'Dungeon Crawler Carl' author, narrator tease 'super heavy lore reveal' in Book 8

New achievement! More Dungeon Crawler Carl is nearly here.

The LitRPG books, fast-paced and addictive, are sparking a wider interest in the video game-like subgenre as a whole. The series follows a man and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Donut, who survive an alien invasion and must participate in a video game-like dungeon reality television show with intergalactic viewership. 

“A Parade of Horribles” comes out May 12 from Ace, an imprint of Penguin Random House. We’ll meet back up with Carl and Donut on the 10th floor, tasked with a series of races while panic spreads outside in the wake of Faction Wars.

USA TODAY caught up with author Matt Dinniman and audiobook narrator Jeff Hays to see what readers can expect from the eighth book.

Matt Dinniman and Jeff Hays tease ‘A Parade of Horribles’

During a quick backstage interview with USA TODAY at BookCon in late April, Dinniman shared three words to describe the upcoming Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 8: "'chaos, focused and explosive."

BookCon fans also got a treat when Hays read a passage from “A Parade of Horribles,” flawlessly switching back and forth between characters live.

Speaking later with USA TODAY, Hays said “Parade” is his “second-favorite book in the whole series,” only behind Book 5, “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”

“This new one is just so much fun, it’s so fast-paced but … the last 25% of the book is just super heavy lore reveal stuff that just hits you hard,” Hays says. “Matt gives you a bunch of answers that you’ve been dying to know about for a long time.”

This next teaser is a bit of a spoiler, so head back to your books if you don’t want a sneak peek. 

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“The second most exciting thing is the music,” Hays says. “Hardcore spoilers here: There's going to be a karaoke scene with Carl and Donut singing a song, and you guys will find out what it is when you listen to the book. I'm a serviceable singer, so I have to become a good singer for this particular part, and that takes practice. It's a challenge for me. And then there's going to be another song that's another parody from Book 5.”

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].