can’t even consult his friends lest the AI put a stop to it. Because if it goes wrong, it’s not just the end of Carl and Donut. No. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.
My Review
I need to start at the end. THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK. HOLY SHIT. I am literally screaming for the next installment because the repercussions of that final scene??? I don’t even know what’s going to happen next and I am not okay about it (pleeease write the next book quickly, Matt!).
Okay. Deep breath. Let’s back up.
The beginning of A Parade of Horribles felt a little slow, especially coming off the absolutely insane action of book seven, This Inevitable Ruin. There was such a massive buildup to the Faction Wars that it felt jarring to see Carl and Donut immediately thrown into a new level without any real time to process what just happened. The concept of this floor (think Mario Kart meets Mad Max racing vibes) wasn’t really my personal thing, and some of the quest lines got a little confusing. There are also a LOT of new NPCs introduced here, which can get overwhelming to keep track of.
There’s also a sense of loneliness to this floor that I felt deeply. After the Faction Wars, Carl and Donut go from being Warlords commanding an army back to being their own little team again, and it felt isolating in a way that was clearly intentional but still hit hard. Crawlers are starting to take deals and leave the dungeon, and by the end of the book the numbers are so greatly reduced that everything feels very final. I also really missed Katia throughout this whole book, and I loved the quiet moments where Carl found himself thinking “this is something Katia would have figured out already.” That thread of grief and absence was really beautifully handled.
But here’s the thing. The final 20% of this book is the most absolutely batshit insane thing I have ever read in this series, and that is saying something. The AI is completely off the rails. The stakes have never been higher. There is a moment involving a kangaroo that made me want to throw up, and a moment involving a long-haired dachshund that I found completely delightful, and I will not be explaining either one. There was also a really sweet moment between Carl and Prepotente that I genuinely loved. This book absolutely earns its ending, and what an ending it is. Five stars, a million stars, whatever I can give.
The TLDR version 👇
THE GOOD:
- That ending. THAT ENDING.
- The final 20% is the most intense, high stakes stretch of the entire series
- The quiet moments of Carl missing Katia are genuinely moving
- The sweet Carl and Prepotente moment was a highlight
- The stakes feel higher and more final than ever before
- The AI going completely off the rails is absolutely unhinged in the best way
THE NOT-AS-GOOD:
- The beginning feels slow coming off the intensity of This Inevitable Ruin
- Carl and Donut never really get time to process the Faction Wars before being thrown into the next level
- The racing floor concept wasn’t personally my thing
- Some of the quest lines get a little confusing
- A LOT of new NPCs to keep track of
THE NEUTRAL:
- The floor has a very Mario Kart meets Mad Max energy, which will work better for some readers than others
- This floor feels lonelier and more isolated than previous ones, which is intentional but noticeable
- If you know, you know about the kangaroo. I will not elaborate
OVERALL RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Parade of Horribles starts slow but builds into the most explosive, unhinged, and emotionally gutting installment in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series yet. That ending will haunt me until the next book comes out!
PERFECT FOR:
- Existing Dungeon Crawler Carl fans (obviously, do not start here!)
- Readers who love high stakes, chaotic, wildly creative LitRPG fantasy
- Anyone who enjoys found family dynamics and genuinely emotional character moments
- People who are prepared to immediately need the next book the second they finish this one
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