Review:This Inevitable Ruin: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 7 4.5/5

BY D. Kelly

For those who have been fans of the Dungeon Crawler Carl (DCC) series (and I can’t imagine getting seven books in if you aren’t), I doubt there is anything at this point that would get you to put the series down. For readers who have yet to start, this will be a mostly spoiler-free review.

DCC has had the indelible ability to switch genres, go big, and let quiet moments resonate, all within mere chapters of one another. It is a testament to Matt Dinniman’s skill as a storyteller that he can make the absurd and comical feel heartbreaking, and This Inevitable Ruin is no different.

Matt Dinniman’s adventure series has shifted genres with each story, as our indentured heroes fireball an orc or two on their dungeon crawl. In this most recent chapter, we find Carl and his sentient cat, GC, BWR, NW Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, on the ninth floor as warlords of their very own army.

This Inevitable Ruin, like most of the rest of the DCC series, is almost overrun by its side plots and ever-growing cast of characters. However, unlike most recent entries in the series, This Inevitable Ruin has stripped the dungeon mechanics down to its bare bones (in a good way). Gone is the Iron Tangle of Book 3 and that frankly ridiculous Magic: The Gathering-style card game of Book 6. The found family of the dungeon has stepped into a magical war reminiscent of the First World War, as the entire system threatens to unravel.

While this novel’s title feels tenuously applied (with an almost throwaway reference to it at the conclusion of the story that feels a little unearned), Matt Dinniman continues to weave a rich tapestry of characters and tug on the heartstrings. I was particularly moved by the novel’s send-off to our heroes.

The novel, as with all of the DCC series, has a wonderfully pertinent message. Not to let the system grind us down, turn us against our friends, and to remember that there is strength in numbers. They will not break us.

If you have not started Dungeon Crawler Carl yet, I must recommend the audiobook, narrated by Jeff Hays of Soundbooth Theater, who brings the zany action to life with humor and pathos.

This Inevitable Ruin was published on November 3, 2024, and will be followed up by A Parade of Horribles on May 12, 2026.

Now remember, readers. Get out there, and read, read, read!