Dungeon Crawler Carl reading order

A plan for the whole series

8 volumes, 5,143 pages, about 95 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 months.

• Readers scored volume 8, “A Parade of Horribles”, below its predecessor (8.7 after 9.0). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2024. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

7 stages, with 6 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 29, 2027, about 4 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 116 h21 daysby November 19, 2026

   • 1. Dungeon Crawler Carl2020 · 466 pages · 9 h
   • 2. Carl's Doomsday Scenario2021 · 386 pages · 7 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 23, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 210 h13 daysby December 6, 2026

   • 3. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook2021 · 534 pages · 10 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 10, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 311 h15 daysby December 25, 2026

   • 4. The Gate of the Feral Gods2021 · 608 pages · 11 h
6. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by December 29, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 413 h18 daysby January 16, 2027

   • 5. The Butcher's Masquerade2022 · 732 pages · 13 h
8. Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by January 21, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 515 h20 daysby February 10, 2027

   • 6. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride2023 · 832 pages · 15 h
10. Short breakThe Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde · 102 pp. · score 8.22 h, by February 13, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 616 habout 3 weeksby March 7, 2027

    • 7. This Inevitable Ruin2024 · 880 pages · 16 h
12. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by March 11, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 713 h17 daysby March 29, 2027

    • 8. A Parade of Horribles · 705 pages · 13 h
14. The end of the series

    March 29, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (8.7) below the ending (8.9). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: This Inevitable Ruin (9.0, 1,240 ratings). Weakest: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook (8.5). The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2024. The last volume (8.7) scores close to the series average or above it.