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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Matt Dinniman’s “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series has exploded in popularity since the first book was released in October 2020, with book eight dropping last week.
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Dinniman, a University of Arizona graduate and Sabino High School alum, said the series has been increasing in sales every month since August 2024, when traditionally published versions began appearing in bookstores. That timing coincided with TikTok discovering the series.
“I’ve sold more copies every month since August than the month before, and it hasn’t stopped,” Dinniman said.
The premise
Dinniman describes “Dungeon Crawler Carl” as a book series about a man and his ex-girlfriend’s cat who are stuck on an alien game show. The game show takes place on Earth with recognizable elements presented in twisted ways.
“There’s something about reading stories about the human spirit, people surviving no matter what under really tough circumstances in very deadly environments that people tend to latch onto, especially when they have characters that they really can cheer for,” Dinniman said.
The series will total 10 books. Dinniman said he writes without a detailed plan, making up the story as he goes along.
Audience participation
Dinniman uses Patreon to share chapters as he writes them, allowing readers to vote on story elements. Tens of thousands of people read the chapters before each book is published.
“That crowdsourced way of writing is something that’s a relatively new phenomenon with the advent of places like web serial sites and Patreon,” Dinniman said. “I get real time feedback chapter by chapter on how the story’s going, how people are reacting to it.”
He maintains a detailed Excel spreadsheet to track several hundred named characters across the series. Readers quickly catch any errors in the complex math formulas used throughout the books.
TV deal and merchandise
NBC Universal purchased the rights to make “Dungeon Crawler Carl” a live-action television series. Fuzzy Door, Seth MacFarlane’s production company, is making the show, which will stream on Peacock.
Action figures and a pinball machine are also in development.
“It’s beyond anything I ever imagined,” Dinniman said.
Tucson roots
Dinniman graduated from Sabino High School after his father retired from the U.S. military. He attended the University of Arizona and later Prescott College. He credited the Pima Community College creative writing program and former professor Meg Files with shaping him as a writer.
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Dinniman moved to the Pacific Northwest to work as an artist but is now moving back to Tucson, where his mother and wife’s family still live.
“I’ve always considered Tucson my home and this is where I always knew I would end up,” Dinniman said.
The series includes a direct reference to Eegee’s. Dinniman said he received a message from Lucky Wishbone jokingly asking why he mentioned Eegee’s and not them.
Writing advice
Dinniman said he was jaded when he started writing “Dungeon Crawler Carl” in 2020. His first book came out in 2003.
“My big advice is not to worry about that too much,” Dinniman said. “So many people try to make money as an author, as opposed to just writing for the art of writing.”
He said stories written with genuine passion tend to have more heart and connect better with readers.
The series has built a community of 180,000 people on Reddit who discuss the books daily. Dinniman’s events have drawn between 400 and 3,000 people.
“The community of this series is the most amazing part of all of this,” Dinniman said.
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