This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman (2024)

Author

Matt Dinniman

Overview

They call it Faction Wars. The ninth floor.

Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal... It all makes for great fun and even greater television.

After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.

Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.

As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.

For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.

If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.

This is it. This is what they’ve been fighting toward. This is war.

Review

Damn. War is hell, but Carl and Donut are ready for it (kinda). The in dungeon and off dungeon worlds collided in an epic way, but I think it also broke the entire universe. This story is so good and I can’t wait for the next book. But I’d also be really interested in side stories about what is happening on the surface or in the greater galaxy. Burn them all!

Series

• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Book 1) — Jan 16, 2026
• Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman (Book 2) — Jan 25, 2026
• The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman (Book 3) — Feb 12, 2026
• The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman (Book 4) — Mar 2, 2026
• The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman (Book 5) — Apr 9, 2026
• The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman (Book 6) — May 14, 2026