“I’m going to kill your Mother” – Samantha (Psamathe)

By this point in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, I have long since accepted that Matt Dinniman’s definition of “normal” is considerably different from mine. A Parade of Horribles continues the increasingly ridiculous journey of Carl, Princess Donut and their fellow crawlers with the same combination of outrageous humour, relentless action and surprisingly powerful emotional beats that has become the hallmark of the series. After everything that has come before, you might reasonably expect the story to start running out of ways to surprise the reader. Instead, Dinniman somehow finds another gear.

The title is an excellent indication of what awaits. The situation facing the crawlers is, in every possible sense, a parade of horrors, but this is still a Dungeon Crawler Carl book, so those horrors are accompanied by absurdity, sarcasm and enough bizarre situations to make you wonder how Dinniman’s imagination continues to function. The series has always thrived on taking familiar ideas and pushing them to ridiculous extremes, and this instalment continues that tradition with considerable enthusiasm.

There is a wonderfully chaotic quality to the action that can perhaps best be described as part Forza, part Gaslands, all Mario Kart. There are vehicles, weapons, explosions, tactical manoeuvring and enough completely unnecessary destruction to make any attempt at sensible military planning seem hopeless. The result is exactly the sort of spectacular mayhem that the series does so well. Plans are made, plans immediately go wrong and everyone involved appears to have a different interpretation of what constitutes acceptable behaviour.

Yet for all the explosions, Dinniman never forgets that the characters are what make the series work. Carl’s journey has developed far beyond simply surviving the dungeon. His determination to destroy the crawl has become increasingly central to the overarching narrative, and every new challenge seems to reinforce his refusal to accept the system that has trapped him. He is still sarcastic, stubborn and occasionally spectacularly reckless, but there is now a much deeper sense of purpose behind his actions.

Princess Donut remains an absolute delight. Her enormous personality continues to provide some of the funniest moments, but her development throughout the series has made her much more than comic relief. Her relationship with Carl remains one of the emotional anchors of the story. They can spend one moment arguing over something completely ridiculous and the next facing a situation that genuinely tests their loyalty to each other. That contrast is one of the reasons the series works so well.

Dinniman has also become increasingly skilled at balancing humour and emotion. There is no shortage of jokes, outrageous situations and ridiculous characters, but the series has reached a point where the reader is genuinely invested in the consequences. The crawlers have suffered enormously, and their victories never come without a cost. When someone is placed in danger, it matters. When somebody makes a sacrifice, it carries emotional weight. The comedy does not undermine those moments. Instead, it makes the darker scenes more effective because the reader has become so attached to the characters.

The overarching narrative continues to expand at an impressive rate. What began as an outrageous reality show has developed into a sprawling conflict involving powerful factions, hidden agendas and consequences that reach far beyond the dungeon itself. Dinniman has managed to keep increasing the scale without making Carl’s personal story feel insignificant. The larger the conflict becomes, the more important his determination to bring the crawl down seems to be.

The satire surrounding the crawl remains one of the series’ most enjoyable elements. The idea of suffering being packaged as entertainment continues to provide Dinniman with plenty of opportunities to take aim at reality television, corporate sponsorship and audiences willing to cheer for increasingly horrific spectacles. It is not subtle, but subtlety has never been the series’ objective. The point is made loudly, frequently and usually while something is exploding.

And then there is Jeff Hays. His narration has become such an integral part of Dungeon Crawler Carl that I cannot imagine these books having the same impact without him. Hays brings an extraordinary cast of characters to life, giving every individual a distinctive voice and personality. His performances make conversations easy to follow even when numerous characters are involved, but more importantly, he understands the emotional tone of every scene.

Hays can deliver a ridiculous joke with perfect comic timing and then switch seamlessly into genuine emotion when the situation demands it. He makes Carl feel real, Princess Donut feel gloriously larger than life and the increasingly bizarre supporting cast feel like actual people rather than characters in an audiobook. His performance is a major reason the whole world feels tangible, despite the fact that almost everything happening in it is completely absurd.

A Parade of Horribles is another thoroughly enjoyable addition to the series. It delivers the action, humour and emotional weight that have become expected from Dungeon Crawler Carl, while continuing to expand the story into something much larger than its original premise suggested. The action is frenetic, the characters remain wonderfully engaging, even the deaths of side characters hit hard, and the overarching story continues to gather momentum.

After so many books, Dinniman is still finding ways to make this ridiculous universe entertaining and unpredictable. With Jeff Hays once again bringing every character vividly to life, A Parade of Horribles proves that the crawl still has plenty of horrors left to unleash, and I remain more than happy to follow Carl and Donut into whatever madness comes next.

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