8 Best Dark Humor Novels For Dungeon Crawler Carl Fans

Published Oct 19, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV. With the success of Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, the author has built a massive fanbase of like-minded readers who enjoy dark humor, which may leave them looking for titles with similar sensibilities to the LitRPG hit. Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is currently on its eighth title following the titular Carl and his feline companion, Princess Donut, is coming to a close as Dinniman works on the final novels of the series. With just a few books left for readers to look forward to, the tone and style of the series aren't something traditionally found in the current canon. Thankfully, readers who are looking for a particular combination of dark humor and intense storytelling don't have to go far to find titles that may intrigue them. While there are similar LitRPG titles that readers could turn to, one of the most important undercurrents of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series is the sense of humor that weaves its way through each novel. Dinniman's dark sense of humor can be found in novels of several different genres, and whether readers are looking for something similar to Carl or something that evokes the same dark chuckles, these books' humor toe the line. 8 We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix was published in 2018, and the supernatural horror novel combines a sharp sense of humor with traditional and psychological horror to create a fascinating read. Following Kris Pulaski, a former heavy metal guitarist whose life has gone terribly wrong, as she embarks on a cross-country journey to confront her former bandmate, Terry, about potential sabotage. Kris' journey brings her deep into a music industry conspiracy that changes her perspective entirely. Building a road trip story around a larger narrative that explores the absurdities that come with fame, We Sold Our Souls delves into the exploitation of the music business, but manages to cloak its narrative in dark comedy. The combination of exposing a deeper-than-expected conspiracy and bringing dark humor to the table should appeal to Dungeon Crawler Carl fans. 7 The Trees by Percival Everett 2021's The Trees by Percival Everett is a dark novel in more ways than one, but despite the story covering some intense and sensitive ground, it's been praised for its ability to be funny while exposing the cruelty and violence of the American south in the 1950s. The Trees opens with a series of brutal murders in Money, Mississippi that draw two investigators, Ed and Jim, into the story. When they arrive at the scene, however, they discover that a second body that resembles Emmett Till keeps appearing at crime scenes. The presence of Till, whose lynching became a defining event of the era and the civil rights movement, continues appearing, leading to a surreal confrontation with America's history of racial violence. Using grotesque imagery, absurd situations, and a scathing sense of satire to examine institutional racism, The Trees is somehow both a fascinating exploration of intense subject matter, and a darkly humorous read that Dungeon Crawler Carl fans would enjoy. The Trees is available for purchase through this link. 6 A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job, which was originally published in 2006, follows San Francisco shopkeeper Charlie Asher, whose life changes when his wife Sophie dies after giving birth to their daughter, Sophie. Charlie, already somewhat neurotic, finds himself taking on a series of new challenges, including one even more expected than single fatherhood when he's tasked with a new job: collecting the souls of the dying. Becoming entangled in supernatural events that make his new responsibilities even more complicated, Charlie has to deal with death in several different ways as he moves through the novel. Moore is able to take some genuinely dark events and breathe life into them with a quick, sometimes ridiculous sense of humor, in the same way that Dinniman does with Dungeon Crawler Carl. A Dirty Job is available for purchase through this link. 5 The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie 2006's The Blade Itself brings readers into the world of Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, and while Dungeon Crawler Carl readers are likely to be familiar with the author, the first novel of the trilogy is a great entry point for those who aren't. Following several characters, The Blade Itself sees Abercrombie introduce Logen Ninefingers, a northern warrior with a dark past, Captain Jezal dan Luthar, a privileged officer looking for personal gain, and Inquisitor Glokta, a former soldier turned torturer. With the story revolving around multiple characters with different perspectives, Abercrombie is able to create dark observations about human nature from several different vantage points. Writing through deeply flawed perspectives about violent situations, Dungeon Crawler Carl readers should enjoy the imperfectly interesting characters of The Blade Itself. 4 Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Cat's Cradle, the 1963 novel by Kurt Vonnegut, is one of the author's lesser known works, but the satirical sci-fi novel is a classic in its own right. Following John, who begins researching the life of a scientist that aided in developing the atomic bomb, the novel watches as he begins to work on a book about what important figures were doing when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The investigation leads John to unexpected conclusions, which involve a fictional religion and a dangerous, life-threatening substance called ice-nine. While Vonnegut has a knack for drawing readers into his stories without making it obvious where they're going, Cat's Cradle is one of the authors stranger works. Still, the novel has his signature sense of dark humor, with the comedy coming through in the cracks that sit between scientific ambition and religious certainty. Using speculative fiction to examine a different world, Dungeon Crawler Carl readers may find Cat's Cradle familiar. 3 The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway takes place after a transformational war, the Go-Away War, has ravaged the world. An unnamed narrator and his best friend, Gonzo Lubitsch, work with a group of former special operatives throughout the novel in order to save a piece of infrastructure. Unfortunately, their mission leads them into a larger conspiracy about the war that threatens their pasts and their futures. Combining a post-apocalyptic sci-fi narrative with the surrealism and comedy of a much lighter story, the 2008 novel is able to look at the absurdity of the situation at hand from a unique perspective. While the severity of the situation presented in the novel is intense, Harkaway is able to make the bizarre world building into something more comedic and light, much like Dinniman does with Carl. 2 The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins follows Carolyn, one of 12 children taken in by a mysterious figure known as Father after her parents die. Carolyn and her pseudo-siblings each study a different section of Father's massive library, which affords them knowledge far and beyond their typical peers. When Father disappears, Carolyn and the others find themselves caught up in a dangerous struggle surrounding the library's secrets, which may come with intensely unexpected power. The 2015 novel is able to combine dark fantasy, horror, and a surreal sense of humor that create a rich world, with Hawkins able to navigate disturbing violence with sharp humor. Much like Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Library at Mount Char builds a strange world that feels unsettling, but uses comedy to help from throwing readers further off balance. 1 John Dies at the End by Jason Pargin A novel published under Jason Pargin's pen name, David Wong, John Dies at the End began as a web-based serial in the early 2000s, and finally made it to print in 2007. Following two college dropouts, David and his friend John, the novel sees the characters becoming wrapped up in a series of supernatural events after encountering a mysterious drug called soy sauce. The drug allows its users to experience another dimension, which shows them horrors that threaten their world. While John and David's attempts to stop the threats are consistent, they wind up leading the pair through strange and dangerous situations. A horror comedy that mixes crude humor, grotesque scenes, and supernatural frights, John Dies at the End is one of the closest comparisons to Dungeon Crawler Carl with its flawed protagonists, and the increasingly rising stakes that somehow make the jokes hit even harder. Dungeon Crawler Carl Publisher(s) Penguin Random House Publication Date September 21, 2020 Number of Pages 444 ISBN# 979-8688591507 Author(s) Matt Dinniman